Page 15 - Renewable Energy Devices and System with Simulations in MATLAB and ANSYS

2 Renewable Energy Devices and Systems with Simulations in MATLAB and ANSYS ®
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800
Oil Gas Renewable and biomass
700 Coal Nuclear Hydro

600
Energy demand (TJ) 400
500

300

200
100

0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
Year

FIGURE 1.1 Worldwide energy demand since 1970 and the estimation till 2030. (Based on data from the
International Energy Agency (IEA), World energy outlook 2004, OECD, Paris, France, 2004, http://www.
worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2008-1994/weo2004.pdf.)

Renewable energy technologies are seen as some of the most important solutions for the future,
and they need to be further developed in this century in order to take over most of the energy
production. Many emerging technologies exist and they have different levels of maturity. The scale
of implementation is not the same either. Most of the renewable technologies are dependent on
weather conditions, and they are challenging in respect to the integration into the grid system.
These issues need to be fully solved—how to make a power system that is able to cope with a very
high penetration of renewables, which also involves the development of smart grid systems. Such

systems may include microgrids and energy storage facilities, and, in many cases, they will combine
the electric power system with other energy carriers like heating/cooling and gas as well as look at
how to use transportation as a resource.
Figure 1.1 shows the worldwide energy demand in the past decades and also the estimated energy
demand until 2030. As it can be observed, due to the continuous increase in gross domestic product,
the overall energy demand is expected to increase by more than 50% by 2030 [1]. To achieve this
primary goal, renewable energy will be an important part in the foreseeable future energy production
(hydro, renewable and biomass, etc.).
This chapter provides an overview of the penetration of renewable energy generation and
schematically illustrates the basic principles of the state-of-the-art technologies. Emphasis is placed
on power electronics as a major technology enabler of the ongoing transformation of the electric
power systems. The presentation is complemented with examples of recent research, developments,
and significant achievements worldwide. This chapter also summarizes possible trends for the next
decade and includes a final section with suggested further readings.

1.2 STATE OF THE ART
Worldwide research, development, and major implementation efforts are focused on renewable
energies. Historically, hydropower has accounted for most of the installed renewable generation
capacity, which is by now in excess of 1000 GW, as it is illustrated in Figure 1.2. In recent years,
other sources, such as wind (onshore and offshore), solar (photovoltaics [PV] and concentrated solar
power [CSP]), geothermal, bioenergy (solid biomass, biogas, and liquid biofuels), and marine (tide,
wave, and ocean) energy, accounted all together for a substantial proportion of the newly installed