scholarly journals Prioritization of Renewable Energy Alternatives for China by Using a Hybrid FMCDM Methodology with Uncertain Information

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4649
Author(s):  
Dongxiao Niu ◽  
Hao Zhen ◽  
Min Yu ◽  
Keke Wang ◽  
Lijie Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Multicriteria Decision Making ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Uncertain Information ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Interval Valued

With the deteriorating ecological environment and increasing energy consumption, developing clean and renewable energy sources has become a key measure to solve environmental problems and energy shortages. The multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) technique is widely used in the assessment of renewable energy alternatives (REA) to determine the most sustainable and appropriate option for a country or region. Classic REA ranking is conducted in a deterministic environment through MCDM techniques. However, with the increasing complexity of environmental and energy issues, the REA ranking method is unsuitable for use in today’s China. Therefore, in this paper, a fuzzy MCDM technique based on the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy elimination and choice expressing reality (IVHF-ELECTRE II) method, taking into account the uncertainty and ambiguity of the information, is proposed for REA ranking. A case study in China is conducted to elaborate on the rationality and feasibility of the proposed framework. According to the ranking results, hydro is determined as the best REA in China, followed by wind energy, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, biomass energy, and solar thermal. This research provides a feasible method and insightful reference for national decision-makers to utilize when evaluating the REA and establishing a macroplanning policy for renewable energy under an uncertain environment.

Prioritization of renewable energy sources using multi-experts Pythagorean fuzzy WASPAS

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 6407-6417
Author(s):  
Esra Ilbahar ◽  
Selcuk Cebi ◽  
Cengiz Kahraman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Effective Utilization ◽  
Interval Valued

Effective utilization of renewable energy sources is an essential component of countries’ sustainable development strategies. A thorough evaluation of renewable energy alternatives is required to assure maximum exploitation of resources. The evaluation of renewable energy sources is a complicated problem since many criteria, even some of them are conflicting, must be taken into account simultaneously. Pythagorean fuzzy sets are better able to reflect uncertainty and vagueness in an assessment process by providing a greater domain for decision makers to describe their opinions. Therefore, this study aims at prioritizing renewable energy alternatives by employing interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy WASPAS method. The obtained results are compared to the results of intuitionistic type-2 fuzzy WASPAS, interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy WASPAS and crisp WASPAS methods. Biomass is selected to be the best renewable energy alternative for Central Anatolia Region of Turkey.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Electricity Production against the Backdrop of Climate Change: A Case Study of Hydropower Plants in Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3427
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka ◽  
Leszek Szczęch
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Lower Amount ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Hydropower Plants

Renewable energy sources (RES) play an important role in the European Union’s energy sector as a result of the energy policy framework adopted. Its share in the final energy consumption varies depending on the country and the adopted energy policy. The article presents the structure of electricity production from renewable energy sources in Poland in the years 2002–2019. It was found that the share of energy production from hydroelectric power plants in Poland in relation to the amount of energy produced from renewable energy sources in the analyzed years has strongly decreased. The reason for this state was an increase in the production of energy coming from wind and biomass energy combined with an increase in subsidies for these energy producers. Additionally, unstable hydrological conditions, mainly low river flows, may be the reason for the low share of energy produced in power plants. As a case study, data for five small hydropower plants (SHP) located on the Gwda river (north-western Poland) were analyzed. Electricity production volumes were analyzed depending on the size of the Gwda river flow. It was found that the lower amount of electricity produced at SHPs on the Gwda river is mainly due to lower flows in the river. In the future, unstable electricity production from renewable energy sources may have a significant impact on achieving Poland’s energy targets in 2030.

scholarly journals Determination of a Suitable Renewable Energy Source for Mini-Grid Business: A Risk-Based Multicriteria Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Eseoghene Ighravwe ◽  
Moses Olubayo Babatunde
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The Impact

The mini-grid proliferation has helped to improve the current state of electricity supply in several rural areas in developing countries. This is due to the innovations in renewable energy technologies. The impact of this development is the establishment of mini-grid business. There is a need for mini-grid business owners to identify the most suitable energy source for a particular area. To achieve this, proper analysis of risks that impact mini-grid business operations is required for optimal energy source selection. The current study addresses this problem by proposing a conceptual framework that considered risk factors. The conceptual framework analysed scenarios where expected risk values are specified and not specified by decision-makers. This was achieved using fuzzy axiomatic design (FAD), intuitionistic entropy method, and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) methods. The TOPSIS and FAD results were combined using WASPAS (weighted aggregated sum product assessment) method. The proposed conceptual framework was applied in sub-Sahara Africa, Lagos, Nigeria. During the application of the proposed framework, five renewable energy sources and thirteen types of risks were considered. Information from four decision-makers was used to demonstrate the applicability of the framework. The results obtained showed that unpredictable electricity demand and construction completion risks were identified as the least and most important risks for the selection of renewable energy sources for mini-grid, respectively. The FAD and TOPSIS methods identified wind and biomass energy as the best-ranked energy source for mini-grid business, respectively. The WASPAS method and the FAD results were the same.

Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lauren K. D’Souza ◽  
William L. Ascher ◽  
Tanja Srebotnjak
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Alternative Investment

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

scholarly journals Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Hydropower Planning in the Vjosa Catchment (Greece, Albania)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1514
Author(s):  
Rebecca Peters ◽  
Jürgen Berlekamp ◽  
Ana Lucía ◽  
Vittoria Stefani ◽  
Klement Tockner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Hydropower Plants ◽  
Hydropower Planning

Mitigating climate change, while human population and economy are growing globally, requires a bold shift to renewable energy sources. Among renewables, hydropower is currently the most economic and efficient technique. However, due to a lack of impact assessments at the catchment scale in the planning process, the construction of hydropower plants (HPP) may have unexpected ecological, socioeconomic, and political ramifications in the short and in the long term. The Vjosa River, draining parts of Northern Greece and Albania, is one of the few predominantly free-flowing rivers left in Europe; at the same time its catchment is identified an important resource for future hydropower development. While current hydropower plants are located along tributaries, planned HPP would highly impact the free-flowing main stem. Taking the Vjosa catchment as a case study, the aim of this study was to develop a transferable impact assessment that ranks potential hydropower sites according to their projected impacts on a catchment scale. Therefore, we integrated established ecological, social, and economic indicators for all HPP planned in the river catchment, while considering their capacity, and developed a ranking method based on impact categories. For the Vjosa catchment, ten hydropower sites were ranked as very harmful to the environment as well as to society. A sensitivity analysis revealed that this ranking is dependent upon the selection of indicators. Small HPP showed higher cumulative impacts than large HPP, when normalized to capacity. This study empowers decision-makers to compare both the ranked impacts and the generated energy of planned dam projects at the catchment scale.

scholarly journals Portfolio optimization of power plants by using renewable energy in Iran

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyedeh Asra Ahmadi ◽  
Seyed Mojtaba Mirlohi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi ◽  
Majid Ameri
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Portfolio Optimization ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Capital Costs

Abstract Lack of investment in the electricity sector has created a huge bottleneck in the continuous flow of energy in the market, and this will create many problems for the sustainable growth and development of modern society. The main reason for this lack of investment is the investment risk in the electricity sector. One way to reduce portfolio risk is to diversify it. This study applies the concept of portfolio optimization to demonstrate the potential for greater use of renewable energy, which reduces the risk of investing in the electricity sector. Besides, it shows that investing in renewable energies can offset the risk associated with the total input costs. These costs stem from the volatility of associated prices, including fossil fuel, capital costs, maintenance, operation and environmental costs. This case study shows that Iran can theoretically supply ~33% of its electricity demand from renewable energy sources compared to its current 15% share. This case study confirms this finding and predicts that Iran, while reducing the risk of investing in electricity supply, can achieve a renewable energy supply of ~9% with an average increase in supply costs. Sensitivity analysis further shows that with a 10% change in input cost factors, the percentage of renewable energy supply is only partially affected, but basket costs change according to the scenario of 5–32%. Finally, suggestions are made that minimize risk rather than cost, which will bring about an increase in renewable energy supply.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document