Integrating Renewable Energy System Distributed Generation For Sustainable Power

ABSTRACT

Nowadays Renewable Energy plays a great role in power system around the world. It is a demanding task to integrate the renewable energy resources into the power grid .The integration of the renewable resources use the communication systems as the key technology, which play exceedingly important role in monitoring, operating, and protecting both renewable energy generators and power systems. This paper presents about the integration of renewable energy mainly focused on wind and solar to the grid.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1                                                        INTRODUCTION

Economic growth, automation, and modernization mainly depend on the security of energy supply. Global energy demand is rapidly growing, and, presently, the worldwide concern is on how to satisfy the future energy demand. Long-term projections indicate that the energy demand will rapidly increase worldwide. To supply this energy demand, fossil fuels have been used as primary energy sources. Fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases that highly affect the environment and the future generation [1–6]. The emissions largely depend on the emission factor of primary energy sources (i.e., input fuel of the plant). Among all energy sources, the emission factor of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, natural gas, and oil) is very high. Fossil fuels are widely used as the main fuel in power generation. In Malaysia, fossil fuels (i.e., natural gas [53.3%] and coal [26.3%]) serve as major power generation sources. Large-scale use of fossil fuels, however, greatly affects the environment. Based on the global CO₂ distribution in 2013, the emission breakdown is as follows: coal (43%), oil (33%), gas (18%), cement (5.3%), and gas flare (0.6%).

Meanwhile, renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, etc.) are emission-free energy sources in the world. Renewable energy technologies are an ideal solution because they can contribute significantly to worldwide power production with less emission of greenhouse gases [8–11]. The “sustainable future” scenario of the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows 57% of world electricity being provided by renewable energy sources by 2050 [12]. Long-term forecast and planning is required to achieve this ultimate target [9]. Renewable energy-based power generation and supply to the national grid for a specific zone are necessary. The conventional grid aggregates the multiple networks, and the regulation system consists of various levels of communication and coordination, in which most of the systems are manually controlled [13]. A smart grid is a new concept that leads to the modernization of the transmission and distribution grid. The smart grid system is the digital upgrade of transmission and new markets for the alternative energy generation of renewable energy sources. Presently, smart grid is an often-cited term in the energy generation and distribution industry [14].

Smart grid connected with distributed power generation is a new platform that significantly generates reliable security of supply (SOS) and quality of electric energy. This concept is practical and reliable as numerous types of energy sources become available, such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower. Renewable and nonconventional energy sources are allowed to integrate with the distributed power generation link that has a smart grid. This study therefore highlights the role of renewable energy sources in generating electricity and the integration with the smart grid system for energy security.

1.2                                         BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) works with electric grid operators, utilities, regulators, academia, and industry to create new strategies for incorporating increasing amounts of wind energy into the power system while maintaining economic and reliable operation of the grid.

Utilities have been increasingly deploying wind power to provide larger portions of electricity generation. However, many utilities also express concerns about wind power’s possible impacts on electric power system operations, because wind’s variability adds uncertainty beyond what is present due to variations in electricity demand (also called load). These concerns, if not adequately addressed, could limit the development potential of wind power in the United States.

As the nation moves toward an energy system with higher penetrations of wind energy, it is increasingly important for grid operators to understand how they can reliably integrate large quantities of wind energy into system operations; additionally, it is important to develop capabilities that enable these new wind power plants to provide much-needed Essential Reliability Services (e.g. frequency and voltage support) that can improve the reliability and resilience  of the electric grid.

1.3                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT

The aim of renewable systems integration is to remove barriers to wind energy grid integration, find innovative way to couple renewable energy technologies, and accelerate deployment to enable economic and reliable power grid operation with large shares of wind energy. This can be accomplished through integration studies, modeling, demonstrations, and assessments at both the transmission and distribution levels, coupled with working directly with utilities to help ensure adoption of best practices.

1.4                                          ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT

There are many advantages of renewable energy sources. As you will see below, many of these advantages revolve around the fact that they are an environmentally friendly option that can be used well into the future.

1. Green energy – environment friendly.

Unlike fossil fuels (which are non renewable energy sources and which release harmful substances such as CO2 and CO when burned), renewable energy sources have a very low impact on the environment. In fact, most of them are positively environmentally friendly.

2. Sustainable energy – limitless supply.

Because, crucially, they do not run out, renewable energy sources are sustainable. This makes them viable for use well into the future.

3. Low operating cost.

Once they have been set up, renewable energy apparatus such as wind farms and solar panels, are very cost effective to use and operate. As such, they are nice and cheap sources of energy.

4. Can be integrated into daily life.

Renewable energy sources can be harnessed in a way that does not disrupt daily life. For example, cows can graze in the same field as wind turbines are at work, and solar panels can be placed on the roof of a family home to create a handy energy source.

5. Able to be stored.

Many people do not realize this but renewable energy sources can be stored. For example, solar energy can be stored in solar panels so that it can be used even during cloudy weather or during the winter.

1.5                                            PROBLEMS OF THE PROJECT

There are also several problems of renewable energy sources. In order to conduct a balanced evaluation of these types of energy sources, these problems need to be taken into account alongside the significance. Below is the list of the problem of this study.

1. high initial cost.

Though once they are up and running they are usually very cost effective, solar panels and wind farms (as well as other renewable energy generators such as hydroelectric dams) can be costly to install.

2. Not suitable for all climates.

Solar energy generators are not suitable for very cold or dark climates, whilst wind energy generators are not suitable for parts of the world where there is not very much wind. So, not all communities throughout the world can use all types of renewable energy sources and this somewhat limits the use of this type of energy, considered on an international scale.

3. Difficult to transport.

Whilst coal or wood can simply be loaded up onto a truck and taken to wherever it needs to go, the renewable energy that is generated from (for instance) a solar panel cannot be transported so easily. This is something that may change in the future. For example, it is already possible to store the energy generated from the sun’s rays in specialized cells (which may be thought of as kind of portable batteries).

4. Not the most efficient energy sources.

Fossil fuels such as coal and oil offer more energy per unit that many renewable sources of energy. This means that renewable sources of energy are not always energy efficient, and one will need to generate a lot more energy to heat a home from a renewable source compared to a non renewable source. Again, with new technologies, this may well change for the better in the future.

5. Reliant on certain technologies.

Renewable energy sources can often only be harnessed with the use of specialized technologies. For example, solar energy is captured in photovoltaic cells. At the moment, not all communities throughout the world have access to these technologies, or to the  know how that enables them to be created and harnessed.

1.6                                               BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT

The resulting benefits include:

1. Reduced need for conventional generation,
2. Increased value of the electricity generated by variable RE generation,
3. Reduced suboptimal operation of conventional generation due to reduced need for ramping, and
4. Reduced need for other power conditioning equipment to accommodate large wind farms and high penetrations of distributed photovoltaics.