Tag: Renewable energy

Optimal proportion of renewable energy in energy mix for maximising energy resilience and reducing carbon emissions

November 6, 2020

Increasing use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power could help us reduce carbon emissions and is an approach for helping cities, states and countries to decarbonise their economies. However, renewable energy’s intermittency nature such as those associated with solar and wind energy meant that its increasing use carries significant risks for energy … More Optimal proportion of renewable energy in energy mix for maximising energy resilience and reducing carbon emissions

Could renewable energy compete without feed-in tariffs from governments?

September 12, 2019

Feed-in tariffs are currently required to enable renewable energy such as those from wind and solar to compete with conventional power from oil, coal and gas. Thus, could renewable energy compete with conventional power without feed-in tariffs from governments in the foreseeable future? The answer is very likely no, given the higher cost structure for … More Could renewable energy compete without feed-in tariffs from governments?

Availability of space constraints the deployment of solar power in high density cities

July 12, 2019

Amongst renewable energy sources, solar power suffers from linear scaling between surface area and power output. Specifically, the increase in power output of solar power is directly proportional to the surface area used. Hence, to generate a large amount of power for catering to the energy needs of a large city, large amount of surface … More Availability of space constraints the deployment of solar power in high density cities

Increasing adoption of electric vehicles would place an increased demand on the electricity grid

May 21, 2019

Although currently a niche market, electric vehicles are expected to constitute a significant fraction of all vehicles in the medium-term; thereby, placing an increased demand for electricity for charging purposes from the grid. Whether renewable or fossil fuel fired, new power generation capacity would need to be installed to cater for increased electricity demand for … More Increasing adoption of electric vehicles would place an increased demand on the electricity grid

Electricity grid comprising multiple mini-grids may be more inefficient with significant transmission losses

March 18, 2019

Adoption of increasing amount of renewable energy by many countries has introduced significant problems associated with how excess energy generated by renewable sources could be handled. Grid level storage solutions such as lithium-ion batteries provide a certain amount of energy storage for excess renewable energy generated. However, production of renewable energy such as solar and … More Electricity grid comprising multiple mini-grids may be more inefficient with significant transmission losses

Challenges of pricing electricity for homes connected to a central battery with feeds from renewable energy and grid electricity

February 18, 2019

Consider the case where a high-rise apartment block is connected to a battery that stores energy from solar photovoltaic panels and the electricity grid. Typically, the battery would discharge electricity to homes in the apartment block whether the electricity supply comes from solar panels or the grid. Hence, the scenario opens up serious questions on … More Challenges of pricing electricity for homes connected to a central battery with feeds from renewable energy and grid electricity

Subsidies for spare electricity generation capacity of fossil fuel power plants in an electricity grid with high proportion of renewable energy generation

July 23, 2018

Renewable energy’s share of total energy production is increasing in many parts of the world, and this would have a substantial impact on energy resilience of electricity grid, particularly in maintaining a stable flow of electricity to end-users in the event of lack of generation of renewable energy.   To smooth out the fluctuations in … More Subsidies for spare electricity generation capacity of fossil fuel power plants in an electricity grid with high proportion of renewable energy generation

Resilience of electricity system with high proportion of renewable power generation

July 16, 2018

Renewable energy such as solar and wind power’s share of the energy mix is increasing in many parts of the world. While increasing proportion of renewable energy helps reduce the carbon footprint of electricity generation and reduce the impacts on climate change, low frequency events such as weather non-favourable to renewable energy generation may impose … More Resilience of electricity system with high proportion of renewable power generation

Essentiality of feed-in tariffs in support of renewable energy adoption?

April 6, 2018

Feed-in tariffs are commonly applied in support of greater adoption of renewable energy generation by a country, state or city. Briefly, feed-in tariffs pay for the difference in price between the production cost of renewable energy and the price of grid electricity. However, are they essential or could renewable energy compete competitively with non-renewable energy … More Essentiality of feed-in tariffs in support of renewable energy adoption?

Overabundance of renewable energy and the removal of feed-in tariffs

December 23, 2016

Renewable energy such as those from wind, tides and solar typically have higher production cost compared to electricity from oil, coal and gas, with coal being the cheapest fuel source for conventional power plants. With the emphasis on reducing air pollutants from fossil fuel fired power stations and the importance of lowering carbon dioxide emissions … More Overabundance of renewable energy and the removal of feed-in tariffs