"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Tag: Green energy
PV monitoring
10/22/17
“How can we monitor the efficiency of our solar power systems?”
Solar panels are pieces of very active technology. And as such, they are prone to fluctuations in reliability and efficiency. So how could we monitor such changes? Well, what if we were to use software that detected such effects? This is the fundamental idea behind PV monitoring and is used in industries all over the world.
How Renewable Energy is Helping Grid Stability
10/16/17
“How can renewable energy increase grid stability?”
Numerous critics of renewable energy believe that by increasing its usage will make the grid more unstable due to the fluctuating nature of the sun and wind. However, a leaked six-page document from the U.S Department of Energy has found that such claims are unfounded and that the increased use of energy efficiency, battery storage, and demand response was actually making the grid more reliable! Just goes to show that with a little bit of science even the most intuitive of perspectives can be proven untrue.
Why Lithium-ion Batteries are Better for Renewable Energy Integration
10/11/17
“What is one possibility to solve renewable energy storage?”
Subject Solar Energy / Storage Innovations
Date: October 11, 2017
Purpose
I am writing to you to inform you about recent difficulties in solar energy integration. As it stands, solar energy is generated in an active form, meaning that once created it must be used immediately. To solve this, we can deploy Lithium-ion batteries to act as reservoirs.
Summary
Lithium-Ion Batteries have properties that make them a strong option for renewable energy integration. Lithium-ion batteries are composed of lithium and carbon, giving them special characteristics. However, these same properties also give Lithium-Ion Batteries special problems, such as being prone to spontaneous explosions. (Brain, 2006)
Background
One of the major bottlenecks to renewable energy integration is a lack of viable storage mechanisms. One of the most viable solutions, battery systems, has numerous drawbacks. They can take up large amounts of space, and provide a low energy to space ratio. Consequentially, the current battery technology paradigm needs to be overhauled.
Discussion
Introduction
Lithium-Ion Battery Technologies are a new battery technology. Because of their unique properties, they hold much potential for Renewable Energy Storage. However, this same composition that makes it special also makes it potent for mishap.
Advantages
Lithium-ion Batteries include numerous advantages. Their much more energy dense, meaning that a small volume can hold a lot of charge, bypassing the previous space issue. They also tend to keep this charge, losing only 5%/month compared to the average 20%/month, allowing renewable energy to be stored for a longer time. They also can also be charged before they run out of power and can handle hundreds of charge/discharge cycles, making them quite viable for being used as battery storage with the dynamic character of renewable energy. (Brain, 2006)
Drawbacks
These batteries also come with numerous drawbacks. They start degrading once manufactured, decay faster in the presence of high temperatures, are ruined upon complete discharge, require an onboard control system, and most importantly, may burst into flame spontaneously if it overheats. (Brain, 2006)
How we can overcome this
Keep these batteries in low-temperature facilities. This will keep their charge more stable, have it degrade slower, and most importantly prevent spontaneous explosions.
Conclusion
Even with their flaws, Lithium-ion technology holds much potential for use in renewable energy integration. Their high energy density combined with their ability to handle dynamics charging and discharging gives them an unparalleled capacity to work with renewable energy. If we can store them in colder locations, then we can also greatly reduce their drawbacks.
References
Brain, Marshall. “How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work.” How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work | HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 14 Nov. 2006, electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/lithium-ion-battery.htm.
Grid Resilience
10/10/17
“How can we measure how resilient the grid is?”
Grid reliability is a great way to measure the stability of the grid. But unfortunately, it does not give us the complete picture. When a grid systems experience are taken down, they need time to recover. The less time it takes, then the more resilient a grid will be. Taken the two systems in the picture for example. When the bottom one experiences a disruption, not only will it need a long time to recover but it does not reach close to its full potential again. In contrast, the top one only experiences a brief hiccup and quickly flows back to normal. This measure is called Grid Resilience and is an important part of the analysis of electrical systems.
Grid Reliability
10/09/17
“What is one is one measure of how functional the grid is?”
The grid is one of the most important works of engineering to society. Nearly every facet of our modern lives depends upon it, whether it be using energy to warm our homes, the plug-in wifi hotspots to communicate with our friends, or even keeping the food stored in our refrigerators cold. Since it is important, we must use our engineering mindset to keep track of how stable this system is. One way to do that is to introduce a measure called Grid Reliability, which is the ratio of the times when the grid is functioning to not functioning. With this tool, we can see which parts of the grid need assistance and why.
How microgrids can help get Puerto Rico back on its feet
10/03/17
“How can the people of Puerto Rico use microgrid technology to help get their infrastructure up and running?”
For those of you who are out of the loop, a recent hurricane has totaled the energy infrastructure of Puerto Rico. As much as 95% of the island is out of power, affecting around 3.5 million individuals! But how can the people of Puerto Rico use their engineering mindset to fix this problem? Well, if they have been keeping up on recent trends, then they might have heard of a little technology called microgrids. They can be set up much quicker than for a centralized grid to be repaired and are even cheaper to run. The German company Sonnen GmbH is already supplying the people of Puerto Rico with these much-needed systems.
Demand response
08/02/17
“How can we prevent a grid overload using a simple technique?”
We have a problem. We would like the demand usage for the electric grid to be as equalized as possible, such that the electricity drawn in at one time would look the same as the electricity drawn in at another. But this is almost never the case. Instead, the demand for the grid varies greatly throughout the day. And sometimes these demand peaks are so high that they destabilize the grid! So how can we use our engineering mindset to solve this problem? Well, what if we were to just shift electricity usage from times of peak load to times of less intensive load? This is the fundamental idea behind demand response and can be accomplished with economic incentives and through smart electricity control.
Biomass Power Plant
06/30/17
“How can we use agriculture for power plants?”
It is well known that there are numerous plant based power sources existent such as ethanol fuel. However, is it possible to generalize this concept and use it to make industrial levels of power? Well, after many long years of research, engineers have been able to make something called biomass power plants, which use heaps of agriculture to make renewable energy. Although it is not currently economically profitable, it still remains a scientific curiosity to investigate for the future.
Ethanol fuel
06/27/17
“Can we use plants to make fuel?”
Plants can be found everywhere on this planet, from the sandiest deserts to the densest rainforests. And like animals, all of these plants have one thing in common, stored energy! So logically speaking, couldn’t we convert some of this plant matter into a fuel for our own use? Well, let’s use our scientific mindset to find out.
First, let’s gather up some plants with starches and sugars such as corn grain and place it in a production facility. Then, let’s break it down into its component sugars and convert into a chemical called ethanol. Ethanol is a flammable liquid that can be used to power internal combustion engines. Because of its wide availability in agricultural areas, ethanol fuel is a popular choice in the nation of Brazil and the Great Plains of the United States.
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