EET 435-RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

Module 1
• Introduction, Classification of Energy Resources- Conventional Energy Resources -
Availability and their limitations

• Non-Conventional Energy Resources – Classification, Advantages, Limitations;

Comparison
Energy:
• Energy can be defined as the ability (or) capacity to do work
• The SI unit of energy is Joule (or) N/m.
The different forms of energy:
• Energy can be obtained in number of way. It may be in the form of

(1) Chemical energy - due to chemical reaction

(2) Electrical energy - due to flow of electron
(3) Heat energy - due to thermal vibration
(4) Light energy - due to radiation of light
(5) Mechanical energy – due to moving parts
(6) Nuclear energy - due to nuclear reaction
Law of conservation of energy

According to law of conservation of energy, Energy can neither be created nor

destroyed. But, one form of energy can be converted to another form.

Example:
 A battery generates electrons from chemical reactions, which are used to
make electrical energy.

 A heater convert electrical energy into heat energy.

 The human leg converts the chemical energy stored in the muscles into
mechanical energy when you pedal a bicycle
Category of energy resource

On the basis of availability, the energy resources are broadly categories as,

1.Primary energy resources

2.Secondary energy resources
• Primary energy: All energy originates from natural sources such as coal, solar,
wind, hydro are called primary energy resources.

• Secondary energy: The energy converted from primary energy sources. For
example, the solar energy can be converted into electrical energy and then
chemical energy and stored in battery
 Energy Sectors
• Domestic sector
• Agricultural sector
• Transportation sector
• Industrial sector
 Energy crisis is due to two reasons:-

• Population of the world has increased

• Standard of living of humans have increased

Annual energy consumption per head shows the measure of prosperity of nation.
CLASSIFICATION OF ENERGY
 ENERGY RESOURCES

The various sources of energy can be classified as follows:

Commercial (or Conventional) energy sources:
(i) Coal
(ii) Lignite
(iii) Oil and natural gas
(iv) Hydroelectric
(v) Nuclear fuels.
These sources form the basis of industrial, agricultural transport and commercial
development in the modern world.
2. Renewable energy sources:
• Solar photo-voltaic
• Wind
• Hydrogen fuel-cell.
Most prominent new sources of energy as identified by UN are:
• Tidal energy
• Ocean waves
• OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion)
• Geothermal energy
• Agricultural residues(Biomass)
• Small hydro projects
The energy sources can also be classified as follows:
Primary energy sources.
These sources are obtained from environment.
eg: Fossil fuels, Solar energy, Hydro energy and Tidal energy.

These resources can further be classified as:

1a) Conventional energy sources:
Eg: Thermal power and hydel power.
b) Non-conventional energy sources:
Eg: Wind energy, Geothermal energy, Solar energy and Tidal energy.
2a) Renewable: These sources are being continuously produced in nature
and are inexhaustible.
Eg: Wood, Wind energy, Biomass, Biogas, Solar energy etc.
b) Non-renewable: These are finite and exhaustible.
Eg: Coal, petroleum etc.
Secondary energy resources.
These resources do not occur in nature but are derived from primary energy resources.
Eg: 1.Electrical energy from coal burning
2.H2 obtained from hydrolysis of H2O.
Conventional energy sources:
Fossil fuel as a conventional energy source:
Some of the fossil fuels are discussed briefly below:
1. Coal. It is a conventional energy source and is formed due to conversion of vegetable
matter. It is composed of mainly carbon and hydrocarbons.
Use of coal:
• It is used to generate electricity. Power plants use coal for heating the water to generate
steam which runs the turbines to generate electricity.
• It is heated in a furnace to make coke, which is used to smelt iron for making steel.
• The heat obtained from coal is used by various industries in making plastics, tar,
synthetic fibre, etc.
Environmental problems:
• Due to combustion of coal, CO2 is produced which is responsible for causing
global warming.
• Coal also produces SO2 which is a cause for acid rain.
2. Natural gas. It is one of the fossil fuels and is formed by decomposition of
remains of dead animals and plants buried under the earth.
• It is mainly composed of methane (CH4) with small amount of propane and ethane.
• When refined, it is colourless and odorless, but can be burned to release large amount of
energy.
• It is the cleanest fossil fuel.
• Natural gas is found underground with petroleum
Merits
• It has a high calorific value and it burns without smoke.
• It can be easily transported through pipelines.
Uses
• It is used in thermal power plants for generating electricity.
• It is used as domestic and industrial fuel.
Petroleum.
• Petroleum is a fossil fuel that was formed over millions of years through the
transformation of dead organisms, such as algae, plants, and bacteria, that experienced
high heat and pressure when trapped inside rock formations
• India is not particularly rich in petroleum reserves.
• Our fuel oils are produced by refining petroleum or crude oil.
Disadvantages of Conventional
sources of energy
• Inconsistent, Unreliable Supply. ...
• Pollution.
• Harmful to Wildlife and Surrounding Environment. ...
• High Cost.
• Not Every Non-Conventional Energy Source Is Commercially Viable.
• Location-Specificity Means Lower Chances of Universality.
• Low Efficiency Levels.
 NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCES
• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Energy from biomass and biogas
• Ocean thermal energy conversion
• Tidal energy
• Geothermal energy
• Hydrogen energy
• Fuel cells
Advantages of non-conventional energy sources:
The leading advantages of non-conventional energy sources are:
• They do not pollute the atmosphere.
• They are available in large quantities.
• They are well suited for decentralized use.
• The non-conventional energy programme was initiated in India in 1983-84,managed and
implemented by MNES (Ministry of Non-conventional EnergySources), Govt. of India
 Solar Energy
• Human life and all other forms of life are completely dependent on the daily flow of
solar energy.
• The production of food and all other life-support systems of the natural environment
are dependent on the sun.
• Solar energy travels in small particles called photons.
• Converting even a part of the solar energy at even a very low efficiency can result in a far
more energy that could conceivably be harnessed or utilised for power generation.
• The amount of solar energy is expressed in “solar constant”.
• The solar constant is the total energy that falls on a unit area exposed normally to the rays
of the sun, at the average sun-earth distance.
• The most accepted value of solar constant is 1.353 kW/m2.
• A number of scattering and absorption processes in the atmosphere reduce the
maximum heat flux reaching the earth’s surface to around 1 kW/m2.
• The heat flux reaches earth’s surface by two modes: (i) Direct (ii) Diffuse.

• It is the only direct heat energy which can be collected through a “collector”.

• The ratio of direct to totally heat energy varies from place to place and depends on
atmospheric conditions like dust,smoke, water vapour and other suspended matter.

• Since the altitude of the sun and length of day vary with the season, the solar energy
received on a summer day is many times the energy received on a winter day.
• Total energy for most of the areas in plains in India is around 6000 MJ/m2 per year.
Advantages:
• It is a renewable source of energy.
• Free of cost.
• Non-polluting source of energy.
Disadvantages:
• Low efficiency.
• It is of intermittent type in nature, so for night hours this energy is not available, and as
such, storage is required.
Impact on environment:
• Solar thermal system may pose a health hazard because of the careless disposal of the
heat transfer fluids (e.g. glycol nitrates and sulphates; CFCs and aromatic alcohols)
used.
• Solar photovoltaic modules pose disposal problems owing to the presence of arsenic and
cadmium.
• The total system comprising solar power generator with accessories contain several
pollutants.
• Solar reflectors cause hazard to eyesight.
 Wind Energy

• The expense of installation and variability of operation have tended to limit the use of the
windmill to intermittent services where its variable output has no serious disadvantage.

• The principal services of this nature are the pumping of water into storage tanks and the charging
of storage batteries.

Windmill power equipment may be classified as follows:

1.The multi-bladed turbine wheel.
This is the foremost type in use and its efficiency is about 10 per cent of the kinetic
energy of the wind passing through it.
2.The high-speed propeller type.
3.The rotor.
• The propeller and rotor types are suitable for the generation of electrical energy, as both of them possess
the ability to start in very low winds.

• The Propeller type is more likely to be used in small units such as the driving of small battery charging
generators, whereas the rotor, is more practical for large installations, even of several hundred kilowatts
capacity.

• In India, the wind velocity along coastline has a range 10-16 kmph and a survey of wind power has revealed
that wind power is capable of exploitation for pumping water from deep wells or for generating small
amounts of electric energy.

• Modern windmills are capable of working on velocities as low as 3-7 kmph while maximum efficiency is
attained at 10-12 kmph.

• A normal working life of 20 to 25 years is estimated for windmills.

• The great advantage of this source of energy is that no operator is needed and no maintenance and repairs
are necessary for long intervals.
Merits/Characteristics of wind power/energy.
Some characteristics of wind energy are given below:
• No fuel provision and transport are required in wind energy systems.
• It is a renewable source of energy.
• Wind power systems are non-polluting.
• Wind power systems, up to a few kW, are less costly, but on a large scale, costs can be
competitive with conventional electricity. Lower costs can be achieved by mass
production.
Demerits/Problems associated with wind energy:
• Wind energy systems are noisy in operation.
• Large areas are needed to install wind farms for electrical power generators.
• Wind energy available is dilute and fluctuating in nature. Because of dilute form,
conversion machines have to be necessarily large.
• Wind energy needs storage means because of its irregularity.
• Impact on environment:
• The development of wind farm in a forest area needs cutting of trees leading to
environmental degradation.
• The environment is degraded due to noise pollution caused by wind turbines.
• Interference of large wind turbines with television signals (through reflection).
• Visual intrusion of wind turbines gives negative public response on the existing
landscape.
 Energy from Biomass and Biogas
• Biomass. : Green plants trap solar energy through the process of “photosynthesis” and
convert it into organic matter, known as biomass.

• Wood, charcoal, agricultural waste produce the bioenergy after burning; cowdung,
garbage are aerobically decomposed to obtain the energy.

• Dried animal dung or cattle dung cakes are used directly as fuels in rural areas but it produces
smoke and has low efficiency of burning.

• Biogas: Biogas is formed due to the decomposition of organic waste matter. During
decomposition of organic matter, the gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen
sulphide are formed.

• The organic waste is generally animal dung, plant waste etc. These waste products contain
carbohydrates, proteins, which are broken down by bacteria in absence of oxygen caerobic
conditions.
Advantages:
• Continuous supply of energy.
• Renewable in nature.
• Cheap in cost.
Disadvantages:
• Power generating units are huge and bulky.
• Biogas generation depends on temperature, therefore, in water or cold areas like
J & K additional source of energy is required.
Impact on environment:
• Domestic use of biomass in rural areas creates air pollution.
• A large scale energy-crop plantation is water consuming with increased use of
pesticides and fertilizers, causing water pollution and flooding.
• The production of biomass on large scale and its harvesting accelerates soil erosion
and loss of nutrients.
 HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER

• Hydropower, or hydroelectric power, is one of the oldest and largest sources of

renewable energy, which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity

 Hydropower uses a fuel—water—that is not reduced or used up in the process.

 Because the water cycle is an endless, constantly recharging system, hydropower is
considered a renewable energy.
 When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power
or hydropower.
 Turbines and generators convert the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical
grid to be used in homes, businesses, and by industry.
• SIZES OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

 Large Hydropower
• Large hydropower are facilities that have a capacity of more than 30 megawatts (MW).

 Small Hydropower
• small hydropower are projects that generate 10-25 MW or less of power.

 Micro Hydropower
• A micro hydropower plant has a capacity of up to 100 kilowatts. A small or micro-
hydroelectric power system can produce enough electricity for a home, farm, ranch, or
village.
• Advantages

Disadvantages
• Large area is required
• Initial cost is high
 Ocean Energy
• India is having large potential of ocean thermal energy which could be of the order of
about 50,000 MW.

• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants convert the heat in the ocean into
electrical energy with the help of temperature difference.

• The large temperature difference between warm surface sea water (28-30°C) and cold
deep sea water (5-12°C) is used to generate electricity with the help of ocean thermal
energy conversion system.

Impact on environment:

• OTEC plant creates adverse impacts on marine environment since the massive flow of
water disturbs thermal balance, changes salinity gradient and turbidity.

• The leakage of ammonia, used as a working fluid in closed cycle OTEC system, may
 Tidal Energy/Power

• The rise and fall of tides offers a means for storing water at the rise and discharging the same at
fall.

• Of course the head of water available under such cases is very low but with increased catchment
area considerable amounts of power can be generated at a negligible cost.

• The use of tides for electric power generation is practical in a few favourably situated sites where
the geography of an inlet of bay favours the construction of a large scale hydroelectric plant.

• To harness the tides, a dam would be built across the mouth of the bay in which large gates
and low head hydraulic turbines would be installed
• At the time of high tide the gates are opened and after storing water in the tidal
basin the gates are closed.
• After the tide has receded, there is a working hydraulic head between the basin water and
open sea/ocean and the water is allowed to flow back to the sea through water turbines
installed inthe dam.
• With this type of arrangement, the generation of electric power is not continuous.
However by using reversible water turbine the turbine can be run continuously as shown
in Fig
 Hydrogen Energy
• Hydrogen energy is a non-conventional energy source.
• Hydrogen is considered as an alternative future source of energy. It has a tremendous
potential because it can be produced from water which is available in abundance in
nature.
• Hydrogen atoms in the core of sun combine to form helium atoms which is called as
fusion reaction. It gives radiant energy which sustains the life on the earth.
• Hydrogen can be separated from water by means of electrical energy. It can also be
obtained from fossil fuels.
Advantages:
• Its burning is non-polluting.
• Hydrogen energy has a very high energy content.
Applications:
• It is used for generating electricity for domestic appliances
• It is utilised in automobiles.
• It is employed for industrial uses
 Fuel Cell
• When an electric current is passed through a dilute solution of an acid or an alkali by
means of two platinum electrodes, hydrogen is produced at the cathode and oxygen is
evolved at anode.
• If this process is reversed by removing the power supply and connecting the two
electrodes through a suitable resistance, the presence of hydrogen at one electrode and
oxygen at the other will produce a small current in the external circuit, water being
produced as a by-product.
• This reverse process of electrolysis is the essence of the “fuel cell technology” as, the
chemical energy stored in hydrogen and oxygen have been combined to produce
electricity.
Advantages
• A fuel cell does not have moving components and as such, it is quieter and requires
less maintenance and attention in operation.
• Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly to electrical energy at room temperatures.
• These cells are very efficient
 Advantages of Renewable Energy sources
The advantages of renewable energy sources are:
• These energy sources recur in nature and are inexhaustible.
• The power plants using renewable sources of energy do not have any fuel cost and hence
their running cost is negligible.
• As renewables have low energy density, there is more or less no pollution or ecological
balance problem.
• These energy sources can help to save foreign exchange and generate local employment
• These are more site specific and are employed for local processing and application, their
economic and technological losses of transmission and distribution being nil.
• Since conversion technology tends to be flexible and modular, renewable energy can
usually be rapidly deployed.
Demerits/Limitations:
• Owing to the low energy density of renewable energy sources large size plants are
required, and as such the cost of delivered energy is increased.
• These energy sources are intermittent and also lack dependability.
• The user of these sources of energy has to make huge additional investment before
deriving any benefit from it
• These energy sources, due to their low energy density, have low operating temperatures
leading to “low efficiencies”.
• Since the renewable energy plants have low operational efficiency, the heat rejections
are large which cause thermal pollution.
• These energy sources are energy-intensive.
Usefulness of renewable energy resources:
• The renewable energy resources and conversion systems are technically capable of
meeting many of the power and fuel needs of a modern technological civilization, from
small-scale, decentralized uses to large-scale urban and industrial concentration.
• Although renewable technologies are economically competitive with fossil fuels in their
ability to provide electricity, mechanical power, thermal energy and liquid fuels, such
technologies have not yet been deployed internationally, and the primary obstacles to
their further development are institutional.
• Worthwhile and widespread deployment of solar energy systems for the production of
electric power, thermal energy and liquid fuels will require advanced materials and
concepts to be competitive with conventional options.
Barriers in the implementation of renewable energy systems:
• Inadequate documentation &evaluation of past experience.
• Weak or non-existent institutions and policies to finance and commercialise renewable
energy systems.
• Technical and economic uncertainties in several renewable energy systems
• Skeptical attitudes towards renewable energy systems on the part of energy planners and a
lack of qualified personnel to design, manufacture, market, operate and maintain such
systems.
• Inadequate donor coordination in renewable energy assistance activities, with little or no
information exchange on successful and unsuccessful projects.
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