Introduction to Renewable Energy Technologies
Wasswa Shafik
Abstract
Renewable energy technologies (RET) ensure clean and affordable energy, thus ensuring sustainable communities and smart cities. This study provides a comprehensive overview of RETs and serves as a foundation for further exploration and understanding of RETs, paving the way for a sustainable and clean energy future. The study begins with an overview of renewable energy, emphasizing its significance in the current energy landscape. The layout follows a systematic approach, starting with solar energy. The section on solar energy discusses photovoltaic (PV) technology and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems, highlighting their working principles, different types, and applications. The following section focuses on wind energy, covering both onshore and offshore wind turbines and elucidating their working mechanisms, various types, and diverse applications. The study explores conventional hydropower, run-of-river hydropower, and pumped storage hydropower, providing insights into their working principles, applications, and advantages. The subsequent section delves into biomass energy, presenting different biomass feedstocks such as agricultural residues, forest biomass, and energy crops. It also examines biomass conversion technologies like combustion, gasification, and anaerobic digestion while discussing the applications and benefits of biomass energy. Geothermal energy is then introduced, outlining the various types of geothermal power plants, including binary cycle plants, flash steam plants, and dry steam plants. The section sheds light on geothermal energy’s applications and advantages. Finally, the study summarizes the renewable energy technologies discussed, emphasizing the importance of transitioning to renewable energy and highlighting prospects and challenges.