Search results for "Electricity"
showing 10 items of 1225 documents
Flexibility Services in a Mediterranean Small Island to Minimize Costs and Emissions Related to Electricity Production from Fossil Fuels
2020
In last years, the energy efficiency in non-interconnected islands became an important topic, since the electricity production is often based on diesel generators, thus contributing to the global warming. Italian government recently emitted two decrees to promote the introduction of renewable energy technologies in 21 non-interconnected islands, both for electrical and thermal uses. In this paper, the economic and environmental feasibility of the introduction of renewable energies in the island of Pantelleria was assessed adopting an optimization approach. Furthermore, the flexibility provided from the local desalination plant and the domestic water heaters was evaluated. The final demands …
Supplying small islands with solar, wind and sea wave. An economic approach to find the best energy share
2019
The progressive installation of power plants based on renewable energy sources is improving the sustainability of the energy sector. Despite the availability of commercial solutions, most of the small islands in the world are nowadays affected by a deep dependence on fossil fuels. In this context, the paper investigates the feasibility of an energy mix composed by solar, wind and sea wave, suggesting a sizing approach based on the minimization of the Levelized Cost of Electricity of the entire energy mix. As case study, the Aeolian Islands are presented.
Green energy products in the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland
2014
In liberalized electricity markets, suppliers are offering several kinds of voluntary green electricity products marketed as environmentally friendly. This paper focuses on the development of these voluntary markets at household level in the UK, Germany and Finland. Since there are already existing renewable energy policies regulating and encouraging the use of renewable energy, it is important to consider whether voluntary products offer real additional benefits above these policies. Problems such as double counting or re-marketing hydropower produced in existing plants are identified. According to our study, the demand varies between countries: in Germany the number of green electricity c…
The Impact of Solar Penetration on Solar and Gas Market Value: An Application to the Italian Power Market
2014
We assess the impact of solar penetration in the Italian wholesale electricity market on the market value of solar with respect to gas sources, measured as the ratio between the relative price they respectively earn and the average daily electricity price (value factor). We find that, on average, an increase of solar generation has a negative impact on the price earned by solar producers, thus causing a marginal departure from the grid parity condition. The relation between solar production and its market value is not constant over the years, while it depends on the degree of solar penetration. It is positive for very low levels of solar production while, as production increases, its margin…
Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Scenarios in Italy
2018
Hindering global warming and achieving a more competitive, secure and sustainable energy sector are some of the most relevant goals of the 2030 Framework for climate and energy of the European Union. European countries have to identify and implement strategies for contributing to these ambitious goals. In this context, the authors carried out a scenario analysis on the Sicilian electricity mix in order to estimate the life cycle energy and environmental benefits of the increase of the use of renewable energy technologies for electricity production, and the potential contribution of Sicily in the achievement of the European energy and environmental targets. In detail, the authors identified …
High-Efficiency Multi-Junction Photovoltaic Cells in School Physics Laboratory
2020
Energy consumption in the world is increasing more and more due to the huge energy request coming from emerging countries such as China, India, etc. To face the challenge of sustainability, a solution may be the use of solar energy, since it is the most abundant renewable energy source on Earth. The electromagnetic energy coming from the Sun can be converted into usable energy (electricity) by solar cells, whose conversion efficiency is continuously increasing due to scientific and technological progress. The proposed activity is thought to be carried out with secondary as well as high school students to allow teachers to discuss sustainability issues, and to provide students with an introd…
2015–2020. Sicily and Italy as electricity hub in the mediterranean area for the development of the European power grids interconnections
2015
Falling demand and explosion of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are redesigning the criteria for planning the power grids interconnections by ENTSO-E. In particular, the interconnections between networks of different countries have been acquiring importance more and more, in view of an unique European market for electricity and an increase of RES. Italy and Sicily, placed in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, play a fundamental role as a bridge between Central Europe, North Africa area and Mediterranean islands (electricity hub). This paper aims to show how power system exchanges tend to follow the direction from South to North, and how the impact of North-African power — mainly generated …
The emission reduction potentials of First Generation Electric Aircraft (FGEA) in Finland
2020
Abstract Under the looming climate crisis, aviation needs to find new solutions to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. One pathway towards zero emissions is the use of electric aircraft. While current battery technology will not allow for medium and long-haul flights at full capacity, on short-haul routes First Generation Electric Aircraft (FGEA) could play a significant role in the near future. Current FGEA under development could carry 9–19 passengers on distances of 400–1046 km by 2025. This study focuses on the emissions reduction potentials of FGEA in Finland. It compares the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) emissions and real travel times (RTT) from door-to-door of FGEA on 47 routes w…
Predictive Model of Energy Consumption of a Home
2020
The usage of the renewable energy sources and electric vehicles is rising which might result in a problem with the energy grid stabilization. Some works state that buildings contribute to the overall energy consumption by 20–40% which makes them a great subject to study. Finding solutions for better energy management can have a significant impact on the energy sector. This work focuses on proposing a simplified model of a home considering main appliances, heating and cooling, a photovoltaic system, an electric vehicle and weather and solar irradiance forecasts. The model is created in MATLAB as a simulation script with defined parameters. It uses a 5 day weather forecast to predict energy d…
Reuse of electric vehicle batteries in buildings: An integrated load match analysis and life cycle assessment approach
2019
Abstract The increasing use of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation in buildings will require a growing number of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to enhance the reliability of electricity supply. The increasing number of retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries, expected from the automotive sector, can match this demand as EV batteries can be used as BESS, considering that they have about 80% of their original energy capacity. In this context, the study aims at examining the system, consisting of a BESS made by retired Li-ion EV batteries, a photovoltaic plant (20 kW) and the electricity grid, that provides the electricity required by an existing nearly net zero res…