Group Bookmarks shared by Hans De Keulenaer
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This paper is an overview of a program that is in the final stages of developing a modular set of cost-effective microhydro schemes for site heads below those currently serviced by Pelton Wheels. The rationale has been that there is a multitude of viable low-head sites in isolated areas where microhydro is a realistic energy option, and where conventional economics are not appropriate, especially in Third World countries. The goals of this project have been to provide low-cost, soundly based turbine design solutions that systematically cover the 0.2–20 kW supply, that are uniquely resistant to debris blockage and are easily built by tradesmen of medium skills in regional workshops. The paper presents the results as a matrix of the most cost-effective penstocks matched to modular turbines using established electronic controls. It discusses practical issues of site selection and options for sites where exact matches are not achieved. It has been an object of the program to establish a benchmark for cost-effectiveness in the microhydro field.
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Pollution represents a major issue, and so does the ability to utilize, when available, renewable energy sources instead of traditional ones. If, on the one hand, it is possible to utilize renewable energy sources in many contexts, on the other hand they are not exploited because of the high cost of the initial investment needed for the installation of these systems, above all when domestic usage is taken into account. This paper proposes a quantitative approach able to forecast the profitability of the introduction of domestic solar thermal systems operating in parallel with the most common systems for heating domestic sanitary water. The approach is developed firstly by analyzing the most common system for heating sanitary water from both the engineering and economic point of view. At the same time the technical–economic solutions related to the most commercialized solar heating systems, and their compatibility with the most common traditional heating systems are studied. This is carried out by using a differential economic analysis of different possible scenarios in which different matches between traditional and solar heating systems are shown, and their profitability is assessed as a function of the power installed.
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This paper gives an overview of the opportunities that exist for combining wind power and hydrogen (H2) production in weak grids. It is described how H2 storage can be applied in both isolated and grid-connected systems, and how the produced H2 can be utilized for stationary energy supply and/or as a fuel for transportation. The paper discusses the benefits and limitations of the different H2 storage applications, and presents a logistic simulation model for performance evaluation of wind-H2 plants. A case study simulating the use of excess wind power in a weak distribution grid to produce H2 for vehicles has been presented. It is shown that the penetration of wind power can be significantly increased by introducing electrolytic H2 production as a controllable load. The results also indicate that there are large benefits of using the grid as backup for H2 production in periods with low wind speed, regarding the H2 storage sizing and the electrolyser operating conditions.
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Hans De Keulenaer (23)
Wee Lam Tay (2)
Sergio Ferreira (1)