Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

Umakanta Sahoo

• Publisher: Wiley-Scrivener
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781119555575
• eBook ISBN: 9781119555612
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Energy

The energy scene in the world is a complex picture of a variety of energy sources being used to meet the world's growing energy needs. There is, however, a gap in the demand and supply. It is recognized that decentralized power generation based on the various renewable energy technologies can, to some extent, help in meeting the growing energy needs. The renewable energy landscape has witnessed tremendous changes in the policy framework with accelerated and ambitious plans to increase the contribution of renewable energy such as solar, wind, bio-power, and others.

Hybrid renewable energy systems are important for continuous operation and supplements each form of energy seasonally, offering several benefits over a stand-alone system. It can enhance capacity and lead to greater security of continuous electricity supply, among other applications. This book provides a platform for researchers, academics, industry professionals, consultants and designers to discover state-of-the-art developments and challenges in the field of hybrid renewable energy.

Written by a team of experts and edited by one of the top researchers in hybrid renewable systems, this volume is a must-have for any engineer, scientist, or student working in this field, providing a valuable reference and guide in a quickly emerging field.

1
Resource Assessment and Implementation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Food Preservation in Agro-Tropical Areas: A Techno-Economic Approach

M. Edwin^1*, M. Saranya Nair² and S. Joseph Sekhar³

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College of Engineering, Nagercoil, Anna University Constituent College, Nagercoil, India

²School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai Campus, Chennai, India

³Mechanical Section, Department of Engineering, Shinas College of Technology, Shinas, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

In tropical countries, approximately 75% of people are involved in the production of dairy and agricultural goods. About 45% of agricultural produce loses its value in rural areas due to the lack of adequate storage and transport facilities. Therefore, cooling systems that work with locally available renewable energy resources are essential to preserving the perishable agricultural products in isolated tropical regions. By implementing a suitable vapour absorption cooling system, the heat energy from the available renewable energy resources can be used to satisfy the cooling demand. This chapter examines the techno-economic viability of the number of configurations of producer gas, biogas and gobar gas energy sources that operate a chilling system. The analysis has been performed with the use of MATLAB software, and the suitable hybrid energy systems have been predicted for serving a community in tropical regions. The results indicate that producer gas/biogas/gobar gas combinations in hybrid renewable energy-operated 35 kW vapour absorption cooling system shows the minimum operating cost (INR 0.81–0.88 million), simple payback time (2.8–3.2 years) and life cycle cost (INR 44.5–48.4 million), and effectively achieves a positive net present cost and the maximum overall efficiency (0.19–0.24).

Keywords: Hybrid energy system, bioenergy, absorption chiller, payback time, net present cost, life cycle cost

1.1 Introduction

Energy demand is increasing at an unprecedented rate all over the world. A major part of the world’s current energy generation is from fossil fuels, resulting in the continuous depletion of this resource. In tropical countries, approximately 75% of the population is engaged in the production of milk and agro products. About 25-45% of agricultural produce loses its value in rural areas due to the lack of adequate storage and transport facilities. At the local village level, this spoilage can be avoided by providing suitable cooling systems for short-term preservation [1]. Integration of available renewable energy sources for energy systems in remote tropical areas has become an area of current interest in the renewable energy sector. A major part of India’s population lives in rural areas and many such villages in those areas are disconnected from the grid connectivity. The extension of grid power to these villages may not be feasible due to real-time situations; however, a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system can be implemented to overcome such issues [2]. Cleaner energy in the electricity grid is necessary to mitigate the rising greenhouse gases. Due to the fluctuating nature of renewable energy, its outputs are subject to variation and hence it is important to plan as much buffer as possible in the portion of renewable energy in any energy system [3]. Several works have been carried out regarding the feasibility of hybrid renewable energy-operated refrigeration systems, and its implementation issues, capacity, efficiency, optimisation and combinations with other renewable energy technologies. Normally hybrid energy is considered the working of primary renewable energy systems with conventional energy sources. The renewable energy hybrid system will be cost-competitive for rural areas, instead of stand-alone systems [4]. Moreover, their optimum combination would reduce environmental pollution, capital and operating expenses [5]. The combined impacts of several variables, including expense, productivity, social impact, acceptance, reliability and demand are the essential parameters for the implementation of a hybrid energy system [6]. Synergistic advantages can be obtained by integrating multiple forms of energy resources in the generation of heat and electricity. When settling on the viability of a given arrangement, close attention must be paid to many crucial considerations such as the origin of the source, access to different renewable energy sources, co-location of the sources, handling issues in the energy source, etc. While deciding the feasibility of a hybrid system, the possibility of combining the different energy sources in a particular area of the application is more essential [7].

It is noted that the suitable mixtures of solar, biomass and biogas system would improve the techno-economic and socio-economic status in remote areas. The integration of a biomass and biogas energy system can reduce the accessibility issue...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright
• 1 Resource Assessment and Implementation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Food Preservation in Agro-Tropical Areas: A Techno-Economic Approach
• 2 Implementation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Projects in Rural India—A Case Study
• 3 Techno-Economic Analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy System with Energy Storage for Rural Electrification
• 4 Modeling and Energy Optimization of Hybrid Energy Storage System
• 5 Techno Commercial Study of Hybrid Systems for the Agriculture Farm Using Homer Software
• 6 Experimental Investigation of Solar Photovoltaic Cold Storage With Thermal Energy Storage
• 7 Estimation of Fault Voltages in Renewable Energy–Based Microgrid
• 8 Optimization of PV-Wind Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Health Care Buildings in Smart City
• 9 Hybrid Solar-Biomass Gasifier System for Electricity and Cold Storage Applications for Rural Areas of India
• Index
• Also of Interest
• End User License Agreement