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Chapter 1 Principles of Renewable Energy

This document discusses renewable energy sources and provides an introduction to principles of renewable energy. It defines different forms of energy and categorizes energy sources as primary, secondary, or final. Primary energy sources include fossil fuels like coal and oil, as well as renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydropower. Secondary energy sources are derived from transforming primary sources, like electricity generated from power plants. The document compares renewable and conventional energy systems and discusses how renewable energy relates to sustainable development by being inexhaustible and producing less emissions than fossil fuels. Finally, it outlines different classes of renewable energy systems including mechanical, thermal, and photon-based systems.

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344 views

Chapter 1 Principles of Renewable Energy

This document discusses renewable energy sources and provides an introduction to principles of renewable energy. It defines different forms of energy and categorizes energy sources as primary, secondary, or final. Primary energy sources include fossil fuels like coal and oil, as well as renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydropower. Secondary energy sources are derived from transforming primary sources, like electricity generated from power plants. The document compares renewable and conventional energy systems and discusses how renewable energy relates to sustainable development by being inexhaustible and producing less emissions than fossil fuels. Finally, it outlines different classes of renewable energy systems including mechanical, thermal, and photon-based systems.

Uploaded by

osborne kachaje
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 21

CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

I/- Introduction

What is energy? Energy is the capacity of a system to do work.

Some of the many forms that energy takes are:


 Mechanical energy, which includes
 Potential energy, stored in a system.
 Kinetic energy, from the movement of matter.
 
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 Radiant or solar energy, which comes from the light of the sun.
 Thermal energy, associated with the heat of an object.
 Chemical energy, stored in the chemical bonds of molecules.
 Electrical energy, associated with the movement of electrons.
 Electromagnetic energy, associated with light waves (including
radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, infrared waves).
 Nuclear energy (or Mass), found in the nuclear structure of atoms.

II / - The energy sources


There are:
- Primary energy sources
- Secondary sources of energy
 
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- Final energies.

Figure 1: Schematic of the energy system


 
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A / - Primary energy sources:
It is the unprocessed energy sources available in nature, they are
divided into two main groups:

1. Fossil energy sources (exhaustible)


- Coal,
- Crude oil,
- Natural gas,
- Natural uranium

2. Renewable energy sources


 
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- Hydropower,
- Ocean energy,
- Solar energy,
- Wind energy,
- Bioenergy (wood + bio-waste + biofuels), and
- Geothermal energy.

B / - Secondary energy sources


They originate from the transformation of a primary energy source and
are in a form which is not directly usable by man, they are essentially:
- Electricity
- Petroleum products (from the refining of crude oil)
 
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- Process steam
- Hydrogen (in the very near future)

C / - The final energies


These are the forms of energy used directly by humans (the final
consumer) that are generally grouped together in three large groups:
- Mechanical energy (industrial motors and household motors,
transport, ......)
- Thermal energy (metallurgical and chemical treatment, drying,
heating and air conditioning, ......)
- Electromagnetic energy (lighting, telecommunications, radar,
medical imaging, ......)
 
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The energy system of a country is the set of primary energy sources,
secondary energy sources, final energies and converters binding
them in the country.

Fossil fuels have major drawbacks which particularly are:


- A very fluctuating cost (subject to market fluctuations and
geopolitical context)
- Emission of greenhouse gases (responsible for global
warming) and
- A geographical dispersion of reserves and depletion thereof.

 
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Fig. 2: Fumes of an industrial complex in the Kuzbass basin (Western
Siberia)

 
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We must find alternative sources of clean energy and in virtually
unlimited quantities.

Renewable energy (or green energy) is energy obtained from naturally


repetitive and persistent flows of energy occurring in the local
environment.

An obvious example is solar energy that ‘persists’ and ‘repeats’ day


after day.

Renewable energy also designate forms of energy whose generation


rate is equal to or greater than the rate of consumption.
 
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In contrast,

Non-renewable energy (or finite energy supplies or brown energy) is


energy obtained from static stores of energy that remain underground
unless released by human interaction.

Examples are nuclear fuels and the fossil fuels of coal, oil, and natural
gas.

 
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Table 1.Comparison of renewable and conventional energy systems

 
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Table 1 continued

 
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III/- Energy and sustainable development

Sustainable development may be broadly defined as living, producing,


and consuming in a manner that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.

Fossil fuels are not being newly formed at any significant rate, and
thus current stocks are ultimately finite.

 
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Moreover, the emissions from fossil fuel use bring greenhouse gases
(GHGs) including carbon dioxide CO2 derived from underground
materials into the Earth’s atmosphere that were not present before.

In contrast to fossil and nuclear fuels, renewable energy (RE) supply


in operation does not add to elements in the atmosphere.

For a renewable energy resource to be sustainable, it must be


inexhaustible and not damage the delivery of environmental goods
and services including the climate system. To be sustainable, energy
must also be economically affordable over the long term.

 
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Consequently, all national energy plans should include four vital
factors for improving or maintaining benefit from energy:
1/ increased harnessing of renewable supplies;
2/ increased efficiency of supply and end-use;
3/ reduction in pollution;
4/ consideration of employment, security, and lifestyle.

IV/- Renewable energy systems

Renewable energy supply systems are divided into three broad


classes:

 
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1°/- Mechanical supplies, such as hydro, wind, wave, and tidal power.
The mechanical source of power is usually transformed into electricity
at high efficiency.
These renewable energy systems are also referred to as electrical
renewable energy systems.

2°/- Heat supplies, such as biomass combustion and solar heat


collectors. These sources provide heat at high efficiency. These
renewable energy systems are also referred to as thermal renewable
energy systems.

 
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3°/- Photon processes, such as photosynthesis and photochemistry
and photovoltaic conversion.

A pronounced difference between renewable and finite energy


supplies is the energy flux density at the initial transformation.

Renewable energy is most easily ‘produced’ in dispersed locations


and is expensive to concentrate. While finite energy is most easily
‘produced’ centrally and is expensive to distribute.

Thus, renewable energy technologies encourage dispersed and


distributed energy systems.
 
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Note that for an energy device and for renewable energy devices we
need to define

The efficiency as
efficiency = useful energy supplied as a fraction of the input energy

for hydroelectric power station

 
 
 electricity to grid   90%
 hydro 
 initial potential energy of piped 
 water onto the turbine rotor 
 
 
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for wind turbine in moderate wind

 
 
 electricity generated   45%
 wind 
 kinetic energy of unrestricted 
 wind onto the rotor area 
 

and so on, …

It is also important to assess the actual production of particular


devices at specified sites.

 
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For that, we define

 
 
energy delivered per year 
The  annual  capacity factor = Z = 
 energy deliverable at 
 maximum capacity per year 
 

 energy delivered per year 


The full load hours  TF   
 rated capacity 

Note that one year = 365days = 365d x 24 h / d = 8760 h

 
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END OF CHAPTER 1

 
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