Energy Hub: The Way that Future Power Systems Should Go to Meet our Energy Demands

June 2, 2021

The rapid growth of decentralized and distributed power generation, electricity in particular, in the power system has resulted in significant changes in supply, dispatch, and demand sections [1,2]. On the other hand, the effects of climate change, fossil fuel resource depletion, policy incentives, and the public’s awareness of sustainability have ramped up renewable distributed generation (RDG). RDG will outstrip their traditional and dirty fossil fuel-based rivals in power generation by 2025 [3]. It is also important to note that RDG will become the largest and the leading source of electricity generation by supplying more than one-third of the global electricity demand by that time [3-5].

Therefore, power systems have faced a major challenge which is the need for meeting the energy trilemma objectives: cost-effectiveness, reduction of CO2 emissions, and resilience [6]. The key drivers of the enormous increase of RDG technologies are relevant to the distributed generation (DG) feature, environmentally friendly (reduction of CO2 emissions), and lower price of renewables [3].

The Energy Hub is a recently established concept for balancing and managing supply, dispatch, demand, and energy storage devices in which there are multiple energy carriers including electricity, hydrogen, heat, or gas [1,7]. The handling of the energy hub can either be direct or via conversion equipment and one or more energy carriers can be utilized [7].

Fig 1: Schemaric Outline of an Energy Hub for power
Fig 1: Schematic Outline of an Energy Hub

The integration of renewable energy generation technologies comprising photovoltaic modules and wind turbines with the battery energy storage system and hydrogen storage system in a specific place, here the energy hub, is an ultimate goal of this study to meet the energy trilemma objectives.

Since solar and wind as two renewable technologies which have the lowest Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in most countries of the world are the main pillars of future energy hubs located onshore or offshore [8]. Although the integration of solar and wind has synergistic effects on power generation, their terrestrial deployments have posed several challenges such as land usage footprint, aesthetic impacts, and local impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity [9-12].

Hence the question raises here: what is the solution for meeting the energy trilemma based on renewable energy generation technologies? We will present one such possible solution in the next article.

Did you know?

Solar Edition publishes the top 10 solar panels monthly since 2019. In addition to this, we also publish a top 10 72 cells solar panels for industrial-scale every quarterly (Q1,2,3,4).

———-***———-

Source: All references are brought in the website article.

Photo:@ we mention sources of photos here

……………

‘Copyright ©️ Solar Edition, All rights reserved. Copyright of referenced material goes to the creator of the referenced content’

———————–
Reference [for the website]

  1. Favre-Perrod P. A vision of future energy networks. In 2005 IEEE power engineering society inaugural conference and exposition in Africa; (pp. 13-17). IEEE, 2005.
  2. Krause T, Andersson G, Fröhlich K, Vaccaro A. Multiple-energy carriers: modeling of production, delivery, and consumption. Proceedings of the IEEE; 99(1):15-27, 2010.
  3. Soloot HE, Agheb E, Soloot AH, Moghadam S. A SWOT Analysis of Two Protection Strategies Due to the Expansion of Renewable Distributed Generation on Distribution Network. In 2020 15th International Conference on Protection and Automation of Power Systems (IPAPS) (pp. 49-52). IEEE, 2020.
  4. IEA (2020), Renewables 2020, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2020.
  5. Badran O, Mekhilef S, Mokhlis H, Dahalan W. Optimal reconfiguration of distribution system connected with distributed generations: A review of different methodologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews; 73:854-67, 2017.
  6. Jing R, Lin Y, Khanna N, Chen X, Wang M, Liu J, Lin J. Balancing the Energy Trilemma in energy system planning of coastal cities. Applied Energy; 283:116222, 2021.
  7. Halmschlager V, Hofmann R. Assessing the potential of combined production and energy management in Industrial Energy Hubs–Analysis of a chipboard production plant. Energy, 226:120415, 2021.
  8. IRENA, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi, 2020.
  9. Scheidel A, Sorman AH. Energy transitions and the global land rush: Ultimate drivers and persistent consequences. Global Environmental Change; 22(3):588-95, 2012.
  10. Gasparatos A, Doll CN, Esteban M, Ahmed A, Olang TA. Renewable energy and biodiversity: Implications for transitioning to a Green Economy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews; 70:161-84, 2017.
  11. De Marco A, Petrosillo I, Semeraro T, Pasimeni MR, Aretano R, Zurlini G. The contribution of utility-scale solar energy to the global climate regulation and its effects on local ecosystem services. Global ecology and conservation; 2:324-37, 2014.
  12. Walston Jr LJ, Rollins KE, LaGory KE, Smith KP, Meyers SA. A preliminary assessment of avian mortality at utility-scale solar energy facilities in the United States. Renewable Energy; 92:405-14, 2016.







Related Articles