Search

The recent climate change, global warming, environmental disasters and the economic crisis are only the first signs of the failure of an economic system that, for too long, shows an uncontrolled utilization of the planet wealth. The Italian electricity market, which is strongly dependent on hydrocarbons, only in recent years has seen a first attempt to change towards renewable resources for electricity production aimed at self-consumption and for feeding into the grid. This paper presents an economic analysis whose purpose is to evaluate the profitability of investments in renewable technologies for the production of electricity. Each renewable source has its own profitability dependent on a number of factors and subject to market fluctuations, cost and frequent changes in the incentive policies. Applying Portfolio Theory is possible to select the right mix of renewable energy sources and simulate its evolution. Moreover the presented analysis can be useful for energy planners to select future green scenarios finalized to the reduction of emissions and energy imports through the increasing use of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since the global warming and climate change are recognized as real concerns, attention of power system planners and operators, energy policy makers and regulators as well as developers around the world including Australia is focused on using alternative and low emission energy technologies for electric power production. Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies have many advantages including reducing climate change, increasing sustainability in power sector, and increasing security of power supply. This paper presents an overview on both current electricity grid and future grid. Experts believe that in future more distributed generation (DG) will be integrated into the low to medium electricity grid. This paper will also review the key drivers in relation to integration of increased DG technologies in general and the renewable energy-distributed generation (RE-DG) technologies in particular, into the electric power system and the opportunities and challenges linked to these technologies. This paper also reviews possible connection location of RE-DG into the grid and its impact on system voltage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nowadays, the world is encountering severe challenges in the energy generation sector. Environmental issues like climate change, global warming and Green House Gases (GHGs) and also social issues like dramatic increase in global population and increasing energy demand are the main causes of global concerns about energy resource management. In this regard, Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) are the suitable substitution to replace the conventional generating units that emit GHGs due to the use of fossil fuels. Among all RESs, wind energy seems to be promising for generating emission-free electrical energy. However, it is naturally unpredictable due to its intermittency which leads to some technical problems such as generation imbalance as well as optimal reserve allocation. This paper investigates the solutions to compensate wind intermittency through introducing various technologies such as Pumped-Hydro Storage (PHS) units, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), solar energy and other electric storages like batteries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]