Latest Technologies Contributing to ‘Renewable Energy’
“Need of the Time” that’s what researchers call it. Considering the modern trend of this era, the need of transition of our energy production towards renewable energy sources laid great emphasis towards more effective and efficient methods. Industries and businesses across the globe are being very proactive towards optimization of emerging technologies being cost effective, efficient and eco-friendly.
Mainly because of the fact that in the last decade, solar and wind power generation have predominantly become the highlight among all renewable energy sources due to the consistent rise in their cost effectiveness. In the year 2021, renewable energy added approximately 200GW power cumulatively all over the world.
Furthermore, major developed countries are more focused on the next generation advanced technologies. Stakeholders especially in renewable energy sector are very keen on investing a huge fraction of resources towards the integration of different renewable energy sources especially solar and wind with the electric grid. The ultimate goal is to achieve 100 % carbon free energy. For this very purpose some advanced technologies would require investments and ramping up the pace towards their commercialization. These next generation technologies include green hydrogen, long term and safe storage of energy (batteries), digitization for grids, AI for complex operation of smart grids, advanced floating photovoltaic modules (FSPV), Modular wave energy converters, High temperature super conductors etc. Among aforementioned advanced techs, the most anticipated technologies are:
Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the simplest element on earth that is present abundantly but not in its pure form. Hydrogen is widely used in the industries. Irrespective of the process of production of hydrogen, its cycle is completed with carbon emission.
Hydrogen in when produced from SMR (steam reforming) process and gasification of coal, CO2 is generated as well. This hydrogen produced is called “grey hydrogen”. Similarly, when hydrogen is produced through same processes but it incorporate means of capturing CO2, it is called “Blue hydrogen. But 100 % CO2 capture is not possible. Therefore, scientific community looked with dire need for a process of producing hydrogen with 0% carbon emissions to promote the achievement of carbon free and eco-friendly energy integrated system.
Hydrogen can also be produced from electrolysis of water. This process require initial energy input in the form of electricity. So, if the electricity required originates from renewable energy sources (Solar, wind, bio-mass, hydro) the hydrogen produced will be “green hydrogen”. For the sustainability of the idea of green hydrogen, there are some challenges ahead. For the commercialization of green hydrogen, production of electricity from renewable energy sources must be highly cost effective to cope up the energy requirements of green hydrogen.
Utilization hydrogen as a fuel imparts some restrictions. Storage of hydrogen is the main concern for the research community. It may not be viable to use hydrogen in small cars but the feasibility of storage and utilization of hydrogen as a fuel in heavy trucks, boats and aviation industry (including airplanes, liquid propellant rockets).
Also, hydrogen is proved to be very useful with its utilization as a blend with natural gas. One major factor is its less probability of leaking from gas supply pipe lines. Furthermore, fuel cell is the most researched field for the extraction of energy from hydrogen in terms of electricity.
Floating photovoltaic
Modules of PV that are installed on the surface of stationary water (Lakes) or sea are referred to as Floating PVs. This technology is growing rapidly with a remarkable success rate. With an estimation, approximately 10 GW power will be extracted using this technology by 2025 showing an increment of 7 GW from 2020. Although the costs of floating solar systems are greater than ground mounted. But due to greater number of advantages it offers, it is one of the most researched technology.
Photovoltaic offers diversity in terms of its advantages. It avoid land consumption for its installation. It is usually more compact as compare to land based solar systems , so it offers less complexity during commissioning. As it does not use foundations so its decommissioning is also compatible in its simplicity. The space utilized for its installation limits the water loss in terms of evaporation. Also due to the presence of cooling medium near the panels in the form of water, increase in efficiency by 5–15 % is observed.
Smart Grids
Renewable energy and its importance are accelerating with each passing day. Transmission of power generated from remote renewable energy source fields to the consumer end if also of great significance. Smart grid is a solution to this problem. Smart grid is a technology that empowers us to efficiently manage renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and green hydrogen. It allows us to integrate diverse energy sources to the grid with great stability. Smart grid offers auto detection of outages using built-in self-assessing techniques.
Internet of things (IOT) is studied to be accommodated in smart grid. It will collect data from different components of the renewable energy power plants. For instance, several different types of sensors are used in a wind farm. These sensors collect data in terms of present climate conditions. This data is directly sent through smart grid so as to facilitate preventive actions in case of any abnormality observed. This will lead to stable and safer operation of integrated energy system.
Smart grid will be requiring high level AI. Multi-million dollars research projects regarding use of AI to cope the complexity of smart grid next generation tools are already in progress. Electric superhighway is also a modern concept under serious consideration. It will also rely heavily on the commercialization of smart grid technology.
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