Front Matter Free

The analysis, characterization, and application of renewable energies are some of the rapidly progressing areas of science and technology. Renewable energies are some of the most ubiquitous requirements on the globe; they have a variety of fundamentals, principles, and applications. Additionally, renewable energies are known to possess unique applications that were less known previously. Renewable energies give an assorted and appealing class of studies where their concepts exhibit a full spectrum of research, properties, and engineering types from solar to wind, thermal, hydro, and biomass. Furthermore, all assorted phenomena such as the increasing of manpower, educating society, building intellectual generation, and others could be noticed. Therefore, renewable energies have eminent importance of multifunctional application with a rich collection of studies and research that have a great potential for numerous applications.

The noticed high-quality renewable energies and related ones are important for the transition to a green economy and clean energy that prioritizes local resources, creates jobs, improves resiliency, and promotes energy independence. These data are necessary for creating great decisions—ranging from analysis, resources, applications, management, and policy. These reflect appropriate aspiration and cost-effectiveness and enable investment in renewable energy including various considerations and plans. The mentioned data can vary in quality and type and be cheaper or expensive; they describe the requirements for creating renewable energy decisions to analyze the data for the best recommendations to execute. Although these topics are correlated, they are generally organized to let renewable energy decisions be made or supported. They need to answer the following: What are the data required to support the target? What are the benefits and limitations of those data? What are the analyses required for the target?

Over the last three decades, the concept of renewable energy has emerged as a defining imperative of humanity that is situated at the nexus of science, technology, culture, economics, policy, and the environment. It is framed as a means to mitigate the negative impacts of fossil fuels, energy consumption, water consumption, and climate change. Due to the energy crisis, environmental, economic, political, market, and social issues, researchers have been attracted to develop sources of renewable energies to secure energy consumption, protect the environment, and promote regional development. The implementation of successful renewable energy that is sustainable in time has been related to participatory processes where views, expectations, and framings from different stakeholders become integrated.

Specific studies and reviews are implemented to cover a wide range of renewable energies. For applications, renewable energies can be successfully utilized for the best of humanity. Among the advantages of renewable energies, the most important is that they are cost-effective and robust in practical applications. Moreover, they can be fabricated and manufactured in various types of energy sources such as solar, wind, and others. For solar cells using nanotechnology, it can be used with techniques that are compatible with the traditional ones, which it is very important for large-scale production because the nanotechnology approach promotes cost-effectiveness, offers the possibility of manufacturing solar cells on a chip, and guarantees good reproducibility. Different types of renewable energies can be employed to be one of the most active research areas within the nanoscience community.

The ability to research different renewable energies and synthesize various applications significantly expands the range of properties that renewable energies can have—truly versatile and multifunctional for widespread use. A small change in their physical or chemical properties can be accompanied by variations of properties and behaviors. So, advances in analyzing and characterizing the techniques of renewable energies reveal numerous new functions.

Taking into account the importance of renewable energies, many books that are devoted to this class of energies have been released. However, during the past decade, great progress has been made on the analysis, characterization, and application of renewable energies and other properties as well as renewable energies’ applications in a large number of studies that have been disseminated. So, it is decided to generalize the results of research in this direction and to publish this book devoted to renewable energies in developed and developing countries.

One should notice that the proposed book Renewable Energy: Analysis, Resources, Applications, Management, and Policy is the first and only one devoted to renewable energies. It is believed that this book could help readers and specialists in searching required information on the mentioned subject. It is planned that this book has a clear specialization by its content, which will provide interdisciplinary discussion for various renewable energies with a wide range of topics, from analysis and application to management and policy. This book is edited by a team of highly qualified experts, which guarantees that it has a high quality.

I hope this book will be comfortable and beneficial. I would hope that readers and specialists will consider it a reference of renewable energies that enables understanding the present status of renewable energies, estimating the role of multifunctional renewable energies in the fundamentals and applications for further research studies. The intended audience of the present book are scientists, academics, researchers, post-graduates, and engineers in the field of renewable energies.

I am sure that Renewable Energy: Analysis, Resources, Applications, Management, and Policy will be interesting for practicing engineers or project managers in industries and laboratories who would like to design renewable energies-based devices. With many references to the vast resource of recently published literature on the subject, this book will serve as a significant and insightful source of valuable information, providing scientists and engineers with new insights for understanding and improving existing renewable energies-based devices and for multiapplication. I believe it would be very helpful for university students, researchers, and academics. The structure assures to find useful information.

The first chapter is devoted to the current world countenances in fulfilling the rapid increase in energy demand, decreasing greenhouse emissions, and improving energy efficiency at the same time. Furthermore, it additionally assumes a significant part in guaranteeing energy security, improving ecological safety, and expanding work in different nations. As of now, worldwide energy production is in a phase of new changes and developments. It discusses the new renewable energy trends and developments such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, tidal, and hydroenergy. The governmental guidelines and policies on renewable power generation and transmission and trending renewable energy storage technologies have been discussed. Followed by displaying renewable energy sources, solar and wind feature the steadily decreasing costs of electricity. However, the intermittency of their output makes them not suitable as stand-alone technologies for off-grid installations, and a large share of these intermittent renewables cannot be supported by electric grids. These “aggregated systems” are gaining considerable interest and, depending on the application, are called with different names: “virtual power plants,” “microgrids,” “multi-energy systems,” and “energy districts.” Moreover, improved performance can be achieved by adopting “hybrid systems” employing different renewable sources and/or technologies in the same energy conversion process. The mentioned chapter provides an overview of the most interesting options to integrate renewable energy sources as elaborated in Chap. 2. Chapter 3 has vastly explored the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis over the last 30 years. This research tries to expand the EKC hypothesis's validation for selected developed countries, specifically for G-7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the USA). Additional explanatory variables as considered, such as renewable energy consumption, energy innovation, and foreign direct investment (FDI). Through the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) econometric technique, a U-inverted linkage between economic growth and environmental degradation for the selected panel is observed, validating the traditional EKC hypothesis. Moreover, the evidence of the positive impact of renewable energy innovation on the environmental correction process is offered. Under the EKC scheme, this study's main finding is a non-linear connection between the FDI and carbon emissions. The results show a significant evidence of the role of FDI and renewable energy innovation as driving forces of the environmental correction process, while Chap. 4 has reviewed the most advances of nanotechnology to renewable energy production and storage. This aims to introduce several significant applications of nanotechnology in the renewable energy field. Nanotechnologies are attracting increasing investments from both governmental and non-governmental sectors that offer great opportunities to explore the new emerging nanodevices, such as quantum dots. This is to exploit specific properties that arise from the structure at a scale characterized by the interplay of classical physics and quantum mechanics. It is difficult to predict these properties a priori according to traditional technologies. Nanotechnologies will be one of the next promising trends. However, this study gives a deep survey regarding different aspects of the new nanotechnologies, such as materials, physics, and semiconductors, respectively, followed by several state-of-the-art nanodevices and then new nanotechnology features. This is followed by an introduction to the type of solar cells and the fundamental photoelectric process in them. Basically, the light absorption occurs in a semiconducting crystal, cluster, or molecule, subsequently inducing the formation of loosely bound electrons that are separated by an electric field created as a gradient in Fermi energies across the materials forming an interface. This simple principle has been embodied in all three generations of solar cells. Owing to their highly prolific research nature, third-generation solar cells are given higher emphasis in this chapter. The solar-to-energy conversion process and the rate limiting factors in sensitized and perovskite solar cells are provided, where the advancement of a nanostructured photoelectrode in overcoming the limiting factors is briefly discussed. Finally, the emergence of tandem photovoltaic is discussed, and a few difficulties in solar module production for third-generation solar cells are provided in Chap. 5.

Chapter 6 explains wind energy to be one of the cheapest and cleanest resources of renewable energy. It is very useful to use this wind resource to generate electricity because wind power is clean and efficient. Wind energy is the conversion of the wind kinetic energy into a useful form of energy, such as mechanical or electrical energy, that can be harnessed for practical use by using wind turbines. It reduces acid rain, smog, and pollutants to the atmosphere. Renewable energy has become popular in recent years due to the need for the utilization of more environmentally friendly energy sources. There are many concepts to classify the types of wind turbines. There are two basic designs of wind turbine classes based on the orientation of the rotor: the vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) and the horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). The efficiency with which a rotor can extract power from the wind depends on dynamic matching between the rotor and the wind stream. Energy efficiency is a core pillar of sustainable development, which is realized through the adoption of integrated technologies that reduce energy consumption and increase the production of renewable energy and zero carbon dioxide emissions. African countries continue to progressively shift toward clean energy sources, which ensure the absence of health hazards to humans and the ecosystem. Efficient biomass energy, derived from living organisms, has the potential to contribute to increased energy efficiency with adequate adoption of good practice and better institutional capacity. Thus, Chap. 7 examines the role an institutional framework plays in ensuring the increased access and the utilization of biomass energy in Africa. The overview of ocean tidal and wave energy is provided in Chap. 8. Various ocean energy sources such as tidal and wave energy are good sources of energy for the increasing demand for energy and reducing non-renewable resources. There are many shortcomings and needs for development in this sector for energy production that needs to be addressed. We have discussed the existence of tidal wave energy resources around the world, wave energy potential and technology in use, and wave power potentials in different countries. On the otherside, Chap. 9 presents the ever increasing population's demand in using various forms of energy in the form of heat, light, and similar others. Non-renewable energy resources, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, are efficient energy producers, but create much environmental pollution through increasing the carbon footprint. The sources are fast exhausting too due to somewhat fickle policies adopted time and again and irresponsible and unplanned uses. It is, therefore, necessary to move into the form of energy that is environment friendly and also not limited. Geothermal and hydroelectric energies are of this kind and, thus, have been explored of late with much commercial interest. On the other hand, hydropower uses rainwater as a source of energy. The telecommunication and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industries have grown tremendously fast with increasing demand for modern value-added services and pervasive computing as given in Chap. 10. This rapid and radical deployment of cellular base stations and the networking infrastructure throughout the world has significantly increased energy consumption, resulting in emitting harmful greenhouse gases and increasing the annual electricity bill for mobiles, which has a direct impact on the consumers. Introducing renewable energy to power cellular network base stations and an ICT infrastructure makes not only environmental, but also—most importantly—of economic sense, while at the same time opening opportunities for new business models. Thus, it is of great importance to study the subject in order to determine the potential gains, applicability scenarios, deployment strategies, and policies, which is the focus of this chapter.

Chapter 11 has archived sustainability and energy production; the utilization of renewable energy sources is increasing dramatically. To fulfill this requirement, the optimal management of energy resources is evitable against climate changes. The rural areas’ management still needs to use the strategy and concept of urban planning and design, which is laborious and time-consuming. It scientifically interprets the scientific connotation of rural revitalization strategy and conducts a summative research on beautiful rural planning. Interactive energy sharing networks with centralized coordinated energy management between vehicles and buildings can increase eco-economics viability, while tracking battery degradations is critical to the energy flexibility and techno-economic performance assessment. This is formulated as a synergistic interactive energy framework for flexible district energy management, involving the renewable systems of solar-wind, mobile and static battery storage, and demands of diversified energy in district buildings. The optimized size with the management of energy strategy is a transition toward 100% sustainability to investigate a renewable energy-based microgrid. Therefore, an optimized capacity size involving the management of energy strategy is proposed to overcome challenges facing microgrid operations and planning. Also, to research the economies decarbonization, it is required to address the climate change. This is for understanding firms’ and consumers’ incentives in the presence of asymmetric information to determine strategic interaction, the impact of market design, and the market structure on the competition intensity. This is followed by Chap. 12, which present a state-owned utility company that is efficient and green should be the common goal that every country should achieve. However, the power and market concentration of Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is often seen as a major hindrance to renewable energy (RE) investment. Independent power producers (IPPs) have to deal with the uncertainty in regulation and tariff negotiation with PLN as the single off-taker of all electricity projects in the country. Practices ranging from unstandardized power purchase agreements (PPA) and the unlevel playing field with coal have deterred RE projects. Beyond those challenges, Indonesia needs to address its electricity governance as a more fundamental issue to achieve the ambition of renewable energy target (RET) by 2025 and, more recently, the proposal of the net zero emissions (NZE) target in the power sector by 2050. The result contributes to the ongoing discourse regarding the current challenges of decarbonizing the electricity sector through RE concurrent with the implementation of market-based reforms in an emerging economy. The deployment of renewable energy sources has been discussed intensively in Chap. 13 from both economic and technical points of view. However, the large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources must go beyond single projects and involve a large variety of stakeholders as well as broad public support. Therefore, the human factors in energy transition connected to the deployment of renewable energy sources become important. These human factors include social and public support for renewable energy projects as well as willingness to use technology, pay for electricity generated by renewable energy sources, and participate in decision-making processes around the implementation of renewable energy projects. This contribution reviews experiences with the deployment of renewable energy sources in various countries, with a particular focus on Austria and Jordan. The results show that this process is a wicked policy problem that involves a variety of interests and opinions. The renewable energy potential and its status in specific developing countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia (KSA), Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan, and Malaysia are presented in Chap. 14. An outlook into the profile of Iraq at existing electricity generation with crude oil production at the present level with accompanying gas flares cause CO₂ emission as well as the industrial, human activities and the grid electricity distribution have been accounted for. The KSA national oil consumption is increasing by 7% annually. If this growth rate continues, the local demand will be doubled in a decade. The Algerian economy is strongly dependent on the fossil fuels’ market where 93.6% of its exportations are mainly oil and natural gas. The Moroccan authorities are fully aware of this challenge, especially with the population and economic growth that causes a sharp increase in energy demand. The wind, hydro, solar, biomass, and geothermal energies potentials have been presented. Moreover, it is found that technological innovation and renewable energy are negatively associated with environmental degradation, showing that globalization is also an important source of increase in CO₂ emissions in Pakistan. Finally, in Malaysia, the performance of research and development (R&D) activities in the renewable energy resources of solar, wind, biomass, biogas, and mini-hydro is explored. Chapter 15 has introduced residential communities in remote areas that are distinguished by their spacing and dispersal so that connecting them to the electricity grid is costly. This chapter studies the potential of renewable energies in delivering electricity to such remote residential communities and replacing the national grid.

Finally, I thank all the contributing authors. I am thankful that they have agreed to participate in the preparation of this book. Without their efforts, this book would have not been possible. I also express my gratitude to AIP Publishing for giving us the opportunity to publish this series. I especially thank the AIP Publishing team for their patience during the whole process of production and for encouraging us during the various stages of preparation.

Yarub Al-Douri

American University of Iraq, Sulaimani

Bahcesehir University, Turkey

University of Malaya, Malaysia

Ali Abu Odeh

Department of Informatics Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Technology Bahrain, Salmabad, Bahrain

Wasan A. M. Al Taie

RAK College of Dental Sciences, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Omar Younis Alani

School of Science, Engineering and Environment, Room 207, Newton Building, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, United Kingdom

Y. Al-Douri

Engineering Department, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, P.O. Box: 46001, Sulaimani, Kurdistan, Iraq

Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bahcesehir University, 34349 Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Center, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Goodness Ama

Department of Sociology and Research Associate, Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

Department of Political Economy and Public Finance, Economics and Business Statistics and Economic Policy, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Castilla–La Mancha, Spain

Department of Applied Economics, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

Abhijit Bandyopadhyay

Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, 92-APC Road, Kolkata 09, India

Miqdam T. Chaichan

Energy and Renewable Energies Technology Research Center, University of Technology, Iraq

Subhadeep Chakraborty

Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, 92-APC Road, Kolkata 09, India

Oana M. Driha

Department of Applied Economics, International Economy Institute, Institute of Tourism Research, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

Jeremiah O. Ejemeyovwi

Department of Economics and Development Studies, Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Ciliaka M. W. Gitau

Department of Economics, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

Oseghale B. Ihayere

National Institute of Construction Technology, Uromi, Edo State, Nigeria

Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Rajan Jose

Nanostructured Renewable Energy Materials Laboratory, Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Center of Advanced Intelligent Materials, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Hussein A. Kazem

Sohar University, PO Boc 44, PCI 311, Sohar, Oman

Johra Khan

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, 11952 Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

Nadejda Komendantova

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria

JinKiong Ling

Center of Advanced Intelligent Materials, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Emanuele Martelli

Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy, Via Lambruschini 4, 20152 Milano, Spain

Martha Maulidia

International Institute for Sustainable Development, Dala Institute, Kec. Palmerah, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota, Jakarta 11480, Indonesia

Evans S. Osabuohien

Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Fehintola M. Oyebola

Department of Economics, Caleb Business School, Magodo, Lagos State, Nigeria

Department of Sociology and Research Associate, Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Lorenzo Pilotti

Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy, Via Lambruschini 4, 20152 Milano, Spain

Ahmed Y. Qasim

Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Corporation of Research and Industrial Development, Baghdad, Iraq

Soumen Sardar

Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, 92-APC Road, Kolkata 09, India

Aviral Kumar Tiwari

Rajagiri Business School, Kochi, India

Qamar Wali

School of Applied Sciences and Humanities, National University of Technology, 44000 Islamabad, Pakistan