An overview of renewable energy technologies and hydrogen economy

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of renewable energy technologies, the hydrogen economy, and the impact of renewable energy technologies penetration on energy price. The paper begins by presenting an overview of different energy sources and the impact from hydrogen as a fuel into the energy market along with the problems associated with hydrogen energy. The work proceeds to investigate the applications of hydrogen as a fuel and its effects on investment policy in energy industry. Key wordsRenewable energy, Hydrogen economy, Energy sources, Sustainability, Hydrogen production and storage Energy supply technologiesContinuing population growth and rising incomes lead to greater energy consumption, as well as more waste. Over the next few decades, the number of people who are affected by energy shortages is likely to increase several fold. Economically viable methods for renewable energy production can reverse this trend and ensure a continuous supply of energy. The increasing global energy demand and concern about the environmental impact of excess usage of fossil fuels have progressively increased the interest in energy from renewable energy sources. The development of renewable energies into the energy market is being pursued by several governments around the world in an effort to abate climate change, provide security of energy supply and reduce air pollution. In order to reduce the carbon emission, policy makers set some high targets to achieve. Among these renewable sources, solar energy is one of the most promising energy sources for widespread application [11], [12], [13]. The reason for that includes its free access and abundance for most of the places in the world. Due to its intermittency and fluctuation, one of the important research challenges is to improve the system's efficiency and performance. However, it is evident that the solar system has been deployed widely and more and more organisations and people are benefiting from installing photovoltaic panels, which converts the solar energy to electrical energy [14]. It is estimated that the PV industry had a global total of 40GW capacity which is a significant compared with other renewable energy sourcesWind energy is also widely distributed but wind regimes differ significantly both within and between regions, and variations in wind speed can have a profound effect on energy output [15], [16], [17]. Grid connected wind power, from large turbines has seen rapid market growth recently. The amount of wind power currently installed is about 200GW with a growth rate of 40GW installed annually worldwide. However the annual growth rate differs considerably between regions even within a country. For example, expected annual growth rate is 33% in Wales and 22% in the UK [17]. Increasing the amount of wind power has significant effects on the electrical grid

Development of a solar powered self-sustainable energy system

“…An economically viable way to start using the renewable energy is in the production of electricity. The cost of electricity produced by PV modules can be calculated by the following equation [2].…”

“…The installation of PV system is growing significantly in response to the increasing global energy demand. It is estimated that the PV industry had a global total of 40GW capacity, which is significant compared with other renewable energy sources [2].…”

“…Housing and buildings in the countryside consume a significant amount of primary energy for thermal or electrical power [2]. This sector is very important to Wales's economy and its sustainability due to its geographical place in the world.…”

Integrated Renewable Energy Sources for Decentralized Systems in Developing Countries

“…Alternatively, small hydro projects may be built in isolated areas that would be uneconomic to serve from a network, or in areas where there is no national electrical distribution network. Since small hydro projects usually have minimal reservoirs and civil construction work, they are seen as having a relatively low environmental impact compared to large hydro [3,5,23].This decreased environmental impact depends strongly on the balance between stream flow and power production. One tool that helps evaluate this issue is the Flow Duration Curve or FDC.…”

Development of a mobile photovoltaic stand-alone energy supply system

“…The installation of PV system is growing significantly in response to the increasing global energy demand. It is estimated that the PV industry had a global total of 40GW capacity which is significant compared with other renewable energy sources [3]. PV system can be operated in two different modes such as stand alone or grid connected [4].…”