In this paper, the grid-connected photovoltaic plant of the University of Calabria is presented. The photovoltaic plant has a peak power of 2.7kW, and has been projected and built near the Building Energy Research Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Calabria.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants are a promising technology of renewable energy production, as witnessed by the increasing public and private investments during the last decade. The assessment of the associated risks of business interruption (loss of production) and loss of assets due to...

This paper provides a methodology to build offering curves for a concentrating solar power plant. This methodology takes into account the uncertainty in the thermal production from the solar field and the volatility of market prices. The solar plant owner is a price-taker producer that...

Intermittent power generation of wind turbines and photovoltaic plants creates voltage disturbances in power distribution networks which may not be acceptable to the consumers. To control the deviations of the nodal voltages, it is necessary to use fast dynamic control of the reactive power in...

Photovoltaic system is a technology for the production of electricity from renewable sources that is rapidly expanding thanks to its capability to reduce the energy consumption from traditional sources and to decrease the air pollution. During the operational phase, there are no emissions and...

Pakistan is going through a severe energy crisis due to an increasing gap between demand and supply. Its current energy needs are heavily dependent upon conventional thermal power plants which mainly use oil and gas. In addition to the economic problems associated with importing oil for...

Sustainable energy decision-making requires comparing energy options across a wide range of economic, environmental, social and technical implications. However, such comparisons based on quantitative data are currently limited at the national level. This is the first comparison of 13 currently...

The growing demand for energy, commitments taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel depletion and other issues enforced to accept the decision to analyze financing issues of renewable energy sector worldwide. This paper addresses two financing issues – financing channels and...

Solar energy is an attractive renewable energy source because the sun's energy is plentiful and carbon-free. However, solar energy is intermittent and not suitable for base load electricity generation without an energy backup system. Concentrated solar power (CSP) is unique among other renewable...

This paper presents a method for multidisciplinary design optimization of offshore wind turbines at system level. The formulation and implementation that enable the integrated aerodynamic and structural design of the rotor and tower simultaneously are detailed. The objective function to be...