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The characteristics of solar and wind energy determine that the optimization of a standalone hybrid wind turbine (WT)/photovoltaic panel (PV) system depends on the natural resources of the installation location. In order to ensure system reliability and improve the resource utilization, a method for determining the installed capacity ratio of a hybrid renewable energy system is required. This study proposes a calculation method to optimize the installed capacity ratio, considering the system reliability to meet the needs of the hybrid system to adapt to different natural resources. In this paper, a standalone hybrid WT/PV system to provide electricity for rural areas is designed. Taking the power supply guarantee rate and electricity supply continuity as indicators, the system is simulated by using the Transient System Simulator solver. The results show that the recommended installed capacity ratio of the WT and PV is 5:1 when the total solar irradiation is less than 5040 MJ/(m2·a) and the annual average wind velocity is in the range of 3.0~3.5 m/s. When the annual average wind velocity is in the range of 2.0~3.0 m/s, the PV plays an increasingly significant role in the hybrid system and exceeds the WT if the total solar irradiation is greater than 6300 MJ/(m2·a). However, if the total solar irradiation and the annual average wind velocity are less than 5040 MJ/(m2·a) and 2.0 m/s, respectively, it is not recommended to use the standalone hybrid system because it cannot meet the power demand. These conclusions provide guidance for the distribution strategies of the standalone hybrid WT/PV system within different natural resources.

In power systems, increasing the renewable energy penetration with small signal stability is one of the demanding and critical tasks in recent days. This research work aims to develop a multistage optimization technique, namely particle swarm optimization (PSO), for improving both the energy penetration and small signal stability. Here, the wind and solar power sources are considered, and its penetration is maximized by satisfying the grid requirements such as the bus voltage, line flows, and real and reactive power generation within the limit. This work includes two stages: in the first stage, PSO algorithm is implemented for maximizing the renewable energy penetration to the test systems. Then, in the second stage, the small signal stability of the systems is improved with maximum renewable energy penetration in which the best locations for connecting the wind farm are identified by using the calculation of wind farm placement index and solar generation is fixed by considering voltage and bus load absorption capability. During simulation, the proposed method is tested and validated by using IEEE 14-bus standard system, and the 220 kV Kerala (India) grid practical system with the solar and wind power. Moreover, various measures such as power generation, load and bus voltage are evaluated for two different case studies. In this evaluation, it is proved that the renewable energy sources are safely integrated with the power system with increased energy penetration and improved small signal stability.

Power demands are set to increase by two-fold within the current century and a high fraction of that demand should be met by carbon free sources. Among the renewable energies, solar energy is among the fastest growing; therefore, a comprehensive and accurate design methodology for solar systems and how they interact with the local environment is vital. This paper addresses the environmental effects of solar panels on an unirrigated pasture that often experiences water stress. Changes to the microclimatology, soil moisture, water usage, and biomass productivity due to the presence of solar panels were quantified. The goal of this study was to show that the impacts of these factors should be considered in designing the solar farms to take advantage of potential net gains in agricultural and power production. Microclimatological stations were placed in the Rabbit Hills agrivoltaic solar arrays, located in Oregon State campus, two years after the solar array was installed. Soil moisture was quantified using neutron probe readings. Significant differences in mean air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and soil moisture were observed. Areas under PV solar panels maintained higher soil moisture throughout the period of observation. A significant increase in late season biomass was also observed for areas under the PV panels (90% more biomass), and areas under PV panels were significantly more water efficient (328% more efficient).

Proposals for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 include scaling-up electrolytic hydrogen production, however, this poses technical, economic, and environmental challenges. One such challenge is for policymakers to ensure a sustainable future for the environment including freshwater and land resources while facilitating low-carbon hydrogen production using renewable wind and solar energy. We establish a country-by-country reference scenario for hydrogen demand in 2050 and compare it with land and water availability. Our analysis highlights countries that will be constrained by domestic natural resources to achieve electrolytic hydrogen self-sufficiency in a net-zero target. Depending on land allocation for the installation of solar panels or wind turbines, less than 50% of hydrogen demand in 2050 could be met through a local production without land or water scarcity. Our findings identify potential importers and exporters of hydrogen or, conversely, exporters or importers of industries that would rely on electrolytic hydrogen. The abundance of land and water resources in Southern and Central-East Africa, West Africa, South America, Canada, and Australia make these countries potential leaders in hydrogen export. This study composes a country-specific analysis of land and water requirements for electrolytic hydrogen production, revealing nations constrained in achieving self-sufficiency in hydrogen supply and nations who can become hydrogen exporters.

To mitigate the effects of wind variability on power output, hybrid systems that combine offshore wind with other renewables are a promising option. In this work we explore the potential of combining offshore wind and solar power through a case study in Asturias (Spain)—a region where floating solutions are the only option for marine renewables due to the lack of shallow water areas, which renders bottom-fixed wind turbines inviable. Offshore wind and solar power resources and production are assessed based on high-resolution data and the technical specifications of commercial wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Relative to a typical offshore wind farm, a combined offshore wind–solar farm is found to increase the capacity and the energy production per unit surface area by factors of ten and seven, respectively. In this manner, the utilization of the marine space is optimized. Moreover, the power output is significantly smoother. To quantify this benefit, a novel Power Smoothing (PS) index is introduced in this work. The PS index achieved by combining floating offshore wind and solar PV is found to be of up to 63%. Beyond the interest of hybrid systems in the case study, the advantages of combining floating wind and solar PV are extensible to other regions where marine renewable energies are being considered.

Sustainable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal power are defined as a clean source of renewable energy which has a less harmful impact on the environment than other energy sources such as coal, natural gas and oil. Turkey is one of the energy-importing countries where air pollution has been become an inevitable environmental concern. Thus, investments on sustainable sources have been developed rapidly in recent years in Turkey. This paves the way for studying a site selection problem considering both solar and wind energy in Igdir Province located in the east part of Turkey. In the literature, there are many studies on solar-wind energy to select a desirable site for both energy sources, and many solution techniques have been proposed dealing with this problem. In this study, one of multi-criteria decision-making methods named analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information systems (GIS) are used to determine suitable site selection for solar-wind energy investigating four counties of Igdir: Tuzluca, Igdir Central, Karakoyunlu and Aralik. The aim of this work is first to investigate possible locations for solar-wind power plant installation using a mapping method, GIS, and then, AHP is applied to the problem to obtain optimum areas for both solar-wind energy. Also, more accurate results are provided comparing results of two methods, GIS and AHP. The results reveal that 524.5 km 2 for solar power plant and 147.2 km 2 for wind turbine are suitable while only 49.1 km 2 is suitable for solar-wind power plan installation.

Energy derived from fossil fuels contributes significantly to global climate change, accounting for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and approximately 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Alternative energy from renewable sources must be utilized to decarbonize the energy sector. However, the adverse effects of climate change, such as increasing temperatures, extreme winds, rising sea levels, and decreased precipitation, may impact renewable energies. Here we review renewable energies with a focus on costs, the impact of climate on renewable energies, the impact of renewable energies on the environment, economy, and on decarbonization in different countries. We focus on solar, wind, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy. We observe that the price of solar photovoltaic energy has declined from $0.417 in 2010 to $0.048/kilowatt-hour in 2021. Similarly, prices have declined by 68% for onshore wind, 60% for offshore wind, 68% for concentrated solar power, and 14% for biomass energy. Wind energy and hydropower production could decrease by as much as 40% in some regions due to climate change, whereas solar energy appears the least impacted energy source. Climate change can also modify biomass productivity, growth, chemical composition, and soil microbial communities. Hydroelectric power plants are the most damaging to the environment; and solar photovoltaics must be carefully installed to reduce their impact. Wind turbines and biomass power plants have a minimal environmental impact; therefore, they should be implemented extensively. Renewable energy sources could decarbonize 90% of the electricity industry by 2050, drastically reducing carbon emissions, and contributing to climate change mitigation. By establishing the zero carbon emission decarbonization concept, the future of renewable energy is promising, with the potential to replace fossil fuel-derived energy and limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C by 2050.

The slow pace of global mitigation efforts has led to increased interest in Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) as a means for rapidly and artificially cooling the planet. Deploying SRM technologies, however, may directly alter renewable energy resources. This makes it a concern for Caribbean countries which are investing heavily in Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) to reduce their reliance on imported energy and meet climate change mitigation goals. In this study, solar irradiance output is extracted from the HadGEM2-ES global climate model run using the G4 (Stratospheric Aerosol Injection) SRM scenario from the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The data is extracted for two future time periods corresponding to when global surface temperatures are projected to be 1.5   ∘ C and 2.0   ∘ C  above pre-industrial levels using the HadGEM2-ES run under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5) scenario. Wind speed data are similarly extracted but for the HadGEM2-ES run using the G4, as well as the G4cdnc and G4seasalt (Marine Cloud Brightening) GeoMIP scenarios. The solar and wind data are used to evaluate changes in solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind farm power generation in the Caribbean in future ‘SRM versus non-SRM worlds’. Solar irradiance resources and PV energy generation generally decrease under SRM compared to RCP4.5. The highest modelled mean change in PV generation across the region is, however, generally small, e.g., a maximum change of − 1.37 % for May-July for years corresponding to a 2.0   ∘ C world. In contrast, wind power generation under SRM compared to RCP4.5 generally show large increases which are both seasonally and SRM technology dependent. For a 67m turbine, the highest regional wind generation change was + 64.72   % for December-February under G4cdnc in a 2.0   ∘ C world but − 0.56 %   under G4 in a 2.0   ∘ C world for the same period. For a 100   m turbine, the highest change was an increase of 89.75 % for August-September under G4cdnc in a 1.5   ∘ C world and a decrease of −4.11% for December-January under G4 in a 2.0   ∘ C world. Marine Cloud Brightening-based SRM scenarios (G4cdnc and G4SeaSalt) produce the most consistent spatial increases in wind power resources and generation compared to Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (G4). The findings of this study corroborate and present new findings about potential SRM induced changes on the VRE resources considered important for the Caribbean’s future development. It is therefore important that the region’s energy sector engage in the global discussions underway on the future use of SRM as a strategy for limiting future global warming.

A complete surveillance strategy for wind turbines requires both the condition monitoring (CM) of their mechanical components and the structural health monitoring (SHM) of their load-bearing structural elements (foundations, tower, and blades). Therefore, it spans both the civil and mechanical engineering fields. Several traditional and advanced non-destructive techniques (NDTs) have been proposed for both areas of application throughout the last years. These include visual inspection (VI), acoustic emissions (AEs), ultrasonic testing (UT), infrared thermography (IRT), radiographic testing (RT), electromagnetic testing (ET), oil monitoring, and many other methods. These NDTs can be performed by human personnel, robots, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); they can also be applied both for isolated wind turbines or systematically for whole onshore or offshore wind farms. These non-destructive approaches have been extensively reviewed here; more than 300 scientific articles, technical reports, and other documents are included in this review, encompassing all the main aspects of these survey strategies. Particular attention was dedicated to the latest developments in the last two decades (2000–2021). Highly influential research works, which received major attention from the scientific community, are highlighted and commented upon. Furthermore, for each strategy, a selection of relevant applications is reported by way of example, including newer and less developed strategies as well.

Renewable energy is key for the development of African countries, and knowing the best location for the implementation of solar and wind energy projects is important within this context. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of climate change on solar and wind energy potential over Africa under low end (RCP2.6) and high end (RCP8.5) emission scenarios using a set of new high resolution (25 km) simulations with the Regional Climate Model version 4 (RegCM4) produced as part of the CORDEX-CORE initiative. The projections focus on two periods: (i) the near future (2021–2040) and ii) the mid-century future (2041–2060). The performance of the RegCM4 ensemble mean (Rmean) in simulating relevant present climate variables (1995–2014) is first evaluated with respect to the ERA5 reanalysis and satellite-based data. The Rmean reproduces reasonably well the observed spatial patterns of solar irradiance, air temperature, total cloud cover, wind speed at 100 m above the ground level, photovoltaic power potential (PVP), concentrated solar power output (CSPOUT) and wind power density (WPD) over Africa, though some biases are still evident, especially for cloud-related variables. For the future climate, the sign of the changes is consistent in both scenarios but with more intense magnitude in the middle of the century RCP8.5 scenario. Considering the energy variables, the Rmean projects a general decrease in PVP, which is more pronounced in the mid-century future and under RCP8.5 (up to 2%). Similarly, a general increase in CSPOUT (up to 2%) is projected over the continent under both the RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The projection in WPD shows a similar change (predominant increase) in the near and mid-century future slices under both RCPs with a maximum increase of 20%. The present study suggests that the RCP2.6 emission scenario, in general, favours the implementation of renewable energy in Africa compared to the RCP8.5.