Renewable Energy Sources - Lab Report Example

Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 2 Background Study 4 Aim 5 Outcomes 5 Kinetic Energy 8 Conclusion 8 References 10 Executive Summary Climate change is a growing challenge across the globe and it is becoming a worrying issue in modern days. Global warming caused by pollution from high-carbon fuels and other non renewable sources of energy is becoming a major cause of concern in the globe and must be addressed immediately. It is now the responsibility of every individual and organizations to take into consideration the environmental effects of everything they do. Today, most industries, households as well all kinds of organizations rely on fossil fuels for their daily activities and this must be reduced significantly and eventually stopped completely in order to minimize the effects of climate change. This however may not be achieved easily owing to the high demands for energy in the world today. This lab enables students to have a broad knowledge regarding various types of renewable energies. The lab will take a top down view of renewable energy sources and looks in macro terms at the behaviour of these sources of energy. The aspect of incorporating new sources of energy into the existing grid is not taken into account in this lab. Instead, the lab focuses of developing renewable sources from scratch. Some of the information to be presented in this lab report includes geographical analysis, calculations, and efficiency analysis regarding renewable energy sources. Other aspects that will be discussed in this report include the efficiency of thermal power plant in converting sun rays into electric power, the amount of energy lost during transmission of electric power, and the capacity factor for a typical wind farm. Introduction The problem of global warming caused by pollution from high-carbon fuels and other non renewable sources of energy is becoming a major cause of concern in the globe and this problem must be addressed with immediate effect. One of the ways of dealing with the problem of global warming is to minimize the current high dependence on non renewable sources of energy by creating renewable grids to replace the non renewable sources (Wind Power: Renewable Energy). This lab report seeks to present a proposal for creation of a renewable grid from scratch to replace the non renewable sources. In this report, a city from the top 1000 largest cities in the world is chosen to meet the energy needs of the selected city. It is assumed that the city has energy demand that is typical of the country in which it resides. It is also assumed that each city is independent and has its own grid. For the purpose of this project, the economic considerations are ignored. The focus is only on generating a technically feasible renewable grid solution. A reasonable assessment of the availability of renewable sources will be carried out. This report takes into account only the monthly availability of a resource based on averages. It is also worth noting that wind, solar, and other sources of renewable energy have partly predictable variable behaviour, and therefore, the design of a renewable grid will take into consideration this variable behaviour. For instance, during summer season, the solar resource is higher than during winter season. These variable sources of renewable energy can be complemented by adding base load power from other sources of energy (Long Future Sustainability, clean technology and awesome ideas). In most scenarios, the generating sources are normally situated not very close to the city. For this particular lab, it is assumed that High voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission links are used to transmit the energy. A replica for this kind of grid is the Desertec proposal for powering Europe from Northern Africa (Connolly, Lund, Mathiesen, Leahy, 2010). Some studies also suggest that climate change will influence the size and geographical distribution of the technical capacity for renewable sources of energy. Therefore, it will be imperative to take into consideration these effects when designing a renewable grid. According to Foley, Ó Gallachóir, Hur, Baldick, McKeogh (2010), since renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind, are largely dependent on the climatic conditions, climate change will have impacts on the renewable energy base. For instance, the future prospects for bioenergy could be affected by climate change through effects on the production of biomass, such as altered crop production and condition of the soil. For hydro energy, the general effect of climate change on the global technical capacity is expected to be somewhat positive, even though some studies suggest that there would be likelihood of considerable variation within countries and across regions. For solar energy, the impact of climate change is expected to be minimal, while for wind energy, the effect of climate change on technical capacity is likely to be quite adverse. Background Study Global warming is a global challenge that calls for complete solidarity, because its impacts knows no boundaries, and any effort to address it is thwarted by government caution, financial pressure groups, as well as conflicts of interests. The issue of concern does not only lie in coming up with appropriate technological solution to the problem but also in the manner in which all players come together and embrace the use of renewable sources of energy. Like many other cities around the globe, Barcelona is experiencing the problem of considerably high consumption of non-renewable sources of energy. In order to get a clear picture of consumption trends of various sources of energy in Barcelona, data regarding this trend was obtained from Spain’s government website as well as from the NASA website. Once this data was collected, a theoretical but realistic approach would then be achieved for providing energy in the geographical locations surrounding Barcelona. Other useful data such as the background information for Barcelona were obtained from government websites and from other non-governmental organization. Approximately 4.8 million residents reside in Barcelona in 2015, with an annual power consumption of approximately 17.4 million megawatt hours. According to data obtain from the government website; the trend of non-renewable energy consumption in Barcelona has been rising steadily in the last few years. This trend is shown in the table below: 1999 2011 2013 2015 15783.64GWh 16884GHw 17921.64GWh 19241.98GWh The above table clearly shows that the consumption of energy is quite high, and needs an urgent attention. Renewable sources of energy may offer a great opportunity, but not an overall solution for Barcelona’s energy needs. The long-term contribution of the renewable energy sources in the City is predicated on addressing cost and technical issues, mainly through strengthened R&D. Spain’s renewable energy initiatives are based on these conclusions and on proper comprehension of the benefits of renewable energy. Aim They key objective of this lab report is to offer an appropriate and reasonable alternative energy supplies to the city of Barcelona in Spain, with a major focus on provision of renewable energy as a primary source of power. This is proposed through the report which is a work plan on minimizing Barcelona’s energy consumption from non-renewable sources of energy and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and hydro. The proposed solution to the energy consumption problem in Barcelona is the creation of wind based grid. Some of the aspects that will be discussed include the technical feasibility of this grid proposal, analysis of its performance, explanation and justification of design, as well as the capacity factor for a typical wind farm in Barcelona. Outcomes Wind grid Barcelona’s wind energy potential The best renewable energy solution to the energy problem facing Barcelona is wind energy. This is because the city has great potentials for generation of wind power. According to (Spiecker, Eickholt , and Weber (2011), Spain is a country with excellent wind resources and well developed technology in the field of wind energy and Barcelona is among the top cities in Spain with great potentials for wind energy generation. According to the data presented by NASA in its database, the wind speeds in Barcelona, especially in the outskirts of the city is enough to generate significant amount of energy. The table below shows monthly average wind speed in Barcelona and the corresponding power output when the win is harnessed to generate energy. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual Average 10-year Average (m/s) 11.40 10.1 10.44 9.0 8.76 8.0 8.0 6.63 8.6 9.0 10.22 10.0 9.0 Power 1643 kW 1438kW 1496 kW 1420kW 1384 kW 1308kW 1308 kW 1134kW 1360 kW 1420 kW 1440 kW 1279 kW 1420 kW For the purpose of this report, the wind turbines are assumed to have a rotor size (in diameter) of 105 metres. Practically wind speeds would fluctuate due to real life conditions and other factors not considered and therefore a constant velocity will be used for this report. Currently, Spain has a very promising future when it comes to creation of wind based grids. As at early 1999, the total wind power installed already was approximately 830MW and approximately 3000 wind turbines were in operation. This proposal seeks to install a 60MW wind grid, which will be added to the current wind grid. Wind turbines Wind energy is a very useful source of renewable energy when converted into electrical energy using wind turbines. Wind turbines are designed to generate power from natural sources from wind. Generation will begin to operate at 6m/s until it reaches the rated power at 20 to 30 m/s. if the turbine reaches speeds of 35 m/s or over the system will activate a shutdown procedure. The annual energy yield at this proposed site will rise steadily per year. Each wind turbine will be situated in a strategic position and certain distances apart from each other to achieve maximum efficiency. The distance between the turbines will depend on the meteorological, topographical and other conditions. The distance factor for between the wind turbines can be given by the kA. Distance factor in the main direction of flow kAx and kAy which we assume to be factors of 6 and 3. The rotor has a diameter of 105 metre squared and the wind turbine has an average of 2.14 MW Area required for 3000 MW is; This corresponds to 96 turbines on an area of, producing a total average of 3000 MW. Kinetic Energy The kinetic energy that comes from the wind is converted into electrical energy by the turbine. The spatial density of kinetic energy is given by the square of the instantaneous local wind velocity as shown below: Where, is the kinetic energy, is the volume, is the mass density of air and is the instantaneous local wind velocity. The wind flow at the speed of travelling through a vertical direction of the wind surface element with the volume of air gives surface density () of the power of the energy flow, which is represented as follows: Wind turbines are approximately sixty percent efficient in terms of conversion of wind kinetic energy into electrical energy. A coefficient is created from real turbine power which is sustainably smaller than the maximum value of Betz limit. The formula below gives the electric power at the generator output which is: Where, eff is the efficiency of the generator, is the coefficient, and is the area (which r is the effective wing length). Conclusion The findings of this laboratory showed that it is viable to provide sufficient renewable energy to the city of Barcelona. These findings were based on rather practical facts and research. A target of over 80% of renewable energy would be ultimately reached using sources of renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydro power while keeping a 20% of non-renewable energy as an alternative source. The results of the study reveal that renewable energy generation of over 80% is achievable. At the same time, however, it is imperative to note that this target is purely theoretical and does not take into consideration of the environmental impacts such as installations of projects. Similarly, all calculations are based on averages and do not reflect an accurate outcome for the installations. In essence, the laboratory was successful in that it helped learners gain a broader understanding of various sources of energy and their significance to the world. References Connolly D, Lund H, Mathiesen BV, Leahy M. A review of computer tools for analysing the integration of renewable energy into various energy systems. Appl. Energy. 2010;87:1059–82. Foley AM, Ó Gallachóir BP, Hur J, Baldick R, McKeogh EJ. A strategic review of electricity systems models. Energy. 2010;35:4522–30. Spiecker S, Eickholt V, Weber C. The relevance of CCS for the future power market. 2011 IEEE Power Energy Soc. Gen. Meet. 2011. p. 1–8. Long Future Sustainability, clean technology and awesome ideas.. 2015.Long Future Sustainability, clean technology and awesome ideas.. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.seao2.com/solarsphere/csp.htm. [Accessed 19 December 2015]. Wind Power: Renewable Energy - Energy Matters. 2015. Wind Power: Renewable Energy – Energy Matters. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.energymatters.com.au/components/wind-energy/. [Accessed 18 December 2015]. Read More

Some studies also suggest that climate change will influence the size and geographical distribution of the technical capacity for renewable sources of energy. Therefore, it will be imperative to take into consideration these effects when designing a renewable grid. According to Foley, Ó Gallachóir, Hur, Baldick, McKeogh (2010), since renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind, are largely dependent on the climatic conditions, climate change will have impacts on the renewable energy base.

For instance, the future prospects for bioenergy could be affected by climate change through effects on the production of biomass, such as altered crop production and condition of the soil. For hydro energy, the general effect of climate change on the global technical capacity is expected to be somewhat positive, even though some studies suggest that there would be likelihood of considerable variation within countries and across regions. For solar energy, the impact of climate change is expected to be minimal, while for wind energy, the effect of climate change on technical capacity is likely to be quite adverse.

Background Study Global warming is a global challenge that calls for complete solidarity, because its impacts knows no boundaries, and any effort to address it is thwarted by government caution, financial pressure groups, as well as conflicts of interests. The issue of concern does not only lie in coming up with appropriate technological solution to the problem but also in the manner in which all players come together and embrace the use of renewable sources of energy. Like many other cities around the globe, Barcelona is experiencing the problem of considerably high consumption of non-renewable sources of energy.

In order to get a clear picture of consumption trends of various sources of energy in Barcelona, data regarding this trend was obtained from Spain’s government website as well as from the NASA website. Once this data was collected, a theoretical but realistic approach would then be achieved for providing energy in the geographical locations surrounding Barcelona. Other useful data such as the background information for Barcelona were obtained from government websites and from other non-governmental organization.

Approximately 4.8 million residents reside in Barcelona in 2015, with an annual power consumption of approximately 17.4 million megawatt hours. According to data obtain from the government website; the trend of non-renewable energy consumption in Barcelona has been rising steadily in the last few years. This trend is shown in the table below: 1999 2011 2013 2015 15783.64GWh 16884GHw 17921.64GWh 19241.98GWh The above table clearly shows that the consumption of energy is quite high, and needs an urgent attention.

Renewable sources of energy may offer a great opportunity, but not an overall solution for Barcelona’s energy needs. The long-term contribution of the renewable energy sources in the City is predicated on addressing cost and technical issues, mainly through strengthened R&D. Spain’s renewable energy initiatives are based on these conclusions and on proper comprehension of the benefits of renewable energy. Aim They key objective of this lab report is to offer an appropriate and reasonable alternative energy supplies to the city of Barcelona in Spain, with a major focus on provision of renewable energy as a primary source of power.

This is proposed through the report which is a work plan on minimizing Barcelona’s energy consumption from non-renewable sources of energy and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and hydro. The proposed solution to the energy consumption problem in Barcelona is the creation of wind based grid. Some of the aspects that will be discussed include the technical feasibility of this grid proposal, analysis of its performance, explanation and justification of design, as well as the capacity factor for a typical wind farm in Barcelona.

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