Emerging Technologies of Renewable Energy

Submitted by:

Waqas Ahmed 17-ME-05

Jaleel Ahmad 17-ME-10

M. Zunair Ali 17-ME-73

Hoornain 17-ME-89

Naveen Fatima 17-ME-128

Submitted to:

Sir Zohaib

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

TAXILA

17th DECEMBER 2020

Abstract

The energy industry is constantly debating energy demands, environmental impacts of energy

conversion, and the depletion of fossil fuels. For many years, renewable energy technologies have

been proposed to address these concerns. However, the transition from traditional power

generation methods, which are typically based on fossil fuels, to renewable energy generation

presents several challenges that are associated with emerging, or less established, technologies. In

this report a detailed analysis of emerging renewable energy technologies as well as the challenges

in the development is discussed. The report is concluded with the future aspects and development

in the field of energy generation.

2
 Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2

1 Introduction: ............................................................................................................................ 8

2 Wind Energy: ........................................................................................................................... 9

2.1 Air Borne Wind Energy: ................................................................................................ 10

2.1.1 Multiple Drone Airborne Wind Energy Systems: .................................................. 10

2.1.2 Autonomous Take-off and Landing Systems: ........................................................ 11

2.2 Offshore Floating Wind Concepts: ................................................................................ 12

2.2.1 Floating Hybrid Energy Platforms: ......................................................................... 13

2.3 Smart Rotors:.................................................................................................................. 14

2.3.1 Passive and Active Control Systems: ..................................................................... 14

2.3.2 Degree of Development, Challenges and Potential of Smart Rotors: ..................... 15

2.4 Wind Turbine with Tip-Rotors: ..................................................................................... 16

3 Solar Thermal: ...................................................................................................................... 17

3.1 Current Developmental Projects on Hybrid Solar Systems: .......................................... 17

3.1.1 Full-Spectrum Stacked Solar Thermal and PV Receiver:....................................... 17

3.1.2 Hetero-Epitaxial Solar Cell for Hybrid Converter: ................................................. 18

3.1.3 Liquid Filter with Plasmonic Nanoparticles Hybrid Solar System:........................ 18

3.2 Linear Fresnel Reflector: ................................................................................................ 18

3.3 Parabolic Dish Reflector: ............................................................................................... 19

3
 3.4 Central Receiver or Heliostat Field Reflector: ............................................................... 20

4 PV System:............................................................................................................................ 21

4.1 Third Generation PV Cell: ............................................................................................. 22

4.1.1 Perovskite Solar Cells: ............................................................................................ 22

4.1.2 Organic photovoltaics (OPVs): ............................................................................... 24

4.1.3 Quantum dot solar cell: ........................................................................................... 25

5 Floating PV System: ............................................................................................................. 27

5.1 Floating Solar PV Plants: ............................................................................................... 27

5.1.1 Floating System: ..................................................................................................... 27

5.1.2 Mooring System:..................................................................................................... 28

5.1.3 PV System:.............................................................................................................. 28

5.1.4 Underwater Cable: .................................................................................................. 28

5.2 Advantages: .................................................................................................................... 29

5.3 Challenges: ..................................................................................................................... 30

6 Fuel Cells: ............................................................................................................................. 31

6.1 Green Hydrogen: ............................................................................................................ 33

6.2 Fuel Cells in Transport: .................................................................................................. 35

6.3 Challenges in Fuel Cells:................................................................................................ 36

6.3.1 Cost and durability: ................................................................................................. 36

6.3.2 Engineering issues: ................................................................................................. 37

4
 6.3.3 Technical challenges: .............................................................................................. 38

7 Ocean Energy: ....................................................................................................................... 43

7.1 Emerging technologies in Tidal Energy: ........................................................................ 44

7.1.1 Tidal range Technologies:....................................................................................... 44

7.1.2 Tidal current or Tidal stream Technologies: ........................................................... 45

7.1.3 Hybrid Technologies:.............................................................................................. 45

7.2 Emerging technologies in Wave Energy: ....................................................................... 45

7.2.1 Oscillating water Columns:..................................................................................... 46

7.2.2 Oscillating body converters: ................................................................................... 46

7.2.3 Overtopping converters:.......................................................................................... 47

8 Biomass Energy: ................................................................................................................... 48

8.1 Optimizing Biomass Cofiring with Coal:....................................................................... 49

8.2 Waste-to-Syngas Conversions: ...................................................................................... 49

8.3 CO2 for Biofuel Coproduction: ...................................................................................... 50

9 Geothermal Energy: .............................................................................................................. 51

9.1 Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS):.......................................................................... 52

9.1.1 Developing an EGS Reservoir: ............................................................................... 52

Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................... 56

References ..................................................................................................................................... 57

5
 List of Figures

Figure 1: Multi-Drone Wind Working Principle .......................................................................... 11

Figure 2: Take-Off and Landing Systems ..................................................................................... 12

Figure 3: Offshore Platforms ........................................................................................................ 13

Figure 4: Floating Power Plant ..................................................................................................... 14

Figure 5: 11kW Turbine with Tip Rotors ..................................................................................... 16

Figure 6: Full-Spectrum Stacked Solar Thermal and PV System................................................. 17

Figure 7: Linear Fresnel Reflector ................................................................................................ 19

Figure 8: Parabolic Dish Reflector ............................................................................................... 20

Figure 9: Heliostat Field Reflector ............................................................................................... 20

Figure 10. Photovoltaic system ..................................................................................................... 21

Figure 11.(a) Structure of solid-state sensitized solar cell comprised (b) Scheme for electron-

transfer processes that occur in solid ............................................................................................ 23

Figure 12. Organic Photovoltaic Cell ........................................................................................... 24

Figure 13. Quantum Dot Solar Cell .............................................................................................. 25

Figure 14: Floating Solar Panels on a pond in Japan .................................................................... 27

Figure 15: Working of Floating Solar PV System ........................................................................ 28

Figure 16: Fuel Cell. ..................................................................................................................... 31

Figure 17: Green Hydrogen Production. ....................................................................................... 34

Figure 18:The link between various energy sectors via green hydrogen...................................... 35

Figure 19: Fuel Cells in Automotive Industry. ............................................................................. 36

Figure 20: The classification of technical challenges and system problems in FCEVs. .............. 38

Figure 21: The number of FCEVS according to regions. ............................................................. 41

6
Figure 22-Ocean Energy ............................................................................................................... 43

Figure 23: Tidal lagoons ............................................................................................................... 44

Figure 24 Horizontal Axis Turbines (left), Vertical Axis Turbines (middle), .............................. 45

Figure 25-OWC working scheme ................................................................................................. 46

Figure 26-Pelamis (Scotland) ....................................................................................................... 47

Figure 27-WaveCat (Spain) .......................................................................................................... 47

Figure 28: Biomass Energy Sources ............................................................................................. 48

Figure 29.Optimizing Biomass Cofiring with Coal ...................................................................... 49

Figure 30. Waste to Energy and Syngas ....................................................................................... 50

Figure 31: The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland ...................................................... 51

Figure 32: Comparison between Initial investment cost and Payback time of mainstream

Renewable’s technologies ............................................................................................................. 51

Figure 33: Steps for the development of an EGS Reservoir ......................................................... 53

Figure 34: Installed capacity (GW) of Geothermal power worldwide ......................................... 55

7
1 Introduction:

Renewable energy technologies have emerged as fast-growing alternative energy sources to

provide sustainable power generation for the future. While renewables are described as

‘alternative,’ some technologies are poised to compete with traditional power generation sources

and to meet the energy demands of buildings, cities, and regions. The introduction of renewable

energy systems to existing electrical grids occurs at the same time as the rapid depletion of fossil

fuels that are commonly fueling the traditional power generation sources. Additionally, greenhouse

gas emissions from burning fossil fuels also create environmental concerns such as ozone layer

depletion, acid rain, and global climate change. Renewable energy systems are energy systems that

generate electricity from renewable resources such as bio energy, geothermal energy, hydro

energy, ocean energy, wind energy, and solar energy. The use of renewable energy systems has

the potential to replace traditional methods of generating power from burning fossil fuels.

Countries with limited fossil fuel resources have more energy security since renewable energy

resources can be substituted as replacements for fossil fuels. Furthermore, air pollution reductions

can be achieved since power generation from renewable energy resources release less greenhouse

gases. Renewable energy systems can also contribute toward energy price stability and

affordability. The implementation of renewable energy systems into existing electrical grids is

becoming a natural next step to meet the energy demand for the future and to protect the

environment.

8
2 Wind Energy:

The future development of wind power presents a significant opportunity in terms of providing

low carbon energy. It also presents several challenges. It needs to be cost competitive compared

with the use of fossil fuels and other competitor renewable energy sources, most notably solar

photovoltaics. The expectation now is that developments should be subsidy-free. The wind

turbines of today have seen rapid developments in their underlying technology to increase their

competitiveness. Nevertheless, we can expect further developments in the next few years, and it is

instructive to consider potential future directions.

This report describes the future emerging technologies (FETs) in the wind power sector based on

the opinion of European experts from a range of relevant technology areas. Although the

technologies need not be considered exclusive to Europe, the review draws heavily on the

European experience, particularly European projects. Many the FETs identified originate from

academic work within universities and research institutes. Some of the technologies identified are

being developed by university spinouts or start-up companies. A few areas identified are the result

of work by larger industrial organizations. What is presented is a summary of information solicited

before, during and after a workshop organized by the European Commission. The purpose of this

document is to consider different aspects of FETs in wind power such as Technology Readiness

Level (TRL) and the potential advantages and challenges that may ultimately characterize FET

development.

The criteria used to define a relevant FET in this case are:

• Technology related to wind energy supply and conversion.

9
 • A radically new concept, not achievable by incremental research on mainstream

technologies.

• Technology at an early stage of development, i.e., TRL should not be greater than 3.

The following technologies have a great emerging potential in the wind sector.

2.1 Air Borne Wind Energy:

Airborne wind energy (AWE) is an umbrella name for concepts that convert wind energy into

electricity with the common feature of autonomous kites or unmanned aircraft, linked to the ground

by one or more tethers. AWE systems offer several potential advantages over conventional wind

turbines. They require less material than tower-based turbines, have the potential to be

manufactured at lower cost, can be deployed faster and can harness stronger and steadier winds by

flying at higher altitudes. [1]

Air borne wind uses two concepts; ground-gen and fly-gen. Ground-gen concepts are based on the

conversion of mechanical into electrical energy at ground level, while fly-gen concepts are based

on the conversion in the air, onboard the airborne unit.

2.1.1 Multiple Drone Airborne Wind Energy Systems:

Multiple Drone Airborne Wind Energy Systems (MDAWESs) represent an effective solution that

could introduce radically new perspectives in the field of airborne systems. An MDAWES is a

crosswind architecture which features multiple drones that are connected to the ground with a

single shared cable.

The specific challenges of this technology that still need to be investigated are:

10
 • Layout/Architecture choice: the best architecture in terms of number of drones,

connections to ground and between drones, type of drones.

• Control: during generation and during the two most critical phases of take-off and landing.

• Design: structural design of drones, flight dynamics, stability, etc.

Figure 1: Multi-Drone Wind Working Principle

2.1.2 Autonomous Take-off and Landing Systems:

Fully autonomous take-off and landing is one of the current technical bottlenecks in the

development of AWE technology. In a recent project at ABB Corporate Research, a fully

autonomous, linear take-off system in compact space for a rigid tethered aircraft has been proved.

However, long-term extensive testing in all wind conditions would be required, and the landing

phase has not been experimentally investigated yet.

The main challenge lies in the low speed of the aircraft during take-off and landing, which results

in less controllability, coupled with the short tether length and the uncertainty of environmental

conditions.

11
 Figure 2: Take-Off and Landing Systems

2.2 Offshore Floating Wind Concepts:

The main innovation of floating wind concepts, compared with mainstream offshore fixed

structure mounted turbines, lies with the floating support system. These floating structures have

no foundation on the seafloor, but are instead based on either semi-submersible, tension leg or spar

platforms, kept in place by different mooring and anchoring systems.

Many of the challenges associated with operating a floating wind farm in deep-water Atlantic

conditions have not yet been considered. In general, structural design of floating wind turbine

platforms depends on installation location, which needs to be fully analyzed and the platform

constructed accordingly, restricting industrialized mass production. [2]

12
 Figure 3: Offshore Platforms

2.2.1 Floating Hybrid Energy Platforms:

The maximization of energy production from offshore sites is critical, both in relation to keeping

costs down and minimizing environmental impact. This is especially important for the more

exposed sites in Atlantic regions, which the wind industry will be moving into in the next decade.

Hybrid energy platforms take advantage of synergies and compatible aspects of different energy

types or even different technology types within the same industry.

The benefits of hybrid platforms lie in the synergies between the different forms of energy

production. The combination of elementary technologies on a single platform may have the

potential for higher overall production levels and to share infrastructure, e.g., platforms, cables,

substations, etc.

These hybrid devices present, compared to the single floating devices, an additional set of

challenges and development needs due to greater complexity and reliability problems. It was found

that for these concepts, wave energy technology contributed less than 10% of the total energy

production of the hybrid platform. In addition, for some combinations, the inclusion of a wave

13
energy converter tended to destabilize the platform, going against the fundamental principles of

the platform.

Figure 4: Floating Power Plant

2.3 Smart Rotors:

Larger rotor blades make it necessary to consider blade/rotor concepts that can adjust themselves

to non-homogeneous wind flow like gusts, turbulence spots, shear, etc. For very long blades, i.e.,

greater than 70 m, it is very hard to define the optimal operational point, since the inflow situations

may vary quite a lot along the blade. Therefore, a local optimal blade setting, i.e., adjusted to the

flow on a scale of meters or tens of meters, makes sense. This could reduce loads, increase, or

smooth out power output or help in wind turbine or wind farm control. [3]

2.3.1 Passive and Active Control Systems:

Passive load alleviation systems are not controlled by operators or automatic systems. They can

be distributed along the blade span, e.g., Bend Twist Coupling (BTC), or placed in specific regions

14
of the blade. These technologies can use anisotropic (in the case of BTC), elastomeric (coating)

and multi-stable materials.

The low drag vortex generator is another type of passive system. This technology consists of a

small vane typically attached to the suction side of wings or blades, where it causes local mixing

in the boundary layer and thereby can delay or prevent flow separation. It can be used in to reduce

or mitigate separation in the root region and to prevent erosion of turbine blades.

2.3.2 Degree of Development, Challenges and Potential of Smart Rotors:

The main potential of smart rotor technology would be in enabling and scaling up to larger wind

turbines (> 20 MW). Scaling up turbine size is seen as a viable option to reduce LCOE as the

balance of plant required represents a smaller fraction of the overall capital cost per unit of installed

capacity.

Vortex generators have been used on blades since the 1980s. They can slightly increase the power

output. The concept and its benefits, well known in aeronautics and road transport, are still being

studied for wind power applications. The main benefits lie in mitigation of blade wear and erosion

prevention.

The IPC and BTC, individually and together, have been wind tunnel tested, which would imply a

TRL of at least 4. Depending on how the blade is designed, the TRL of BTC may vary. In the more

mature cases, the TRL of BTC is 5–7, since some specific technology has been tested at large

scale, but it has not reached the market yet. Some manufacturing techniques are not viable now;

several components must be hand-made since there is not an industrial manufacturing process.

15
2.4 Wind Turbine with Tip-Rotors:

This conceptual technology consists of wind turbines where the traditional torque transmission by

gearbox and generator is substituted by a fast-rotating rotor/generator mounted on the tip region

of each blade. While conventional turbines extract power at a free wind speed of around 10 m/s by

conversion of torque, the tip-rotor converts power at around 70 m/s. The concept can be designed

for both two- or three-bladed turbines. The efficiency of the tip rotors to convert power could be

close to 100% at low tip speed ratios, as the usual Betz limitation of 59% does not apply for the

moving tip rotor. [4]

Since wind turbines with tip-rotors do not require a main shaft or gearbox, this technology aims at

cost and weight reduction, being particularly beneficial, for example, for floating offshore

concepts. It may be possible to make the main rotor with a fixed pitch, downwind, free yawing,

teetering rotor and possibly with extended patchable blade tips.

Concerning the degree of development of this technology, no prototype has yet been constructed

or tested. The TRL of such a concept is thus 1–2 with a possible scalability of the same order of

magnitude as for a conventional 10 MW offshore turbine.

Figure 5: 11kW Turbine with Tip Rotors

16
3 Solar Thermal:

As the renewables market is growing exponentially, new technologies are being brought to the

fore at a rapid pace. For example, solar technologies are becoming increasingly aesthetically

pleasing and inconspicuous. It is also likely that more building-integrated solar collectors (such as

the in-roof panel) will become readily available and standard in new build projects.

Another example of this is the combined solar photovoltaic and thermal (solar PVT) panel, which

can generate both electricity and heat. As solar PV panels are only around 15-20% efficient, the

excess energy can be used for heating. This technology is not currently widely available in the UK,

although it has had some success in the US. [5]

3.1 Current Developmental Projects on Hybrid Solar Systems:

The current developmental projects are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program. These are following.

3.1.1 Full-Spectrum Stacked Solar Thermal and PV Receiver:

Devices like the Full-Spectrum Stacked Solar-Thermal and PV Receiver are currently under

development and will see the sun’s rays filtered and split to provide both heat and electricity

simultaneously, vastly increasing the efficiency of these hybrid devices.

Figure 6: Full-Spectrum Stacked Solar Thermal and PV System

17
3.1.2 Hetero-Epitaxial Solar Cell for Hybrid Converter:

A Low-Cost Hetero-Epitaxial Solar Cell for Hybrid Converter is currently being developed under

funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

program. This will see a utility scale technology developed that uses a dish-shaped receiver to

concentrate the suns energy onto a receiver that splits the sunlight (via a color-selective filter), into

two components, one being sent to the solar cells for electricity and the other to a thermal receiver

that stores the heat.

3.1.3 Liquid Filter with Plasmonic Nanoparticles Hybrid Solar System:

A liquid Filter with Plasmonic Nanoparticles hybrid solar system is being developed by the

University of Tulsa that captures non-visible wavelengths of light to heat a fluid containing

microscopic light-absorbing nanoparticles. The liquid would also transmit the part of the sun’s

radiation spectrum most easily converted to electricity to a solar cell and pass waste heat back to

the fluid. This heat in the fluid will be stored to provide low-cost solar energy when the sun goes

down.

3.2 Linear Fresnel Reflector:

Design of linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) consists of an arrangement of linear strips that focus the

light of to an attached receiver arranged on a linear tower. It is like broken-up parabolic trough

collectors, but its shape is not parabola. The concentration ratio of LFR is less than that of PTC.

LFR operates at a lower efficiency and the lower operating temperatures are achieved.

One major drawback of this technology is that the LFR system requires large space between the

reflectors to avoid shading effect. However, this can be decreased by raising the height of absorber

18
towers, but by adopting this arrangement, the cost of the system is also increased. This type of

technology is suitable for deserts area where huge space is not an issue. [6]

Figure 7: Linear Fresnel Reflector

3.3 Parabolic Dish Reflector:

Parabolic dish reflector (PDR) is a focal point type collector in which receiver or converting unit

is arranged at the focus point of the plate. It consists of two-axis tracking system which

concentrates the solar radiations onto the receiver. The tracking mechanism is like PTC, and the

beam of sunlight is focused on the area where the receiver is positioned.

The arrangement is like a satellite dish antenna. Receiver after absorbing the radiation transmits

the heat energy in a circulating fluid via a heat exchanger. PDR can achieve higher temperature

ranges more than 1500 °C because of orientation is always facing towards the sun and have a

concentration ratio in between 600 and 2000. [7]

19
 Figure 8: Parabolic Dish Reflector

3.4 Central Receiver or Heliostat Field Reflector:

Multiple arrays of the flat mirror are arranged just like that all the reflectors reflect their incident

radiation to a common point, to get a higher temperature radiant energy, such field is known as

Central receiver or Heliostat field reflector (HFR).

In this arrangement, an extensive amount of heat energy can be obtained to get the boiling water

or steam at a very higher temperature and pressure. Heat energy absorbed by the working fluid can

be utilized for industrial thermal power generation or heat applications. Water and molten salt are

the typical working fluids used in HFR. Central receiver is very efficient for high temperature due

to a single receiver and has a concentration ratio of 300–1500. These might be operated to produce

very high temperatures range up to 2000 °C. [8]

Figure 9: Heliostat Field Reflector

20
4 PV System:

Solar energy is simply the energy acquired from sun. Electromagnetic radiations coming from sun

towards earth are full of energy. We can harness this energy to fulfill our exponentially growing

energy needs. Solar PV is a system to convert solar radiations into electrical energy through solar

panels which are nothing, but silicon (mostly) based p-n junctions. Solar thermal is related to

heating of fluid through solar energy. The solar cells are composed of a variety of semiconductor

materials and are usually less than four human hairs tall. PV cells are linked together in chains to

form larger units known as modules or panels to increase their power output. Individual modules

can be used, or several modules can be added to form arrays. As part of a complete system, one or

more arrays are then wired to the electrical grid. [9]

Figure 10. Photovoltaic system

Emerging PV technologies have the potential to disrupt the market incumbent crystalline silicon

(c-Si) technology. The question is whether the long-term viability of c-Si as the market leader has

a time limit. The challenge of future sponsors will be to ensure these technologies do not fall prey

to the lab-to-fab "valleys of death" that have endangered promising PV technologies in the past.

Developing effective methods of sourcing and allocating funding is also imperative for the future

of emerging PV technology, authors say. The top three potential disruptors are as: perovskite,

21
quantum-dot photovoltaics, and concentrated Photovoltaics. The onus is on the potential sponsors

possessing these qualifications to step in and deliver the support required. [10]

4.1 Third Generation PV Cell:

Most solar cells present on the market are based on silicon wafers; they are called first-generation

technology. Third-generation cells are less commercially advanced 'emerging' technologies of PV

systems. These include:

• Organic photovoltaics (OPVs)

• Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS)

• Perovskite solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)

• Quantum dot solar cells.

4.1.1 Perovskite Solar Cells:

Perovskite solar cells are new 3rd-generation solar cells that appear to have a very good chance of

contributing to large scale solar energy production. They demonstrated a certified power

conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.2% in 2019 surpassing the PCEs of the well-known high-

efficiency thin-film solar cells based on copper-indium-gallium-arsenide or cadmium iodide

(CdTe) At present, the most challenging issue in perovskites is the long-term stability, which must

be cleared up.

Perovskite solar cells based on organometal halides represent an emerging photovoltaic

technology. Efficiencies have quickly risen to 18% in just 2 years. The technology has stability

issues, including instant dissolution of the perovskites in a liquid electrolyte. The efficiency of the

22
cells is expected to rise to 20% in the future with the use of cheap organometal halide perovskite

materials. [11]

The base technology for perovskite solar cells is solid-state sensitized solar cells that are based on

dye sensitized Gratzel solar cells. In 1991, a low-cost photoelectrochemical solar cell based on

high surface area nanocrystalline TiO2 film sensitized with molecular dye was developed.

Although the PCE of dye-Sensitized cells was over 12%, issues such as electrolyte usage raised

concerns over leakage. This concern was solved by substituting a solid hole conductor for the

liquid electrolyte without changing the basic concept. No significant improvement is expected

from molecular type dyes with absorption coefficients of more than 0.5 × 104 cm^-1. To achieve

high PCE, a new light absorber with an absorption coefficient of 0. 5 × 104cm^-1 is required. This

would require a 10-mgm-thick TiO2 film to sufficiently harness the incoming light. The instability

of perovskite at high relative humidity is one issue that needs to be addressed. One method used

to solve this problem is the creation of a mixed halide perovskite. A long-term stable perovskite

solar cell was designed in 2012 by replacing liquid with solid HTM.

Figure 11.(a) Structure of solid-state sensitized solar cell comprised (b) Scheme for electron-transfer processes that
occur in solid

23
4.1.2 Organic photovoltaics (OPVs):

Organic solar cells have photoactive layers comprising in general a semiconducting polymer and

a fullerene derivative. Improvement from 2.5% in 2013 to 18% in 2020 in organic solar cell

performance is primarily credited to novel non-fullerene acceptors (NFA) Organic solar cells can

be made transparent or different colors, but this will lower the overall efficiency. Organic solar

cells are often built on a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) electrode material like indium tin

oxide (ITO) substrate. In literature, commonly three types of organic solar cells can be found. Two

or more sub-cells with complementary and/or congruent photo absorption profiles are linked by a

thin interconnecting layer.

Figure 12. Organic Photovoltaic Cell

This technology is unlikely to challenge silicon's dominance for large-scale electricity generation.

It offers promise in applications where lower cost, flexibility, weight, low energy requirement,

durability, and low light conditions can be traded-off against efficiency. The light-absorbing layer

of organic solar cells provides flexibility so the cells can be tuned and optimized for different light

spectra. This new approach to powering indoor applications could prove in applications that

require low-energy solar cells in the future. [12]

24
4.1.3 Quantum dot solar cell:

The solar photovoltaic industry is one of the world's most rapidly growing energy markets. The

solar power industry will expand by a factor of ten by 2030. A new technology that can offer

superior efficiencies and lower costs than traditional silicon PV panels is needed for solar energy

to succeed. Quantum dot solar cells may be the solution.

A quantum dot solar cell is a solar cell design that uses quantum dots as the absorbing photovoltaic

material. Quantum dots have bandgaps that are tunable across a wide range of energy levels by

changing their size.

Figure 13. Quantum Dot Solar Cell

Quantum dots are semiconducting particles that have been reduced below the size of the Exciton

Bohr radius. Their energy levels are tunable by changing their size, which in turn defines the

bandgap. Quantum dots have bandgaps that can be tuned into the far infrared, frequencies that are

typically difficult to achieve with traditional solar cells. They are desirable for solar cells because

they can be grown over a range of sizes, allowing them to express a variety of bandgap without

changing the underlying material or construction techniques. For the sun's photon distribution

spectrum, the Shockley-Queisser limit indicates that the maximum solar conversion efficiency

25
occurs in a material with a band gap of 1.34 eV. However, materials with lower band gaps will be

better suited to generate electricity from lower-energy photons. [13]

Quantum dot solar cells have the potential to increase the maximum attainable thermodynamic

conversion efficiency of solar photon conversion up to about 66%. The effect is based on utilizing

hot carriers in QD solar cells to generate and collect additional electron–hole pairs through

enhanced impact ionization processes. The authors discuss initial results on slowed hot electron

cooling in InP QDs and high-efficiency configurations that require slow hot carrier cooling times.

The advantages of quantum dot solar cells are as follows.

• They have a good power-to-weight ratio and are very effective.

• Miniaturization occurs because of mass and region savings, as well as stability.

• They use very little energy.

• Electrical efficiency is improving at a low cost of output.

• They have a wide range of applications that can be found in windows as well as rooftops

[14].

26
5 Floating PV System:

The first floating PV system was built in 2007 in Aichi, Japan. Initially, these small-scale systems

were built for research and demonstration purposes. The first commercial installation was a 175

KWp (Kilowatt peak) system built at the Far Niente Winery in California in 2008. Medium-to-

large floating installations (larger than 1 MWp) began to emerge in 2013, but nowadays they are

developed worldwide. [15]

Figure 14: Floating Solar Panels on a pond in Japan

5.1 Floating Solar PV Plants:

Floating solar PV plants are an emerging form of PV systems that float on the surface of drinking

water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds

They consist of following parts:

5.1.1 Floating System:

It is also known as pontoon. It is a sturdy structure that holds the solar panel. It is composed of a
structure and a floater and it allows the installation of the PV module.

27
5.1.2 Mooring System:

It is a permanent structure used to halt the free movement of the floating structure in water. This
allows adjusting water level fluctuations while maintaining its position in a southward direction.
The floating structure can be fixed to a point on the bottom of the waterway eliminating the need
to connect to the floating structure to the shore. This can be done with the help of anchor mooring.
5.1.3 PV System:

PV Generation equipment. Mostly crystalline solar PV modules have been used for the floating
solar systems.
5.1.4 Underwater Cable:

It is used to transfer generated power from water bodies to the sub-stations.

Figure 15: Working of Floating Solar PV System

Floating and land-based PV systems have a similar layout, other than the fact that the PV arrays

and often the inverters are mounted on a floating platform. The direct current (DC) electricity is

generated by PV modules, gathered by combiner boxes, and finally converted to alternating current

(AC) by inverters. The PV systems, as well as the inverters, are anchored to the bottom, but it is

also possible to connect them to the mainland via floating power lines. The design of the anchoring

28
and mooring systems- which are used to keep in place the floating platforms, will depend on a

wide range of factors such as water level, soil conditions, float type, and wind load etc. [16]

According to the World Bank, with a global potential of 400 GW under very conservative

assumptions, floating solar could double the existing installed capacity of solar PV but without the

land acquisition that is required for ground-mounted installations. As there are more than 400,000

square kilometers (km2) of man-made reservoirs in the world, the floating solar has a theoretical

potential on a terawatt scale, purely from the perspective of the available surface area. Since 2013

the capacities of floating PV power plants have increased manifold. As of mid-2018, the

cumulative installed capacity of floating solar was approaching 1.1 gigawatt-peak (GWp), the

same milestone that ground-mounted PV reached in the year 2000. Currently, most of the

worldwide installed capacity of 1,100 MWp is in Asia, which is currently still leading the wave of

floating solar.

5.2 Advantages:

• Floating solar power generating systems typically generate more electricity than ground-

mount and rooftop systems due to the cooling effect of the water.

• As the PV system is placed on a water surface, it avoids all the hurdles of land acquisition

and all the concerns of land consumption.

• Floating PV plants can reduce water loss due to evaporation, depending on the surface

covered and climate conditions. Also, around 7,000 ~ 20,000 liters of water per MW are

required in the cleaning of a plant. The cleaning water used in the floating PV system goes

into the water body again which can be reused leading to savings in water and its associated

cost.

29
 • Geographically any water bodies with abundant sunlight can be used to install floating

plants. [17]

5.3 Challenges:

Being a relatively new technology, there are still many factors that will need to be analyzed in the

long term.

• Ecological impact on water ecosystem.

• Lack of experience, knowledge, and testing of floating PV plants.

• Eventual damages caused by salty water and waves.

30
6 Fuel Cells:

A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction. Every fuel cell has two

electrodes called, respectively, the anode and cathode. The reactions that produce electricity take

place at the electrodes. Every fuel cell also has an electrolyte, which carries electrically charged

particles from one electrode to the other, and a catalyst, which speeds the reactions at the

electrodes.

Hydrogen is the basic fuel, but fuel cells also require oxygen. One great appeal of fuel cells is that

they generate electricity with very little pollution–much of the hydrogen and oxygen used in

generating electricity ultimately combine to form a harmless byproduct, namely water.

Figure 16: Fuel Cell.

There are many technologies of fuel cells available on the market, and each one of those is

characterized by: the operative temperature range, the type of fuels which can be used, the type of

catalyst used by the cell and the efficiency ratio of the energy conversion.

31
The main technologies available on the market are the following

✓ Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC).

✓ Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC).

✓ Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC) .

✓ Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC).

✓ Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC).

✓ Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC).

Due to their chemistry, fuel cells are very clean. Fuel cells that use pure hydrogen fuel are

completely carbon-free, with their only byproducts being electricity, heat, and water. Some types

of fuel cell systems can use hydrocarbon fuels like natural gas, biogas, methanol, and others. Fuel

cells are also scalable. This means that individual fuel cells can be joined with one another to form

stacks. In turn, these stacks can be combined into larger systems. Fuel cell systems vary greatly in

size and power, from combustion engine replacements for electric vehicles to large-scale, multi-

megawatt installations providing electricity directly to the utility grid.

Listed below are a few of the most used fuel cells and the characteristics that make them unique.

✓ Low-to-Zero Emissions.

✓ High Efficiency.

✓ Reliability.

✓ Fuel Flexibility.

✓ Energy Security.

✓ Durability.

✓ Scalability.

32
Fuel cell technologies are expected to substantially reduce consumption of oil and emissions of

pollutants such as greenhouse gases as compared to conventional combustion-based power

generation technologies. All fuel cells have the same basic configuration, an electrolyte and two

electrodes, but there are different types of fuel cells, based mainly on what kind of electrolyte

they use. Many combinations of fuel and oxidant are also possible. The fuel could be diesel or

methanol, while air, chlorine, or chlorine dioxide may serve as oxidants. Most fuel cells in use

today, however, use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.

The implementations of fuel cells (FCs) in the vehicle industry have gained great attention for the

last few decades owing to simple utilization, silent operation, high efficiency, and modular

structure. Technological advancements show that the use of FCs in electric vehicles (EVs) will

increase rapidly and cause a revolution, and will be an alternative to traditional vehicles in the

future. Commercial vehicles, projects, and research show that work is underway to ensure that

FCEVs have sufficient performance advances for their daily transportation needs.

6.1 Green Hydrogen:

Hydrogen produced through renewable energy sources (RESs), known as green hydrogen, can

provide clean energy to the main economy sectors such as industry, buildings, and transport [18].

When hydrogen burns, the only by-product is water – which is why hydrogen has been an alluring

zero-carbon energy source for decades. Yet the traditional process for producing hydrogen, in

which fossil fuels are exposed to steam, is not even remotely zero-carbon. Hydrogen produced this

way is called grey hydrogen; if the CO2 is captured and sequestered, it is called blue hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is different. It is produced through electrolysis, in which machines split water into

hydrogen and oxygen, with no other by-products.

33
 Figure 17: Green Hydrogen Production.

Historically, electrolysis required so much electricity that it made little sense to produce hydrogen

that way. The situation is changing for two reasons.

First, significant amounts of excess renewable electricity have become available at grid scale;

rather than storing excess electricity in arrays of batteries, the extra electricity can be used to drive

the electrolysis of water, “storing” the electricity in the form of hydrogen.

Second, electrolysers are becoming more efficient. Companies are working to develop

electrolysers that can produce green hydrogen as cheaply as grey or blue hydrogen, and analysts

expect them to reach that goal in the next decade.

Meanwhile, energy companies are starting to integrate electrolysers directly into renewable power

projects. In this way, the goal of 40% share of electricity as the dominant energy carrier in 2050

would be realized and hence, the decarbonized energy world envisaged by the Paris Agreement

will likely be reachable. Power systems, as the main infrastructure of large-scale electricity

generation and transmission, are forced to be operated even closer to their security limits due to

the increasing demand, market pressures, public and decarbonization concerns.

34
 Figure 18:The link between various energy sectors via green hydrogen.

6.2 Fuel Cells in Transport:

In today's life, fossil fuels meet the needs of the transportation sector in a significant amount and

bring various negative effects such as air pollution, noise, and global warming . Furthermore, the

rapid decline of underground petroleum resources that occur with overuse in fossil fuels is seen as

another major problem for the transportation sector .As a result of these effects, researchers and

industrialists have tended to efficient energy units such as battery and fuel cells (FCs). Among

these energy unit types, interest in FCs, which is a clean energy source, has been recently

increasing with industrial developments . Highly efficient operation and flexible power ratings of

FCs make them available for various transportation applications such as passenger cars, light

commercial vehicles, buses, and trucks. These transportation applications, which consist of an FC

instead of a battery, or combination with auxiliary energy generation units such as battery and/or

ultracapacitor (UC), are also called fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) .Most FCEVs are known as

low-pollutant vehicles that give off heat energy and water in addition to electrical power for kinetic

energy .In addition, FCEVs not only aid in supporting a clean ambient but also diminish the

financial damage of fuels compared to traditional vehicles.

35
 Figure 19: Fuel Cells in Automotive Industry.

6.3 Challenges in Fuel Cells:

6.3.1 Cost and durability:

The high capital cost for fuel cells is by far the largest factor contributing to the limited market

penetration of this technology [19]. For fuel cells to compete realistically with other contemporary

power generation technologies, they must become more competitive from the standpoint of both

capital and installed cost. In the stationary power market, fuel cells could become competitive if

they reach an installed cost of $1,500 or less per kilowatt [20]. Currently, the cost is in the $4,000+

range per kilowatt. In the automobile sector, a competitive cost is on the order of $60 - $100 per

kilowatt, a much more stringent criterion. The high capital cost (on a $/kW basis) today has led to

a significant effort focused cost reduction.

36
Specific areas in which cost reductions are being investigated include:

✓ Material reduction and exploration of lower-cost material alternatives

✓ Reducing the complexity of an integrated system

✓ Minimizing temperature constraints

✓ Streamlining manufacturing processes

✓ Increasing power density

6.3.2 Engineering issues:

Stack engineering and control is the next biggest hurdle once the above things are taken care of.

The biggest challenge is in the computer controlling of fuel cell stack for load variation with

minimum response time, better stack design), lowering of stack mass per unit volume and cyclic

endurance. Other challenges related to successful implementation of fuel cell technology are DC

to DC conversion through electronic transformer which increases current density by compensating

through drop in voltage and power conditioner i.e., DC to AC conversion for utility services and

domestic appliances. Finally, the fuel cell vehicle or fuel cell for stationary power must be mass

produced and the development of automated mass production technology is very important in

terms of bulk production, cost reduction and reproducibility of fuel cell performance. Most of the

development work on MEA preparation is through hands-on experience and handheld technology

and it is very difficult to reproduce MEA with similar performance as some amount of manual

error always creeps in. Thus, automation and development of mass production technology of MEA

preparation and assembly line for stack production should be investigated very seriously especially

for FCVs.

37
6.3.3 Technical challenges:

In the FCEVs, operation of the vehicle components, including mechanical and electronic elements,

should be fulfilled the technical proficiency of integration with FC stacks .This is to ensure

efficient operation and safe trip by FCEVs . In this study, the technical challenges and system

problems in FCEVs are also classified and presented in figure. Technical challenges in the FCEV

system will be detailed in the following sub-parts.

Figure 20: The classification of technical challenges and system problems in FCEVs.

• FC Lifetime:

In today's vehicle market, FCs need to be as durable and robust as conventional engines. In FCs,

environmental factors such as start, shutdown, freezing, the suitability of oxygen pressure, relative

humidity and temperature are the most important factors to affect the lifetime of FCs . Besides, for

vehicle applications, the FC is subjected to complex operating situations such as variable start-stop

and exposure to too many different loads . Therefore, an FC's lifetime in Type I FCEVs is shorter

than the lifetime of the FCs used in other fixed applications. Also, Membrane degradation is one

38
of the weakest points for PEMFC durability, and therefore the lifetime of PEMFC is also highly

dependent on the lifetime of the ion exchange membrane.

Hydrogen Supply:

FCEVs are divided into two main categories in terms of fuel supply: direct hydrogen and indirect

methanol FCEVs. In the case of direct hydrogen FCEVs, FC's output power is directly controlled

by DC/DC converter. However, the supplementary of direct hydrogen fuel and refueling of FCEV

are critical challenges for the reliability of FCEVs, which includes production, storage, and

transport of hydrogen fuel. These challenges decelerate the industrial growth of FCEV in

comparison to conventional battery EVs. The storage of sufficient hydrogen on-board a vehicle is

a challenge because of its low energy density. The insufficient hydrogen storage onboard results

in adequate drive range. To obtain an adequate drive range, the storage container must be either

too heavy or too large. There are a few storage methods in the literature such as pressurized tanks,

hydrogen uptake in metal-based compounds, and cryogenic liquid hydrogen . On the other side,

indirect FCEVs use methanol to produce hydrogen via an on-board catalytic reformer and this

hydrogen is pumped to FC stack. However, Catalyst material is made from platinum for anode and

cathode sides, which results in high cost for research.

Durability:

FCEVs need further maintenance and repair compared to conventional battery EVs for durability

conditions. In addition, the facilities for maintenance and repair are not enough. There is a

necessity for FCEVs maintenance and repair facilities because this technology is quite new and

does not have the benefits of battery EVs [21]. Besides, in FCEVs, unbalanced flow distribution

between FCs may cause an improper operational arrangement of cells and stacks. This situation

39
introduces high uncertainty and degradation of efficiency. Also, frequent maintenance and repair

downtime can be impacted.

Degradation in an FC system is defined as a reduction of FC performance or its actual failure. It

can also simply be determined as a loss of voltage versus time. The degradation of FC components

has inverse effects on system durability. The voltage reduction for constant load at maximum

75 C0 is low in the range of 1−2μV/h. This voltage drop range may increase by orders of amplitude

once some circumstances occur, i.e., higher temperature values, start-stop cycles, load change.

Future aspects:

Despite numerous successes in recent years, FC technologies for automotive applications face

significant technical challenges. To overcome these difficulties, both automotive manufacturers

and researchers need intensive work in areas such as pure hydrogen production, built-in hydrogen

storage, FC durability and reliability, consumer's easy access to hydrogen and safety. In addition

to all these difficulties, the high costs are currently reducing the preferability of FCEVs. However,

considering the advantages of hydrogen FCEVs mentioned in the previous section, it is predicted

that the demand for such vehicles will increase by overcoming these difficulties. In addition,

increasing the security of the use of hydrogen and increasing the number of filling stations where

the consumer can reach hydrogen are the factors that will increase the demand for such vehicles .

It is thought that the production of passenger car manufacturers will increase to meet the demand

in the global transportation industry with the development of FCEV technologies. This situation

will increase the investments of these companies in this technology and accelerate the

developments. With the acceleration of technological development, investments, and incentives,

it is expected that its share in the market will increase in the following years.

40
With the development of technologies used both in hydrogen production techniques and in

components such as FC and battery, the production costs of hydrogen FCEVs are expected to

decrease, and their production will increase to meet the demand that will arise accordingly. The

market size of hydrogen FC-based vehicles is worth $ 651.9 million in 2018 and is projected to

reach $ 42,038.9 million in 2026, which corresponds to an annual compound growth rate of 66.9%

from 2019 to 2026 . The key factors affecting the global market's growth include an increase in

environmental concerns, an increase in government initiatives to improve the hydrogen FC

infrastructure, the first high investment and technological progress in infrastructure, and future

commercial potential. Each of these factors is expected to have a definitive impact on the vehicle

market in predicting the number of vehicles. Figure shows the variations in the number of FCEVs

from 2013 to 2030 based on three regions: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The number

of FCEVs, which was only 20 in 2013, was increased to 11900 in 2018 [22]. It is also expected to

reach approximately 31000 at the end of 2020, with an increase of roughly 160% compared with

2018. It is stated that the total number forecasted in the number of FCEVs is 582400 for 2030, and

it is assumed that there will be a 1784% increase in the number of vehicles within the next decade.

Figure 21: The number of FCEVS according to regions.

41
The increase in the number of electric vehicles also means an increase in hydrogen demand for the

next decade . Nowadays, there are many methods such as steam treatment [23], purification of

waste gases, electrolysis is applied to obtain hydrogen. These studies are continuing intensively in

the storage of produced hydrogen . The FCs, which produce electricity using the hydrogen in the

tank and the oxygen received from the air directly, is an efficient method used especially in

passenger cars to obtain energy from hydrogen . For this reason, one of the most important

conditions in the marketing strategy of vehicles, which has an important role in the increase in the

number of FCEVs, is to provide easy access to hydrogen for storing and using in these vehicles. It

is obvious that if the drivers can easily reach the fuel stations for hydrogen, the preferred rates of

FCEVs will increase. Therefore, it is inevitable that the number of hydrogen fuel stations will also

increase for the next ten years, based on the forecast that the number of vehicles will increase

worldwide [24].

42
7 Ocean Energy:

Ocean energy refers to all forms of renewable energy derived from the sea. ocean is an enormous

source of power, as anyone who has been knocked over by a wave, seen them crash on the shore,

or been rolled about in a ship can attest. Water is some 832 times denser than air; and ocean energy

incorporates the forces of many resources: the sun, the wind, the movements of the earth, and the

gravitational pull of the moon. The coming years may witness an increased uptake of ocean energy.

In the longer run, more capacity additions are expected, as wave and tidal stream projects with

combined capacities of 2.83 GW were in the pipeline3 as of 2020. The International Renewable

Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that around 10 GW could be commercially deployed by 2030.

[25]

Figure 22-Ocean Energy

Among other types of renewable energy, oceans contain energy in the form of:

• Tidal Energy

• Wave energy

43
7.1 Emerging technologies in Tidal Energy:

Tides are the result of the interaction of the gravity of the sun, earth, and moon. The rise and fall

of the tides – in some cases more than 12 m – creates potential energy. The flows due to flood and

ebb currents creates kinetic energy. Since the 1960s, only five projects have been developed

commercially in the period up to 2012. However, new technologies have advanced considerably

over the past few years and there are several ongoing full-scale demonstration projects. Tidal

energy technologies can be subdivided into three categories: [26]

7.1.1 Tidal range Technologies:

Tidal range technologies harvest the potential energy created by the difference in head between

ebb tide and flood tide. tidal range energy is predictable, as the energy production is not influenced

by weather conditions, but rather by the cyclical constellations, the gravity of the moon, sun, and

earth, providing a predictable bi-week, biannual and annual cycle. New technologies developed

for tidal range power generation are

• Tidal ‘lagoons’

• Tidal ‘reefs’

• Tidal ‘fences’

• Low-head tidal barrages

Figure 23: Tidal lagoons

44
7.1.2 Tidal current or Tidal stream Technologies:

Tidal current or tidal stream technologies convert the kinetic energy into useable energy. These

technologies have had more than 40 new devices introduced between the period 2006-2013.

• Horizontal-axis axial and vertical-axis cross flow turbines

• Reciprocating devices

• Other designs (rotating screw-like devices and tidal kites that carry turbines below their

wings.

Figure 24 Horizontal Axis Turbines (left), Vertical Axis Turbines (middle),

7.1.3 Hybrid Technologies:

Hybrid forms of tidal energy can be found in the form of multi-purpose platforms where both tidal

current and tidal range technologies are used for electricity generation. These platforms are in an

early developmental and innovative stage. A recent development is called “dynamic tidal power”

(DTP).

7.2 Emerging technologies in Wave Energy:

Wave energy converters capture the energy contained in ocean waves and use it to generate

electricity. There are three main categories. [27]

45
7.2.1 Oscillating water Columns:

It uses trapped air pockets in a water column to drive a turbine. A new generation of floating OWC

integrated on spar-buoys are substantially increasing the power performance. Some representative

devices are:

• GreenWave (Scotland/ UK).

• Mutriku (Basque Country/Spain).

• Ocean Energy Buoy (Ireland).

• Oceanix (Australia).

• Pico Plant (Azores/Portugal)

Figure 25-OWC working scheme
• Wavegen Limpet (Scotland/UK)

7.2.2 Oscillating body converters:

Floating or submerged devices using the wave motion (up/down, forwards/ backwards, side to

side) to generate electricity. Some representative devices of oscillating bodies:

• The powerbuoy of Columbia Power Technologies,

• Oyster (Scotland),

• Seatricity (Cornwall),

• Pelamis (Scotland)

• Wave Star (Denmark)

46
 Figure 26-Pelamis (Scotland)

7.2.3 Overtopping converters:

It uses reservoirs to create a head and subsequently drive turbines. Some representative devices

are:

• Wave Dragon (Denmark)

• Seawave Slot-Cone Generator (Norway)

• WaveCat (Spain)

Figure 27-WaveCat (Spain)

47
8 Biomass Energy:
Biomass is organic source of energy derived from living or once living organisms. Sources of
biomass also called as feedstocks are waste, plants & wood. Wood may include lumber, saw dust,
wood pellets. Plant includes crops like sugar cane, corns, soybeans, and waste materials include
animal dung, papers, bagasse & cotton etc. we can extract energy from biomass directly or
indirectly. Heat and electricity production are direct ways by burning or combusting biomass.
Biofuel is considered an indirect way of harnessing biomass energy. Pakistan has huge potential
for biomass as Pakistan is an agricultural country and Agriculture sector (major crops, minor crops,
fisheries, forestry & livestock) share 21% of total GDP. [28]

Figure 28: Biomass Energy Sources

There are number of complex challenges relevant to this fuel source as the proportion of carbon-
neutral biomass used in their generation portfolios grows. Several ground-breaking technologies
are expected to aid in the increased use of biomaterials. The researchers focused on many new
technologies that promise to expand the efficient use of biomass as a fuel for electric power
generation, reflecting the increasing role that biomaterials are playing in the electric power
generation industry. [29]

Proponents of biomass fuel point to number of benefits. Biomass energy sources like trees, for
example, are good for the atmosphere because they absorb carbon dioxide (𝐶𝑂2) as they rise. This
will help to balance the 𝐶𝑂2 emitted as they are used as a source of electricity. Using compost,
such as urban solid waste (MSW), will also save money on waste collection and landfill charges.

48
8.1 Optimizing Biomass Cofiring with Coal:
Cofiring of biomass, a carbon-neutral resource, with coal has recently exploded around the world
as way to offset 𝐶𝑂2 emissions. However, the varying nature of biomass makes determining the
best biomass blend/type for a given power plant difficult. This problem is currently being solved
by test-firing different mixtures, which takes a long time and costs a lot of money.

The fundamental properties of combustion and mineral matter transformation are incorporated into
BCAS, a web-based software. This method compares the propensities of all fuel-related
parameters involved in firing either coal/biomass mix, or even 100% biomass, in real time. It also
compares the amount of carbon in ash, erosion, and corrosion, emission of particulates, and oxides
of sulfur and nitrogen.

Figure 29.Optimizing Biomass Cofiring with Coal

The software allows power plant operators to compare individual biomass samples to see whether
they are compatible with the coal they use. A secondary combustion software uses the same inputs
to evaluate total gas flow, fly ash, and sulfur oxides carryover for a given generation production,
in addition to evaluating the parameters specified. The findings obtained by plants using BCAS
show that the program can be used as a design and operational method to determine the best
biomass quality and quantity for cofiring with coal while staying within pollution regulations. [29]

8.2 Waste-to-Syngas Conversions:

Organic materials like paper and paperboard account for 29 percent, treated by MSW plants, while
yard trimmings and food scraps account for another 27 percent. Plastics, metals, textiles, wood,

49
glass, and other miscellaneous wastes make up the remaining materials. Fuel cell pressure has been
improved, anode and cathode exhaust gas expanders have been installed between the fuel cell and
the gasifier, new gas cleanup methods have been used, and an anode exhaust recycling loop has
been introduced in "A Novel MSW-Fired Heat Cycle," which is a Radovich cycle that helps to
maximize efficiency and minimize expense.

Figure 30. Waste to Energy and Syngas

The revised system produces gas from MSW in a gasification vessel using steam and hot-bed
material. In this cycle, the combustion air or flue gas never combines with the fuel gas. Radovich
also considered syngas treatment, which starts with a gas mixture containing carbon monoxide,
𝐶𝑂2, and hydrogen.

8.3 𝐂𝐎𝟐 for Biofuel Coproduction:

The CEFCO process has been designed to work below 10% total energy penalty for 𝐶𝑂2 capture.
The low energy usage provides a cost-efficient pathway, together with another hydrocarbon
technology, to coproduce liquid biofuels. Hydrocarbon conversion technologies under intense
research and development include special organic catalysts and engineered microbiological
processes to directly produce biofuels. The process produces 𝐶𝑂2 with impurities which is not
suitable for coproduction with another technology to make biofuel, according to the company. It
is designed to capture 𝐶𝑂2 rather than sending the gas to a permanent storage facility or using the
gas in an enhanced oil recovery process. The company says the process is safe and cost-effective
for the environment. [29]

50
9 Geothermal Energy:
Geothermal energy, whether as a source of electricity or to heat or cool buildings, has an enormous

potential and is one of the emerging technologies of renewable energy. Geothermal energy is the

form of thermal energy stored in the earth's crust. The origin of geothermal energy from the earth's

crust is from two major sources: 20% from the original formation of planet earth and 80% from

the radioactive decay of earth materials. The temperature difference between the core of the earth

and its surface is known as geothermal gradient, and it drives a continuous conduction of thermal

energy from the core to the surface in the form of heat. [30]

Figure 31: The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland

The potential of geothermal energy is at par with other mainstream renewable energy technologies.

A comparison between wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy with respect to initial investment

cost and payback time has been presented in figure below.

Figure 32: Comparison between Initial investment cost and Payback time of mainstream
Renewable’s technologies

51
The traditional approach of exploiting geothermal energy is to find the naturally occurring

reservoirs of superheated steam and hot water. Regional and local tectonic and geological

phenomena play a vital role in the sustainability of these naturally occurring reservoirs. Due to

these factors, conventional geothermal energy techniques are only restricted to those regions which

are rich in natural reservoirs. To overcome these limitations, an enhanced version of geothermal

energy has been introduced, known as EGS.

9.1 Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS):

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which is also known as Engineered Geothermal Energy

(EGE), does not depend on the occurrence of natural geothermal reservoirs. The reservoirs for

extracting the geothermal energy are enhanced or engineered in the EGS approach. This makes

EGS adaptable in more areas and especially in those regions, which lack in natural reservoirs. The

major advantages associated with EGS over conventional geothermal techniques are extended

lifetime, increased productivity, siting flexibility, expanded resources, sizing flexibility, and above

all environmental advantages.

A complex set of parameters that controls the performance of EGS power plants includes a

reservoir, geological conditions, drilling of a well, and well completion. To extract thermal energy,

it is required to drill to depths where the rock temperature is sufficient to justify the investments.

The first step in building a power plant based on EGS technology is to develop an EGS reservoir

in the designated region. [31]

9.1.1 Developing an EGS Reservoir:

These are the five steps in developing an EGS reservoir. Step three is considered the most crucial

step in the development of an EGS reservoir.

52
 1. An injection well is drilled into hot basement rock that has limited permeability and

fluid content.

2. Water at a specific pressure is injected to ensure fracturing or to re-open existing

fractures.

3. After fracturing or opening existing fractures, water is continuously pumped to

extend fractures and re-open old fractures in the hot basement rock.

4. A production well is drilled to intersect the stimulated fracture system and to

circulate water to extract heat from the hot basement rock.

5. Finally, additional production wells are drilled to extract heat from large volumes

hot basement rock to meet the requirements of power generation.

The pictorial view of the five steps involved in the development of an EGS reservoir is shown

below. [32]

Figure 33: Steps for the development of an EGS Reservoir

53
There are many options for converting geothermal energy into electric power including direct

steam expansion, single and multi-stage steam flashing, organic binary Rankin cycles and two-

phase flow expanders as well as other forms of emerging technology. The problem with most of

these techniques is that the systems are not particularly efficient because of the relatively low

temperatures involved. This becomes a particular issue for water temperatures approaching the

lower limiting temperature of about 150 oC. However, the resource base of EGS is huge but it is

not distributed evenly. In active tectonic regions, a temperature of more than 150 °C at the depths

of less than 6 km is more common but it is not confined to those resources. There are areas in every

region with more favorable conditions than others. Therefore, with respect to electricity generation

in low potential areas, the development of greater efficiencies in the conversion processes used is

important.

Geothermal energy is an emerging source of energy. Geothermal power is already utilized around

the world. The total world geothermal power resources reached 9.9 GW in 2010, mainly from low

and medium temperature sources. There was a linear trend of about 400 MW increase per year

from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, it reached 11.8 GW. In next 4 years, it reached a power capacity of

14 GW in 2019. It is estimated that by 2050, it will reach a power capacity of about 140 GW

worldwide; in that case geothermal would encompass 8.3% of the world’s power generation and

serve 17% of the population, with 40 countries generating 100% of their power from geothermal

sources. Also, geothermal technology can eliminate over 1000 million tons of CO2 from the

atmosphere annually. [33]

54
 Figure 34: Installed capacity (GW) of Geothermal power worldwide

There are some potential environmental impacts from the geothermal power development. These

impacts include gaseous emission, water pollution, land usage, induced seismicity, water use and

induced landslides etc. Despite these potential impacts of geothermal energy, current and long-

term geothermal energy technologies generally, present much lower environmental hazards as

compared to conventional fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants.

EGS is emerging technologies that have the potential to significantly reduce the world’s

dependence on carbon-based energy sources. Commercial application of EGS technology is some

years off but its enormous potential demands investment for further research.

55
Conclusion:

The harnessing of the energy from renewable sources is the most emerging field around the world.

The ongoing progress in these fields promise a bright and green energy for the world. With

development of the renewable energy the environmental degradation and global warming is

declined to a great extent. Emerging technologies and ongoing research in fields such as 3rd

generation PV, green hydrogen , floating PV, enhanced geothermal systems, hybrid solar, air borne

wind and offshore floating etc. are expected to fulfill the energy demand in the world without

degrading the environment.Net installed renewable capacity will grow by nearly 4% globally in

2020, reaching almost 200 GW. Higher additions of wind and ocean energy are taking global

renewable capacity additions to a new record this year, accounting for almost 90% of the increase

in total power capacity worldwide.

56
References

[1] A. U, D. M and S. R, "Airborne wind energy Berlin".

[2] J. JM and M. D, "Dynamics of offshore floating wind turbines-analysis ofthree concepts," Wind Energy, vol.
69, p. 557, 2011.

[3] B. TK and v. K. GAM, "Review of state of the art in smart rotor control researchfor wind turbines. 2010;46:1–
27.," Prog Aerosp Sci, vol. 46, pp. 1-27, 2010.

[4] J. P, "Innovation in wind turbine design," Second ed. Wiley , 2018.

[5] "Renewable Energy Hub," [Online]. Available: https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/solar-thermal-

information/solar-thermal-technological-advancement-and-future-technologies/.

[6] M. D, "Advances in solar thermal electricity technology," . Sol. Energy , vol. 76, pp. 19-36, 2004.

[7] S. S, K. MK and P. M, "Performance enhancement of solar collectors—a review," Renewable Sustainable

Energy Rev. , vol. 49, pp. 192-210, 2015.

[8] B. D, V. R and S. P, "Innovation in concentrated solar power," Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, vol. 95, pp. 25-
2703, 2011.

[9] "Emerging technologies in Solar," [Online]. Available: adlittle.com/ADL-Renewable-Energy-Emerging-PV-

Technology.pdf.

[10] M. B. a. C. B. Nicole Mariotti, "Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies and Eco-Design—Criticisms and Potential
Improvements," 2020.

[11] "Perovskite solar cells: an emerging photovoltaic technology," 2015.

[12] "A short overview of the third-generation solar cells: concept, materials, and performance," [Online]. Available:
https://dracula-technologies.com/what-is-the-third-generation-of-photovoltaic..

[13] "Quantum dot solar cells," 2002.

[14] "Quantum Dot Solr cell," [Online]. Available: https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2018/05/quantum-dot-

solar-cells-are-coming.

[15] [Online]. Available: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080.

[16] "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217305246," [Online].

[17] "https://www.hahasmart.com/blog/2988/floating-solar-advantages-and-disadvantages," [Online].

[18] I. Staffell, D. Scamman, A. Abad, P. Balcombe, P. Dodds, P. Ekins, N. Shah and K. Ward, "The role of hydrogen
and fuel cells in the global energy system," Energy Environ. Sci, vol. 2, pp. 463-491, 2019.

[19] [Online]. Available: http://www.ika.rwthaachen.de/r2h/index.php/-.

57
[20] Mattey.J, "The Fuel Cell Industry Review," Fuel Cell Today, 2012.

[21] J. Wang, H. Wang and Y. Fan, "Techno-Economic challenges of fuel cell commercialization," Engineering, pp.
352-360, 2018.

[22] W. Han, G. Zhang, J. Xiao, P. Bénard and R. Chahine, "Demonstrations and marketing strategies of hydrogen
fuel cell vehicles in China," Int J Hydrogen Energy, p. 25, 2014.

[23] S. Hwangbo, S. Heo and C. Yoo, "Network modeling of future hydrogen production by combining conventional
steam methane reforming and a cascade of waste biogas treatment processes under uncertain demand
conditions," Energy Convers Manag, vol. 165, pp. 316-333, 2018.

[24] M. Üçok, "Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles -," IICEC energy and climate research paper, 2019.

[25] I. r. e. a. (IRENA), "Innovation outlook: Ocean energy technologies," 2020.

[26] IRENA, "TIDAL energy techmology brief," 2014.

[27] IRENA, "Wave Energy: technology brief," 2014.

[28] E. S.-M. a. A.-J. P.-M. Miguel-Angel Perea-Moreno, "Biomass as Renewable Energy: Worldwide Research
Trends," 2019.

[29] "New Technologies Advance Biomass for Power Generation," [Online]. Available:
https://www.powermag.com/.

[30] "https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/geothermal/," [Online].

[31] "https://openei.org/wiki/Enhanced_Geothermal_Systems_(EGS)," [Online].

[32] "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286478543_Enhanced_geothermal_systems_EGS_A_review,"
[Online].

[33] [Online]. Available: http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/geothermal-energy-factsheet.

58