Fundamentals of Renewable Energy

N.S. Rathore, N.L. Panwar

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000506013
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Tecnología e ingeniería
• Subtopic: Recursos de energía renovable

This book is to provide in-depth information on fundamentals of different renewable energy resources. The primary emphasis is on fundamentals of thermodynamics and heat transfer aspects of renewable energy gadgets and their actual applications. Various renewable energy systems are described and their fundamental analyses are described.
Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.

1Introduction

1.1 General

Renewable technologies are considered to be clean sources of energy. The optimal use of these resources minimize environmental impacts, produce minimum secondary wastes, and are sustainable based on current and future economic and social needs. Sustainable development requires methods and tools to measure and compare human activities’ and its environmental impacts for various products. Renewable energy sources (RES), which include biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and marine energies, supply 14% of the world’s total energy demand. Renewable resources refer to primary, domestic, and clean or inexhaustible energy resources. Large-scale hydropower energy supplies 20 % of the global electricity need. Wind power in coastal and other windy regions is a promising source of energy.

Renewable energy resources can make a decisive contribution to the economic, social and sustainable development of rural regions in developing countries, yet the consumption of fossil fuels is dramatically increasing along with improvements in the quality of life, the industrialization of developing nations, and the increase of the world’s population. It has long been recognized that excessive consumption of fossil fuel leads not only to a diminishing fossil fuel reserves more quickly, but also has a significant adverse impact on the environment. Such impacts result in increased health risks and the threat of global climate change. Changes to improve environmental conditions are becoming more politically acceptable globally, especially in developed countries. Society is slowly moving towards seeking more sustainable production methods, minimizing waste, reducing air pollution from vehicles, generating distributed energy, conserving of native forests, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing consumption of fossil fuel to meet out current energy demands, however, has sounded alarms over regarding potential energy crisis. This has generated a resurgence of interest in promoting renewable alternatives to meet the developing world’s growing energy needs. Excessive use of fossil fuels has caused global warming from carbon dioxide emissions, therefore, promoting renewable forms of clean energy is eagerly required. To monitor the level of these greenhouse gas emissions, an agreement that has fulfills the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol was create with overall pollution prevention targets.

Access to Energy is a crucial enabling condition for achieving sustainable development. Prudent energy policies and research can play an important role in steering both industrialized and developing countries onto more sustainable energy development paths. Specifically, they can strengthen the three pillars of sustainable development: the economy, by boosting productivity; social welfare, by improving living standards and enhancing safety and security, and the environment, by reducing indoor and outdoor pollution and remediating environmental degradation.

1.2 Energy and it’s Requirement

Energy in any form is necessary to meet many of our requirements. It’s varying definitions shows the importance of energy in our life. Everything happens in Universe is essentially a energy process.

1.2.1 Energy

Energy is the capacity of doing work, in fact it is a means for performing activities which are directly related to human being.

1.2.2 Fuel

Available sources of energy are sometimes referred to as fuel. The term originally came into use to describe energy sources and to show the phenomenon of burnt oil, coal, wood, oil etc.

1.2.3 Principle Form of Energy

There are six forms of principle energy:

1. Heat
2. Mechanical
3. Electrical
4. Electromagnetic wave (light, Radio Waves)
5. Chemical
6. Nuclear

1.2.4 Energy Sources

Principally, there are two types of energy sources on the earth

1. Conventional Energy Sources
2. Non Conventional Energy Sources

There are five ultimate sources of useful energy for mankind

1. The sun.
2. The motion & gravitational potential of sun, moon & earth.
3. Geothermal energy from cooling, chemical reaction, & radioactive decay on the earth.
4. Nuclear reaction on the earth.
5. Chemical reaction from mineral sources.

The conventional energy sources are derived from sources (1) Fossil fuels, (2) Hot rock, (3) Nuclear and (4) Chemical reaction.

Whereas non-conventional energy sources is derived from sources (1) Sun, (2) Motion & gravitational forces and (3) Geothermal energy or molten magma

1.2.5 Definitions

1. Conventional Energy: It is energy obtained from static storage of energy sources (fossil fuel, hot rock, nuclear and chemical) which remain static bound in position until or unless it is released by human interaction.
   Examples are coal, oil & natural gas. Hence initially the energy remains in static nature which otherwise reacted by human activities and converted in kinetic form and there by energy is used. These sources in present context are known as finite sources of energy or non renewable. Example are petroleum product, coal etc.
2. Renewable Energy Sources: Renewable energy resources will play an important role in our planet’s future. Major renewable energy sources and their usage forms are presented in Table 1.1. The share of RESs is expected to increase significantly (30–80% by 2100). The energy resources have been split into three categories: fossil fuels, renewable resources and nuclear resources. Renewable energy sources are those resources which can be used to produce energy again and again, e.g. solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, etc. They are often called “alternative” sources of energy. Renewable energy sources that meet domestic energy requirements have the potential to provide energy services with zero or almost zero emissions of both air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Renewable energy system development will make it possible to fulfil the most crucial current tasks, including: improving energy supply reliability and organic fuel economy; solving problems of local energy an...