• Energy Research
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Renewable energy sources have become necessary for long-term energy sustainability due to the increased demand for electric cars and worrisome rises in carbon dioxide emissions from traditional energy sources. Furthermore, transportation is one of the sectors that uses the most energy on the planet, accounting for 24% of overall consumption. Fossil fuels are still the dominant energy source for balancing global demand/supply dynamics. Supporting laws and regulations have enhanced the first phase of environmentally friendly energy-resource consumption. This has spurred the development of new solutions that cut greenhouse-gas emissions and reduce the air pollution produced by internal combustion engines that are fuelled by fossil fuels. Wind energy is one of the clean energy sources that may be utilised for this purpose. Wind energy has been used to power electric-car-charging infrastructure, generally in a hybrid mode with another renewable source. This research examines the possibility of using wind energy as a standalone energy source to support electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure. Using data from Malacca, Malaysia, and HOMER software, the project will build and optimise a standalone wind-powered charging station. An RC-5K-A wind turbine coupled to a battery and converter is the appropriate choice for the system. The findings demonstrate that the turbine can produce 214,272 kWh per year at the cost of USD 0.081/kWh, confirming wind’s future feasibility as an energy-infrastructure support source.

Using Griddler software, this study aims to select the optimal metallization design by analyzing the impact of the number and sizes of busbars and fingers on a solar cell’s performance. There is interest in the PV industry to reduce the finger size toward 25 μm in upcoming years. It is shown that an increase in the number and size of busbars and fingers causes an increase in the fill factor; however, with regards to the cell’s efficiency, the shading factor should be considered in addition to the size and number of metal contacts. The results of this study indicate that solar cells’ efficiency could be increased by 0.33–0.84% when using five busbars and a finger width of 35 μm. Moreover, this increase is achieved by reducing the emitter resistance to less than 60 ohm/sq and considering a recombination rate of about 165 fA/cm2.

Wind turbine blades perform the most important function in the wind energy conversion process. It plays the most vital role of absorbing the kinetic energy of the wind, and converting it to mechanical energy before it is transformed into electrical energy by generators. In this work, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 4412 and SG6043 airfoils were selected to design a small horizontal axis variable speed wind turbine blade for harvesting efficient energy from low wind speed areas. Due to the low wind profile of the targeted area, a blade of one-meter radius was considered in this study. To attain the set objectives of fast starting time and generate more torque and power at low wind speeds, optimization was carryout by varying Reynolds numbers (Re) on tip speed ratios (TSR) values of 4, 5, and 6. The blade element momentum (BEM) method was developed in MATLAB programming code to iteratively find the best twist and chord distributions along the one-meter blade length for each Re and tip speed ratio (TSR) value. To further enhance the blade performance, the twist and chord distributions were transferred to Q-blade software, where simulations of the power coefficients (Cp) were performed and further optimized by varying the angles of attack. The highest power coefficients values of 0.42, 0.43, and 0.44 were recorded with NACA 4412 rotor blades, and 0.43, 0.44, and 0.45 with SG6043 rotor blades. At the Re of 3.0 × 105, the blades were able to harvest maximum power of 144.73 watts (W), 159.69 W, and 201.04 W with the NACA 4412 and 213.15 W, 226.44 W, 245.09 W with the SG6043 at the TSR of 4, 5, and 6 respectively. The lowest cut-in speed of 1.80 m/s and 1.70 m/s were achieved with NACA 4412 and SG6043 airfoils at TSR 4. At a low wind speed of 4 m/s, the blades were able to harness an efficient power of 79.3. W and 80.10 W with both rotor blades at the TSR 4 and 6 accordingly.

This study provides a techno-financial evaluation of two sites in Malaysia: Kudat, located on the coast of the northernmost part of Sabah, the state of East Malaysia with promising wind potential, and Putrajaya in the Klang Valley region with moderate wind potential at high elevations similar to the dominant cities in Malaysia. Three small-scale wind turbines were evaluated, taking into account a nominal electrical power generation below 100 kW. The research is focused on 220 residential households. The software used to perform the evaluation was Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER). The research novelty is the examination of the non-hybrid small-scale turbines at high elevations for regions with low wind speed, such as Malaysia. Regardless of the wind farms’ financial profit, this study used the net present cost (NPC) analysis in all cases. This research demonstrates the feasibility of small-scale wind turbines mounted at high elevations for generating sufficient energy. The results indicate that in both areas, the RX-20KH3 model is the best option, and the costs of the FH-5000 and RX-20KH3 farms are proportionate for a renewable project. Furthermore, with government support, the WES80 farm could be suitable.