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This paper addresses the optimal sizing of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRESs), encompassing wind, solar, and battery systems, with the aim of delivering reliable performance at a reasonable cost. The focus is on mitigating unscheduled outages on the national grid in Iraq. The proposed On–off-grid HRES method is implemented using MATLAB and relies on an iterative technique to achieve multi-objectives, balancing reliability and economic constraints. The optimal HRES configuration is determined by evaluating various scenarios related to energy flow management, electricity prices, and land cover effects. Consumer requirements regarding cost and reliability are factored into a 2D optimization process. A battery model is developed to capture the dynamic exchange of energy among different renewable sources, battery storage, and energy demands. A detailed case study across fifteen locations in Iraq, including water, desert, and urban areas, revealed that local wind speed significantly affects the feasibility and efficiency of the HRES. Locations with higher wind speeds, such as the Haditha lake region (payback period: 7.8 years), benefit more than urban areas (Haditha city: payback period: 12.4 years). This study also found that not utilizing the battery, particularly during periods of high electricity prices (e.g., 2015), significantly impacts the HRES performance. In the Haditha water area, for instance, this technique reduced the payback period from 20.1 to 7.8 years by reducing the frequency of charging and discharging cycles and subsequently mitigating the need for battery replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry significantly impacts the environment and uses natural resources that negatively impact the built environment. Conversely, green buildings can lead to several environmental, social, and economic benefits. The paper explores the barriers that impede the implementation of sustainable construction projects in Iraq. It draws on a literature review in the field of sustainable construction, as well as a survey of construction industry professionals in Iraq. A total of 17 major barriers to sustainable construction projects are identified and classified into four groups to reduce the environmental impacts of construction activities. The variance inflation factor (VIF) values of dimensions were less than 3.5, indicating that they independently contribute to the second-order constructs. Therefore, it is essential to implement green building practices, such as using energy-efficient materials and systems, adopting energy-efficient designs, and using renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the findings suggest that sustainable construction practices can also help improve quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in electric grid technology have led to sustainable, modern, decentralized, bidirectional microgrids (MGs). The MGs can support energy storage, renewable energy sources (RESs), power electronics converters, and energy management systems. The MG system is less costly and creates less CO2 than traditional power systems, which have significant operational and fuel expenses. In this paper, the proposed hybrid MG adopts renewable energies, including solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines (WT), biomass gasifiers (biogasifier), batteries' storage energies, and a backup diesel generator. The energy management system of the adopted MG resources is intended to satisfy the load demand of Basra, a city in southern Iraq, considering the city's real climate and demand data. For optimal sizing of the proposed MG components, a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm (Hybrid Grey Wolf with Cuckoo Search Optimization (GWCSO)) is applied. The simulation results are compared with those achieved using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithms (GA), Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO), Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO), and Antlion Optimization (ALO) to evaluate the optimal sizing results with minimum costs. Since the adopted GWCSO has the lowest deviation, it is more robust than the other algorithms, and their optimal number of component units, annual cost, and Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) are superior to the other ones. According to the optimal annual analysis, LCOE is 0.1192 and the overall system will cost about USD 2.6918 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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It is well established that renewable energy resources for electricity generation are free. In hot areas, solar energy has become one of the major interests of researchers and specialists. This paper aims to experimentally investigate the maximum voltage generation of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) panel. This panel was built from many TEG modules that are connected in series and in parallel. The panel was exposed to high heat due to solar radiation during summer, either directly or through a Fresnel lens. The other side of the TEG panel was cooled using tap water that was passed through aluminum heat exchangers in an active cooling method. It was found that the maximum open-circuit voltage of this TEG panel using a Fresnel lens was 9.35 V. With no lens, it was 11.75 V at 14:00 h local time. The experiments were done during a sunny July period in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the sizing optimization of stand -alone hybrid energy system (HES) in southern Iraq (Thi Qar province) for supply stand-alone households by the electricity. HES consist of three components (solar cell (PV), diesel generator (DG) and battery storage (BS)). Particle swarm optimization (PSO) used in this study for find optimal sizing of the HES to minimizing multiobjective, first objective is to minimizing the total system cost (TSC) that lead to minimizing cost of energy (COE). Second objective is to minimizing total emission CO2 (TECO2). The constraint of the optimization is the reliability (100 %) mean continuous provide the load demand by the electricity. The results of the optimization show the ability the algorithm to minimizing the multiobjective with continuous supply the load by the electricity through life cycle of the project (25) years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resource orientation of the Iraqi economy implies the development of a competitive advantage of the oil industry through the industry's infrastructure development. The authors' assumption is that as a result of the transport and production infrastructures' development of the extraction, processing and transportation of oil and oil products in the conditions of global economic turbulence and the availability of profitable mineral raw materials, domestic demand is restrained by both "inherited" problems and new challenges for the Iraqi oil industry. A review of changes in oil production over time has been carried out. The following problems have been identified: "inherited" problems of the oil industry's production infrastructure, insufficient capacities and technologies and unbalanced attraction and use of investments. It has been identified that problems vary with different infrastructures. For transport infrastructure, transportation security threats, the insufficient capacity of ports and routes, low level of management and technical implementation are the main problems. New challenges in the oil industry's infrastructural development are related to the fall in oil prices, the reorientation of supply chains, the "blockage" in world trade due to coronavirus infection and the challenge to expand the use of renewable energy resources to improve the quality of energy supply in terms of resource distribution. The aim of this study is to develop theoretical and methodological bases for the development of infrastructure in the Iraqi oil industry with reference to its background, associated with the turbulent path of the global economy. The substantiation of theoretical provisions and development of practical recommendations to facilitate development of the Iraq oil industry infrastructure are aimed at supporting the development of its infrastructure in view of economic and political instability. Thus, the theoretical and practical significance of the study lies in revealing the features and problems of the Iraq oil industry infrastructure functioning and the development of an algorithm of control for the development of its elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of fossil fuels has risen to be the main source of energy generation in most countries since the start of the industrial revolution around the world. The greenhouse gases generated from this use produce significant negative effects on the environment and human health. As a result of these disadvantages, the world needs to search for alternative energy sources that are low in carbon. The article focused on the amount of renewable energy generation in Turkey, Iran and Iraq from the collection of statistical data for the period from 2010-2020. Turkey occupied the clear progress to benefit from renewable energy sources, followed by Iran and Iraq. Where the percentage of annual growth of power generation based on hydropower in Turkey, Iran and Iraq (71.4%, 28.5% and 0.1%) respectively. With regard to other sources of renewable energy, Turkey had the largest share in generating energy from wind and solar energy, with an annual growth rate of (88.03%, 98.22%), respectively. Finally, renewable energy can be considered as a promising source of energy for future generations when correct planning policies are determined by countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affordable and clean energy is one of the major goals for global sustainable development. Lighting is a major aspect of human energy consumption and access to quality lighting is one of the most important indicators of human development. Like other countries around the world, the Iraqi government has realized the importance of climate change and the necessity for clean energy which has led them to officially ratifying the Kyoto Protocol in January 2008. However, it is challenging to implement a clean and renewable energy lighting system for a small community like Chibayish in the Iraqi marshes. The Chibayish unique house building technique of man-made islands (floating baskets), results that these floating houses are not connected to the Iraqi national grid. The villagers in Chibayish require artificial light for their indoor living areas after dark and also for night fishing, which is a common practice. In this research study, various renewable energy resources have been examined in order to identify the most locally practical renewable energy technology for household lighting needs. The solar irradiance profile in the area showed the viability of solar energy in comparison to other renewable energy sources considered within these specific environmental conditions. An analysis carried out using HOMER Pro simulator shows that the solar photovoltaic is an affordable and reliable option for this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of solar radiation measurements on various solar systems design needs knowledge on its spatial and temporal variations. Such knowledge can be acquired by employing interpolation ground measured solar radiation collected by ground radiometric stations. More reliable information could be obtained by analyzing satellite images. The aim of this work is to evaluate the measurements of daily global solar radiation extracted from Meteosat-8 images using Heliosat-2 method. Ground measurements from two Iraqi stations were used in the evaluation processes. The results indicated that the mean RMSE and MAE for Baghdad were 0.621 kWh/m² and 0.024 kWh/m² and for Mosul were 0.458 kWh/m² and 0.012 kWh/m² respectively. These results are very satisfactory for monitoring the temporal and spatial variation of solar radiation for places which suffer from shortage of ground solar radiation measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solar chimney is one of the uninvestigated areas in the possible selection in the field of renewable solar energy utilization. CFD can be demonstrated as a useful tool of figure confidence in the design and employment of a solar chimney. A realistic numerical model for a solar-based updraft power plant for power generation was established through this research work. Iraqi weather in Kirkuk, northern Iraq was considered for this case study. A three-dimensional (3D) simulation of the main geometric dimensions of the Spanish, Manzanares model integrated with a real turbine was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The turbulent model of RNG k-e, the nongrey discrete coordinate (DO) radiation model, and the solar raytracing algorithm were used. It was observed that the air velocity below the turbine was graded according to the seasons of the year and was at its maximum in July with 18.28 m/s due to the high ambient temperature, and the lowest value was recorded in January with 8.64 m/s. The overall average daily and monthly energy production values for the Kirkuk system were higher than those of the Kubang system, with values of 310 kWh/day and 9314 kWh/month, respectively, for the Kirkuk system, and 246 kWh/day and 7398 kWh/month, respectively, for the Kubang system. The simulation results showed that the electricity generation from the Kirkuk city power plant varied seasonally to be at its maximum value of 14,424 kWh/month in July. This research work will help to determine the possibility of producing electricity in this Kirkuk city, which would then contribute in a great way to reduce the cash spent on electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric power sector in countries suffering from crises and wars such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, etc., is among the most affected infrastructures. Since this sector plays a vital role in the economic growth and in improving people's quality of life, the post-crisis reconstruction of this sector must take into account the requirements and concepts of sustainable development (SD) in addition to technical and economic considerations. This article discusses the role that renewable energy sources (RES) can play in achieving SD in the post-crisis reconstruction phase of the Syrian Electric Power Sector (SEPS) as a case study. Based on the available data, the study period was chosen from 2005 to 2017 and divided into two periods. In the first period (2005–2010), which is the pre-crisis period, the structure of the SEPS and its main characteristics were described while the adoption of RES solutions and SD concepts were investigated. In the second period (2011–2017), the crisis period, the satiation of the SEPS and impact of the crisis were evaluated. The challenges that faced the adoption of SD concepts and RES solution were also addressed at this stage. Based on analysis and comparison of the available data, several scenarios were discussed to evaluate the role of RES in achieving SD in the post-crisis reconstruction phase of the SEPS. EnergyPLAN software was used for the techno and socio-economic evaluation of these scenarios. Our results emphasize the importance of the adoption of RES solutions in the reconstruction phase, as these can help promote SD concepts (reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the environment, increasing energy efficiency, creating jobs, etc.) and securing the electric supply of the SEPS while enhancing its stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an outlook on the renewable energies in Iraq, and the potential for deploying concentrated solar power technologies to support power generation in Iraq. Solar energy has not been sufficiently utilized at present in Iraq. However, this energy source can play an important role in energy production in Iraq, as the global solar radiation ranging from 2000 kWh/m2 to a 2500 kWh/m2 annual daily average. In addition, the study presents the limited current solar energy activities in Iraq. The attempts of the Iraqi government to utilize solar energy are also presented. Two approaches for utilizing concentrated solar power have been proposed, to support existing thermal power generation, with the possibility of being implemented as standalone plants or being integrated with thermal power plants. However, the cost analysis has shown that for 50 kW concentrated solar power in Iraq, the cost is around 0.23 US cent/kWh without integration with energy storage. Additionally, notable obstacles and barriers bounding the utilization of solar energy are also discussed. Finally, this study proposes initiatives that can be adopted by the Iraqi government to support the use of renewable energy resources in general, and solar energy in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]