Aggregated models of permanent magnet synchronous generators wind farms

This paper evaluates the responses of three aggregated models of a wind farm consisting of variable speed permanent magnet synchronous generator wind turbines when wind fluctuations or grid disturbances occur. These responses are compared with those of the detailed wind farm model, in order to verify the effectiveness of the studied aggregation methods for this type of wind farms. The equivalent wind farm models have been developed by adapting different aggregation criteria that already exist in technical literature and had been applied to other technologies. In this work, these methods have been modified to suit them to the permanent magnet synchronous generator technology. The results show that the three aggregated models provide very similar results to the detailed model, both in the evolution of active power when fluctuations in wind speed occur, and in the active power and DC-link voltage during the two simulated voltage dips. Notably, the aggregated model with an approximate mechanical torque offers excellent results.     

A new methodology for urban wind resource assessment

In the latest years the wind energy sector experienced an exponential growth all over the world. What started as a deployment of onshore projects, soon moved to offshore and, more recently to the urban environment within the context of smart cities and renewable micro-generation. However, urban wind projects using micro turbines do not have enough profit margins to enable the setup of comprehensive and expensive measurement campaigns, a standard procedure for the deployment of large wind parks. To respond to the wind assessment needs of the future smart cities a new and simple methodology for urban wind resource assessment was developed. This methodology is based on the construction of a surface involving a built area in order to estimate the wind potential by treating it as very complex orography. This is a straightforward methodology that allows estimating the sustainable urban wind potential, being suitable to map the urban wind resource in large areas. The methodology was applied to a case study and the results enabled the wind potential assessment of a large urban area being consistent with experimental data obtained in the case study area, with maximum deviations of the order of 10% (mean wind speed) and 20% (power density).     

Assessing ecological risks of offshore wind power on Kattegat cod

Offshore wind power is expanding with particular development plans in the Baltic and the North Sea. To reassure an environmentally acceptable development, regulatory authorities need to make informed decisions even when evidence and experience are scarce. In this study Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) has been applied on a wind farm project in Kattegat, proposed within a spawning ground for the Kattegat cod, a threatened population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). Six stressors with potential impacts on cod and related to wind farms were investigated. Three of them – extreme noise from pile driving, noise from vessels, and disturbances due to cable-trenching – are related to the construction phase, while lubricant spills and noise from turbines together with electric fields from cables are related to the operation phase. The ecological risk was derived from the combined likelihood and magnitude of potential adverse effects from stressors to the cod population using a weight-of-evidence (WOE) ranking procedure. Available evidence was evaluated based on its reliability, and contradictory arguments were balanced against each other using evidence maps. The option of performing hazardous construction events (e.g. pile-driving) outside biologically sensitive periods was incorporated in the assessment. It was shown that the construction of the wind farm poses a high risk to cod, as defined by the ranked and combined likelihoods and magnitudes of adverse effects. However by avoiding particular construction events during the cod recruitment period ecological risks can be significantly reduced. Specifically for this case, ecological risks are reduced from high to low by avoiding pile-driving from December through June, which confirms previous indications that pile-driving is the most ecologically hazardous activity of offshore wind power development. Additional risk reduction is achieved by avoiding cable trenching from January through May. The study thus illustrates the effectiveness of time-planning for risk reduction. Importantly, the study illustrates how combined ERA and WOE methods can be valuable for handling uncertainties of environmental impacts within offshore industrial development.     

Experimental study of the functionality of a semisubmersible wind turbine combined with flap-type Wave Energy Converters

In the present paper the functionality of the Semisubmersible wind energy and Flap-type wave energy Converter (SFC) is examined experimentally. In order to study the functionality of the SFC, the focus is on operational environmental conditions. SFC is a combined concept that utilizes offshore wind energy and ocean wave energy for power production. Details are presented as far as the physical modelling of the wind turbine with the use of a redesigned small-scale rotor and of the Power Take-Off mechanism of the Wave Energy Converters (WECs) with the use of a configuration that is based on a mechanical rotary damper. Tests with quasi-static excitation, motion decay, regular and irregular waves without and with wind that is uniform are conducted on an 1:50 scale physical model. The experimental data are compared with numerical predictions obtained by a fully coupled numerical model using Simo/Riflex tool. A good agreement is observed between experimental and numerical predictions. The combined operation of WECs doesn't affect the tension of mooring lines nor the acceleration of nacelle and the bending moment in tower's base. The produced power of the WECs of the SFC and consequently the functionality of the SFC is estimated.     

Analysis of technology improvement opportunities for a 1.5 MW wind turbine using a hybrid stochastic approach in life cycle assessment

This paper presents an analysis of potential technological advancements for a 1.5 MW wind turbine using a hybrid stochastic method to improve uncertainty estimates of embodied energy and embodied carbon. The analysis is specifically aimed at these two quantities due to the fact that LCA based design decision making is of utmost importance at the concept design stage. In the presented case studies, better results for the baseline turbine were observed compared to turbines with the proposed technological advancements. Embodied carbon and embodied energy results for the baseline turbine show that there is about 85% probability that the turbine manufacturers may have lost the chance to reduce carbon emissions, and 50% probability that they may have lost the chance to reduce the primary energy consumed during its manufacture. The paper also highlights that the adopted methodology can be used to support design decision making and hence is more feasible for LCA studies.     

A re-look at the biochemical strategies to enhance butanol production

Butanol produced from renewable feedstock is defined as an emerging biofuel and biochemical. Research efforts made during the last three decades on biochemical production of butanol via conventional ABE (acetone-ethanol-butanol) fermentation has tried to bring biobutanol close to competition with petrobutanol. However, each new effort of development has been often countered by new challenges, confining biobutanol production mostly to the laboratory scale. This review provides a systematic, comparative analysis of different steps in biochemical production of butanol and identifies the counteractive aspects and challenges to overcome. A special emphasis is given on process inhibitors, applied detoxification techniques, chemical supplements and research & development in industry in order to enhance and update ABE fermentation and make it cost effective. Biobutanol future lies in utilization of inexpensive cellulose enriched lignocellulosic hydrolysates and hyper-butanol producing bacteria, combined with specific detoxification techniques and followed by efficient continuous fermentation technologies together with in situ product recovery.     

Climate change impacts of power generation from residual biomass

The European Union relies largely on bioenergy to achieve its climate and energy targets for 2020 and beyond.We assess, using Attributional Life Cycle Assessment (A-LCA), the climate change mitigation potential of three bioenergy power plants fuelled by residual biomass compared to a fossil system based on the European power generation mix. We study forest residues, cereal straws and cattle slurry.Our A-LCA methodology includes: i) supply chains and biogenic-CO₂ flows; ii) explicit treatment of time of emissions; iii) instantaneous and time-integrated climate metrics.Power generation from cereal straws and cattle slurry can provide significant global warming mitigation by 2100 compared to current European electricity mix in all of the conditions considered.The mitigation potential of forest residues depends on the decay rate considered. Power generation from forest logging residues is an effective mitigation solution compared to the current EU mix only in conditions of decay rates above 5.2% a⁻¹. Even with faster-decomposing feedstocks, bioenergy temporarily causes a STR(i) and STR(c) higher than the fossil system.The mitigation potential of bioenergy technologies is overestimated when biogenic-CO₂ flows are excluded. Results based solely on supply-chain emissions can only be interpreted as an estimation of the long-term (>100 years) mitigation potential of bioenergy systems interrupted at the end of the lifetime of the plant and whose carbon stock is allowed to accumulate back.Strategies for bioenergy deployment should take into account possible increases in global warming rate and possible temporary increases in temperature anomaly as well as of cumulative radiative forcing.     

Biopower from direct firing of crop and forestry residues in China: A review of developments and investment outlook

This paper reviews developments in the direct-fired biomass power sector and provides an up to date investment outlook by calculating the Net Present Value of new investments, and the appropriate level of Feed-in-Tariff needed to stimulate future investment. An overview is provided of support policies, historical growth in installations, and main market players. A number of data sources is combined to build a database with detailed information of individual biopower projects. This data is used to describe technological and market trends, which are used in a cash flow model to calculate the NPV of a typical project. The NPV for new projects is estimated to be negative, and investment should be expected to stall without proper policy intervention. Increasing fuel prices, local competition over biomass fuel resources, lower than expected operational performance and a downturn in carbon markets have deteriorated the investment outlook. In order to ensure reasonable profitability, the Feed-In-Tariff should be increased, from the current level of 90.9 € MWh⁻¹, to between 97 and 105 € MWh⁻¹. Where possible, government organizations should help organize demand for the supply of heat. Local rural energy bureaus may help organize supply networks for biomass fuels throughout the country, in order to reduce seasonal and local fuel scarcity and price fluctuations.     

Smart control of a horizontal axis wind turbine using dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

Rotating stall around a small-scale horizontal axis wind turbine was experimentally studied to characterize and assess smart rotor control by plasma actuators. Phase-locked Particle Image Velocimetry was used to map the flow over the rotor blade suction surface at numerous radial stations at a range of tip-speed-ratios. Flow separation occurred from the inboard of the blade and spread radially outwards as the tip-speed-ratio reduced. Plasma actuators placed along the span that produced a chord-wise body force had very little effect on the flow separation, even when operated in pulsed forcing mode. In contrast, plasma actuators along the blade chord that produced a body force into the radial directions (plasma vortex generators) successfully mitigated rotating stall. Torque due to aerodynamic drag was reduced by up to 22% at the lowest tip-speed-ratio of 3.7, suppressing stall over the outboard 50% of the blade. This was due to quasi-two-dimensional flow reattachment in the outboard region, and shifting of a fully stalled zone towards the hub in the inboard region because the plasma-induced body force counteracted the Coriolis-induced radial flow. This can significantly increase the turbine power output in unfavourable wind conditions and during start-up.     

Environmental assessment of electricity generation from an Italian anaerobic digestion plant

A standard ISO Life Cycle Assessment study was carried out to evaluate the environmental sustainability of electricity production from an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant using a mixture of dedicated energy crops, agricultural residues and livestock effluents as input materials. The functional unit was 1 MJ of electricity. System boundaries were from cradle to grave and covered all the phases from energy crops cultivation to the production of biogas and its use in a Combined Heat and Power plant to produce electricity. Liquid and solid digestate storage and spreading on agricultural land were included. Primary data were collected from the AD plant for all the above phases. Since heat produced is used only internally, no allocation was applied in the study. As regards digestate management, CH₄ emissions were calculated from literature, whereas four literature methods were applied for calculation of nitrogen emissions with the goal to perform a sensitivity analysis on LCA results. ILCD Handbook impact assessment methodologies were used. Results show that the main hotspots are energy crops cultivation and the management of digestate, mainly because of both nitrogen and methane emissions, affecting Global Warming, Acidification, Marine and Freshwater Eutrophication. Finally, a detailed Monte Carlo analysis, was carried out to evaluate the results uncertainty. The study represents the state of the art about the environmental performance of the AD plant with the use of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, which both improve the reliability of results, and allows drawing general conclusions on how to mitigate the environmental impacts of AD process.     

Viability of off-grid electricity supply using rice husk: A case study from South Asia

Rice husk-based electricity generation and supply has been popularized in South Asia by the Husk Power Systems (HPS) and the Decentralised Energy Systems India (DESI), two enterprises that have successfully provided electricity access using this resource. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the conditions under which a small-scale rural power supply business becomes viable and to explore whether larger plants can be used to electrify a cluster of villages. Based on the financial analysis of alternative supply options considering residential and productive demands for electricity under different scenarios, the paper shows that serving low electricity consuming customers alone leads to part capacity utilization of the electricity generation plant and results in a high cost of supply. Higher electricity use improves the financial viability but such consumption behaviour benefits high consuming customers greatly. The integration of rice mill demand, particularly during the off-peak period, with a predominant residential peak demand system improves the viability and brings the levelised cost of supply down. Finally, larger plants bring down the cost significantly to offer a competitive supply. But the higher investment need and the risks related to monopoly supply of husk from the rice mill, organizational challenges of managing a larger distribution area and the risk of plant failure can adversely affect the investor interest. Moreover, the regulatory uncertainties and the potential for grid extension can hinder business activities in this area.     

Structural and chemical analysis of process residue from biochemical conversion of wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.) to ethanol

Biochemical conversion of lignocellulose to fermentable carbohydrates for ethanol production is now being implemented in large-scale industrial production. Applying hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis for the conversion process, a residue containing substantial amounts of lignin will be generated. So far little is known about the composition of this lignin residue which at present is mainly incinerated for heat and power generation and not yet converted so much into more valuable products.In this study, the structural and chemical composition of the solid and liquid fractions of lignin residue from wheat straw were analysed and processing factors discussed. Roughly 70 and 15% of the solid mass fraction consisted of lignin and ash, respectively. Residual carbohydrates mostly originated from hemicellulose in the liquid fraction and from cellulose in the solid fraction. The solid fraction also contained significant amounts of protein, which is a valuable by-product when used as animal feed or when enzymes and yeast cells are separated for process recycling. Silica was the dominant constituent in the mineral fraction and except for few fragments of lignified middle lamellae most particles in the solid fraction appeared as silica coated by lignin, hampering separation of the two components before incineration or refinement of the residue.     

Breakeven price of biomass from switchgrass,big bluestem,and Indiangrass in a dual-purpose production system in Tennessee

The objective was to determine the breakeven price for switchgrass (SG) (Panicum virgatum L.), a mix of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) and Indiangrass (BBIG) (Sorghastrum nutans L. Nash), and a combination of SG and BBIG (SG/BBIG) produced under three harvest treatments. Two-harvest treatments included a forage harvest at early boot (EB) and at early seedhead (ESH) plus a biomass harvest at fall dormancy (FD). The third harvest treatment was a single biomass harvest at FD. Mixed models were used to determine if there were differences in yield, crude protein, and nutrient removal for each of the native warm-season grass (NWSG) treatments at each harvest. The EB plus FD harvest system would be preferred over the ESH plus FD harvest system for all NWSG treatments. BBIG was the only NWSG treatment with a breakeven price for biomass that decreased with an EB harvest. For all three NWSG treatments, a producer would be better off harvesting once a year for biomass than twice for forage and biomass. The cost of harvesting and replacing the nutrients for the forage harvest was greater than the revenue received from selling the forage.     

Combined ethanol and methane production from switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) impregnated with lime prior to steam explosion

Pretreatments are crucial to achieve efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to soluble sugars. In this light, switchgrass was subjected to 13 pretreatments including steam explosion alone (195 °C for 5, 10 and 15 min) and after impregnation with the following catalysts: Ca(OH)₂ at low (0.4%) and high (0.7%) concentration; Ca(OH)₂ at high concentration and higher temperature (205 °C for 5, 10 and 15 min); H₂SO₄ (0.2% at 195 °C for 10 min) as reference acid catalyst before steam explosion. Enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out to assess pretreatment efficiency in both solid and liquid fraction. Thereafter, in selected pretreatments the solid fraction was subjected to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), while the liquid fraction underwent anaerobic digestion (AD). Lignin removal was lowest (12%) and highest (35%) with steam alone and 0.7% lime, respectively. In general, higher cellulose degradation and lower hemicellulose hydrolysis were observed in this study compared to others, depending on lower biomass hydration during steam explosion. Mild lime addition (0.4% at 195 °C) enhanced ethanol in SSF (+28% than steam alone), while H₂SO₄ boosted methane in AD (+110%). However, methane represented a lesser component in combined energy yield (ethanol, methane and energy content of residual solid). Mild lime addition was also shown less aggressive and secured more residual solid after SSF, resulting in higher energy yield per unit raw biomass. Decreased water consumption, avoidance of toxic compounds in downstream effluents, and post process recovery of Ca(OH)₂ as CaCO₃ represent further advantages of pretreatments involving mild lime addition before steam explosion.     

Continuous liquid-phase valorization of bio-ethanol towards bio-butanol over metal modified alumina

Commercial mixed-phase aluminum oxide was used as a heterogeneous catalyst support, providing slightly basic properties which are well-suited for the condensation of bio-ethanol to C₄ hydrocarbons, such as 1-butanol. Different metals (Cu, Ni and Co), at various metal loadings were deposited on the support. Consequently, the catalytic reactions were carried out in a continuous laboratory-scale fixed bed reactor operated at 240 °C and 70 bar. The catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, TEM, FT-IR, XPS and ICP-OES. Different metals were found to give entirely different product distributions. With the best catalysts, the selectivities towards 1-butanol close to 70% were reached, while the ethanol conversion typically varied between 10 and 30% – strongly depending on the metal applied. It was observed that low loading of copper and high loading of nickel were responsible for the formation of 1-butanol, whereas cobalt and high loading of copper resulted in the production of ethyl acetate. The reaction was found to be extremely sensitive to catalyst preparation conditions and procedures such as metal loading, calcination/reduction temperature and, thereby, to the formation of corresponding crystallite structure.     

Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage

Present wind power is intermittent and cannot be used as the baseload energy source. Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage named Wind powered Thermal Energy System (WTES) is conducted. The thermal energy is generated from the rotating energy directly at the top of the tower by the heat generator, which is a kind of simple and light electric brake. The rest of the system is the same as the tower type concentrated solar power (CSP). The cost estimation suggests that the energy cost of WTES is less than that of the conventional wind power, which must be supported by the backup thermal plants and grid enhancement. The light heat generator reduces some issues of wind power such as noise and vibration.     

The 2013 reforms of the Flemish renewable electricity support: Missed opportunities

The Flemish renewable electricity support system has struggled to address a number of problematic issues in the past. These included excessive profit margins and general malfunctioning of the green certificate market, as well as a lack of qualification of various existing renewable energy technologies. The Flemish government responded to these issues by introducing major reforms in 2013, including “banding” to differentiate the support for various technologies. However, reliable methods for differentiating renewable electricity technologies and calculating support levels have not been sufficiently developed. The main objective of the 2013 reforms was to reduce support costs, but application of German feed-in tariffs on 18 reference technologies has shown that most projects in Flanders continue to receive high levels of support. The 2013 reforms did not succeed in addressing malfunctioning of the green certificate market. On the contrary, the confidence of investors in renewable electricity plants has decreased as the terms of support can be altered retroactively by adjusting remuneration levels and through political interventions. Future adaptations are likely to be made which will further decrease the overall stability and effectiveness of the system.     

Energy recovery from grass of urban roadside verges by anaerobic digestion and combustion after pre-processing

Grass from urban roadside verges is a potential, though widely unused, resource for bioenergy recovery. Two possible bioenergy recovery techniques were tested, i.e. i) direct anaerobic digestion of the whole parent material and ii) the “integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass” (IFBB) procedure, which divides biomass into a press fluid and a press cake by mashing and mechanical dewatering. Biomass yield, chemical composition and canopy height of biomass, contribution of functional groups, fermentation characteristics of silage and press fluids, as well as characteristics of the produced solid fuel was investigated, applying a 4-cut management for anaerobic digestion, a 2-cut management for IFBB and an 8 times mulching as a reference. Mean annual biomass yield (2013 and 2014) was 3.24, 3.33 and 5.68 t dry matter ha⁻¹ for the mulching, 4-cut management and 2-cut management, respectively. Yields were higher in 2014 due to more favourable weather conditions. Fibre concentration was higher in material of the 2-cut management than in the 4-cut management, however, methane yield of the corresponding silages was the same. Highest methane yield was gained from press fluids with 292 l_N kg⁻¹ volatile solids. The press cake had a lower heating value of 16 MJ kg⁻¹ dry matter and a K₂O/CaO index of 0.51–0.88. Gross energy output was 26.4 GJ ha⁻¹ for anaerobic digestion and 84.4 GJ ha⁻¹ for IFBB. Thus, an altered roadside verge management with reduced cutting frequency might allow a significant energy recovery and improved ecosystem services, i.e. increased biodiversity.     

Miscanthus spatial location as seen by farmers: A machine learning approach to model real criteria

Miscanthus is an emerging crop with high potential for bioenergy production. Its effective sustainability depends greatly on the spatial location of this crop, although few modelling approaches have been based on real maps. To fill this gap, we propose a spatially explicit method based on real location data. We mapped all of the miscanthus fields in the supply area of a transformation plant located in east-central France. Then, we used a boosted regression tree, machine learning method, to model miscanthus presence/absence at the level of the farmer's block as mapped in the French land parcel identification system. Each of these modelling spatial units was characterised on agronomical, morphological and contextual variables selected from in-depth spatially explicit farm surveys. The model fostered a two-fold aim: to assess the farmers' decision criteria and predict miscanthus location probability. In addition, we evaluated the consequence of possible legislative constraints, which could prevent the miscanthus to be planted in protected areas or in place of grasslands. The small and complex-shaped farmer's blocks that were predicted by our model to be planted with miscanthus were also characterised by their great distance from the farm and the roads. This kind of result could provide a different perspective on the definition of “marginal land” by integrating also the farm management criteria. In conclusion, our approach elicited real farmers' criteria regarding miscanthus location to capture local specificities and explore different miscanthus location probabilities at the farm and landscape levels.     

Improving methane production from wheat straw by digestate liquor recirculation in continuous stirred tank processes

Wheat straw is an abundant, cheap substrate that can be used for methane production. However, the nutrient content in straw is inadequate for methane fermentation. In this study, recycling digestate liquor was implemented in single-stage continuous stirred tank processes for enrichment of the nutrient content of straw with the aim of improving the methane production. The VS-based organic loading rate was set at 2 g/(L d) and the solid retention time at 40 days. When wheat straw alone was used as the substrate, the methane yields achieved with digestate liquor recycling was on average 240 ml CH₄/g VS giving a 21% improvement over the processes without recycling. However, over time, the processes suffered from declining methane yields and poor stability evidenced by low pH. To maintain process stability, wheat straw was co-digested with sewage sludge or supplemented with macronutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). As a result, the processes with digestate liquor recycling could be operated stably, achieving methane yields ranging from 288 to 296 ml CH₄/g VS. Besides, the processes could not be operated sturdily with supplementation of macronutrients without digestate liquor recycling. The highest methane yield (296 ± 16 ml CH₄/g VS) was achieved by co-digestion with sewage sludge plus recycling of digestate liquor after filtration (retention of nutrients and microorganisms). This was comparable to the maximum expected methane yield of 293 ± 13 ml CH₄/g VS achieved in batch test. The present study therefore demonstrated that digestate liquor recycling could lead to a decreased dilution of vital nutrients from the reactors thereby rendering high process performance and stability.