EM 611 Najwa Bugaighis Tripoli University Engineering Management

Overview on Renewable Energy Sources

Introduction

Non-renewable: A non-renewable resource is a limited natural resource that cannot be

re-made or re-grown in a short amount of time at a scale comparable to its
consumption
Renewable: Renewable resources are unlimited natural resources that can be
replenished in a short period of time

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 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Hydropower is generated from water moving in the

hydrological cycle, which is driven by solar radiation. It is the
Hydropower flow of water in rivers, driven by the force of gravity to move
from higher to lower elevations that can be used to generate
hydropower
 Types of Sun-Tracking Concentrating Collectors
A RoR HPP draws the energy for electricity production mainly from the available flow of the
river. Such a hydropower plant may include some short-term storage, allowing for some
Run-of-River adaptations to the demand profile, but the generation profile will vary according to the local
(RoR) river flow conditions; therefore, generation depends on precipitation and runoff and may
have substantial daily, monthly, or seasonal variations.

Hydropower Storage
Plant (reservoir)

Pumped
Storage
HPPs
 Types of Sun-Tracking Concentrating Collectors

Run-of-River
(RoR)
Hydropower plants with a reservoir are called storage hydropower since

Hydropower Storage they store water for later consumption. The reservoir reduces the
dependence on the variability of the inflow, and the generating stations
Plant (reservoir) are located on a downstream connected to the reservoir through
pipelines. The type and design of reservoirs are decided by the landscape.

Pumped
Storage
HPPs
 Types of Sun-Tracking Concentrating Collectors

Run-of-River
(RoR)

Hydropower Storage
Plant (reservoir)
Pumped storage hydropower plants are not energy sources, but they can
be as storage devices. In such a system, water is pumped from a lower
Pumped reservoir into an upper reservoir, usually during off-peak hours, while
Storage flow is reversed to generate electricity during the daily peak load period.

HPPs Although the losses of the pumping process make such a plant a net
energy consumer, the plant can provide large-scale energy storage system
benefits.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Hydropower is a proven and well-advanced technology based

on more than a century of experience. Hydropower today is an
extremely flexible power technology with among the best
conversion efficiencies of all energy sources (90%, water to
Hydropower wire) due to its direct transformation of hydraulic energy to
electricity. Still, there is room for further improvement by
refining operation, reducing environmental impacts, adapting
to new social and environmental requirements, and developing
more robust and cost-effective technological solutions
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass gets its energy from the sun. All organic matter
contains stored energy from the sun. During a process called
photosynthesis, sunlight gives plants the energy they need to
Biomass convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugars.
These sugars, called carbohydrates, supply plants and the
animals that eat plants with energy. Foods rich in
carbohydrates are a good source of energy for the human
body.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Photosynthesis:
In the process of photosynthesis, plants convert radiant energy
from the sun into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

Biomass
 Types of Renewable Energy

Types pf Biomass

Biomass
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Geothermal power plants access the underground steam or hot

water from wells drilled a mile or more into the earth. The
steam or hot water is piped up from the well to drive a
Geothermal conventional steam turbine, which powers an electric
generator. Typically, the water is then returned to the ground
to recharge the reservoir and complete the renewable energy
cycle.
 Types of Renewable Energy
Dry steam plants use hydrothermal fluids that are primarily steam. The steam travels directly
to a turbine, which drives a generator that produces electricity. The steam eliminates the need
Dry Steam to burn fossil fuels to run the turbine (also eliminating the need to transport and store fuels).
These plants emit only excess steam and very minor amounts of gases

Geothermal Flash
Plant Steam

Binary
Cycle
 Types of Renewable Energy

Dry Steam
Flash steam plants are the most common type of geothermal power
generation plants in operation today. Fluid at temperatures greater than
Geothermal Flash 360°F (182°C) is pumped under high pressure into a tank at the surface

Plant Steam held at a much lower pressure, causing some of the fluid to rapidly
vaporize, or "flash." The vapor then drives a turbine, which drives a
generator. If any liquid remains in the tank, it can be flashed again in a
second tank to extract even more energy.
Binary
Cycle
 Types of Renewable Energy

Dry Steam

Geothermal Flash
Plant Steam

Binary
Cycle
 Types of Renewable Energy

Dry Steam

Geothermal Flash
Plant Steam Binary cycle geothermal power generation plants differ from Dry Steam
and Flash Steam systems in that the water or steam from the geothermal
reservoir never meets the turbine/generator units. Low to moderately
Binary heated (below 400°F) geothermal fluid and a secondary (hence,

Cycle "binary") fluid with a much lower boiling point that water pass through a
heat exchanger. Heat from the geothermal fluid causes the secondary
fluid to flash to vapor, which then drives the turbines and subsequently,
the generators
 Types of Renewable Energy

Dry Steam

Geothermal Flash
Plant Steam

Binary
Cycle
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

The ocean can produce two types of energy: thermal energy

from the sun’s heat, and mechanical energy from the tides and
waves.
Ocean Energy Ocean thermal energy can be used for many applications,
including electricity generation. Electricity conversion
systems use either the warm surface water or boil the seawater
to turn a turbine, which activates a generator.
 Types of Renewable Energy

The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five

distinct sources, each with different origins and each requiring
Ocean Energy different technologies for conversion. These resources are:
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave Tidal & Ocean

Energy Currents
Ocean
Energy
Ocean Tidal Rise
Thermal & Fall
Energy
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave Tidal & Ocean

Energy Currents
Ocean
Energy
Ocean Tidal Rise
Thermal & Fall
Energy
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave energy can be resolved into two forms – potential energy,

caused by gravity, and kinetic energy, caused by the water motion.
Wave The energy can be resolved into three components:
• Heave – the vertical component caused by gravity
Energy • Surge – the horizontal component
• Pitch – the rotation component of any wave
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave Tidal & Ocean

Energy Currents
Ocean
Energy
Ocean Tidal Rise
Thermal & Fall
Energy
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Tidal currents are generated by horizontal movements of water,

modified by seabed bathymetry, particularly near coasts or other
Tidal & Ocean constrictions, e.g., islands.
Currents
tidal energy converters are the most common to date. The main
difference between tidal and river/ocean current turbines is that
river and ocean currents flow in a single direction while tidal
turbines reverse flow direction two or four times per day during ebb
and flood cycles.
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave Tidal & Ocean

Energy Currents
Ocean
Energy
Ocean Tidal Rise
Thermal & Fall
Energy
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

The most direct harnessing of ocean solar power is probably through

an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plant. Among ocean
Ocean
energy sources, OTEC is one of the continuously available renewable
Thermal resources which can contribute to base load power supply,
Energy substituting this way large quantities of fossil fuel now employed to
generate power.
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plants are based in three
possible types of cycle for the conversion scheme: open, closed and
hybrid.
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Wave Tidal & Ocean

Energy Currents
Ocean
Energy
Ocean Tidal Rise
Thermal & Fall
Energy
 The renewable energy resource in the ocean comes from five distinct sources, each with
different origins and each requiring different technologies for conversion. These resources
are:

Tidal rise and fall are the result of gravitational attraction of the
Earth / Moon and the Sun on the ocean. In most parts of the world
Tidal
there are two tides a day (called ‘semi-diurnal’), whilst in other
Rise & places there is only one tide a day. During the year, the amplitude of
Fall the tides varies depending on the respective positions of the Earth,
the Moon, and the Sun. When the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned
(at full moon and at new moon) maximum tidal level occurs (i.e.,
spring tides). The opposite tides, called neap tides occur when the
gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are in quadrature; they
occur during quarter moons.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Compared with traditional energy sources, wind energy has

several benefits and advantages. Unlike fossil fuels that emit
harmful gases and nuclear power that generates radioactive
wastes, wind power is a clean and environmentally friendly
Wind Energy energy source. As an inexhaustible and free energy source, it
is available and plentiful in most regions of the earth. In
addition, more extensive use of wind power would help
reduce the demands for fossil fuels, which may run out
sometime in this century, according to their present
consumptions.
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

This converter consists of only a few aerodynamically

The horizontal optimized rotor blades, which for the purpose of
axis converter regulation can usually be turned about their long axis
(Pitch-regulation)
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

a vertical axis construction. Their advantage is that they do not depend on the direction of the wind.
DARRIEUS To start, they need because of their low starting torque the help of a generator working as a motor
or the help of a SAVONIUS rotor installed on top of the vertical axis.
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

it is used as a measurement device especially for wind velocity; it is used for power production for
SAVONIUS
very small capacities under 100 W.
Rotor
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

The horizontal The Up-Stream

DARRIEUS SAVONIUS
axis converter multi-blade Power
converter Rotor
Station
 Different Types of Wind Energy Converters

In principle, it can be regarded as a mix between a wind converter and a solar collector. The top of
a narrow, high tower contains a wind wheel on a vertical axis driven by the rising warm air. A solar
Up-Stream
collector installed around the foot of the tower heats up the air. The design of the collector is
Power
simple; a transparent plastic foil is fixed several meters above the ground in a circle around the
Station tower. Therefore, the station needs a lot of space, and the tower must be very high. Such a system
has a very poor efficiency, only about 1%. The advantage of such a design is its technical
simplicity, which may enable developing countries to construct it by themselves.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Biomass Geothermal Ocean

Hydropower
Energy Energy Energy

Wind Solar
Energy Energy
 Types of Renewable Energy

Solar energy is quite simply the energy produced directly by

the sun and collected elsewhere, normally the Earth. The sun
creates its energy through a thermonuclear process that
converts about 650,000,000 tons of hydrogen to helium every
Solar Energy second. The process creates heat and electromagnetic
radiation. The heat remains in the sun and is instrumental in
maintaining the thermonuclear reaction. The electromagnetic
radiation (including visible light, infra-red light, and ultra-
violet radiation) streams out into space in all directions.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Photovoltaic Photovoltaic comes from the words photo, meaning light,

and volt, a measurement of electricity. Sometimes
Electricity photovoltaic cells are called PV cells or solar cells for
short. Solar cells are made up of silicon, the same

Solar substance that makes up sand. Silicon is the second most

common substance on Earth.
Electricity Solar cells can supply energy to anything that is powered
by batteries or electric power. Electricity is produced
when radiant energy from the sun strikes the solar cell,
Solar causing the electrons to move around.
Thermal The action of the electrons starts an electric current. The
conversion of sunlight into electricity takes place silently
Electricity and instantly. There are no mechanical parts to wear out.
 Types of Renewable Energy

Photovoltaic Like solar cells, solar thermal systems, also called

concentrated solar power (CSP), use solar energy to
Electricity produce electricity, but in a different way.
Most solar thermal systems use a solar collector with a

Solar mirrored surface to focus sunlight onto a receiver that

heats a liquid. The super-heated liquid is used to make
Electricity steam to produce electricity in the same way that coal
plants do.
Solar energy has great potential for the future. Solar
Solar energy is free, and its supplies are unlimited. It does not
Thermal pollute or otherwise damage the environment. It cannot
be controlled by any one nation or industry. If we can
Electricity improve the technology to harness the sun’s enormous
power, we may never face energy shortages again.
Conclusion
• Hydropower today is an extremely flexible power technology with among the best conversion efficiencies of all energy
sources (90%, water to wire) due to its direct transformation of hydraulic energy to electricity.

• Biomass is a sustainable fuel that can deliver a significant reduction in net carbon emissions when compared with fossil
fuels.

• Ocean energy sources such as wave power, tides and ocean currents are almost 100 percent predictable. The endless
flows create reliability of the future energy availability.

• Compared with traditional energy sources, wind energy has several benefits and advantages. Unlike fossil fuels that emit
harmful gases and nuclear power that generates radioactive wastes, wind power is a clean and environmentally friendly
energy source.

• The sun provides more than enough energy to meet the whole world's energy needs, and unlike fossil fuels, it won't run
out anytime soon.