• Energy Research
• 2025-2025close
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Abstract Future “net-zero” electricity systems in which all or most generation is renewable may require very high volumes of storage in order to manage the associated variability in the generation-demand balance. The physical and economic characteristics of storage technologies are such that a mixture of technologies is likely to be required. This poses nontrivial problems in storage dimensioning and in real-time management. We develop the mathematics of optimal scheduling for system adequacy, and show that, to a good approximation, the problem to be solved at each successive point in time reduces to a linear programme with a particularly simple solution. We argue that approximately optimal scheduling may be achieved without the need for a running forecast of the future generation-demand balance. We consider an extended application to GB storage needs, where savings of tens of billions of pounds may be achieved, relative to the use of a single technology, and explain why similar savings may be expected elsewhere.

The textile industry plays a major part in the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, the environmental impact of textile dyeing and wastewater discharge has become a growing concern in the region. This study addressed this issue by identifying and characterizing azo dye degrading enzymes that can be used in bioremediation strategies. Six enzymes, namely Thiol reductase, Thiol peroxidase, Alkene reductase, NADH-oxidoreductase, Oxidoreductase, and Sulfite reductase, were identified through a literature review and used as queries in BLASTp to search for homologous enzymes from Bacillus cereus, Brevibacillus brevis, Bacillus acidicola, and Paenibacillus alvei. The physicochemical characteristics and subcellular distribution of these enzymes were determined using online tools. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to investigate the evolutionary connection of these enzymes across different bacterial species. Additionally, gene structure and motif analysis were conducted to gain insights into functional motifs and gene organization of these enzymes. Domain prediction and protein–protein interaction analysis were carried out to identify conserved domains and potential protein interactions. The outcomes of this study offer valuable understandings on prospect of azo dye degrading enzymes for bioremediation strategies in the KSA textile industry, which is in agreement with the future Vision 2030 strategy. The identified enzymes and their homologs from other microbial genomes represent promising candidates for further experimental validation and utilization in bioremediation processes. Moreover, they contribute to the development of effective bioremediation strategies for the textile industry in the KSA region. Overall, this study enhances our understanding on azo dye degrading enzymes and their potential uses in the textile industry, particularly in the context of KSA.

The UK is currently experiencing a cost-of-living crisis that is impacting access to affordable energy, which is worsening energy poverty issues. While the crisis continues, policymakers are attempting to meet climate change goals. Our paper discusses the ways in which energy poverty and energy justice are relevant to the shift to decarbonise the social housing sector. We use a case study of 22 interviews of social housing residents on an estate in the North West of England to problematise how retrofitting social housing to decrease energy consumption impacts residents' access to energy justice. Our work contributes to the emerging concept of retrofit justice, and we assess how the forms of tripartite energy justice occur through the retrofit project, furthering debates on retrofit justice. We find that while the housing provider made attempts to involve residents in retrofit planning, many residents were disengaged from the process due to disenfranchisement and misrecognition issues, contributing to limited procedural and recognition justice. We also found that while retrofits increased the energy efficiency of the buildings, this could not solve structural problems causing energy poverty, reducing the retrofit's capacity to deliver distributive energy justice. Retrofit is a hugely important aspect of meeting climate change goals, but energy poverty cannot be adequately challenged without structural changes to the electricity market. Our paper is based on a UK case study, but the findings are relevant to international conceptual debates around retrofit and energy justice and can be useful for any national context retrofitting their social housing stock.

This study examines the impact of geopolitical risks on price exuberance within the European natural gas market. The analysis identifies several instances of price exuberance and demonstrates that increased geopolitical risk in Ukraine and the UK significantly heightens price exuberance, whereas in Russia, it mitigates its occurrence. Although geopolitical risks could significantly influence price exuberance in the European natural gas market, the effect differs across countries.

Enhancing the performance of traditional vapor compression cooling cycles is an important aspect in the quest to minimize global energy consumption, to own sustainable energy systems soon, and to preserve the environment. This study performed a comparative analysis of the performance of a water cooler with different working fluids to replace R143a and improve system performance. A mathematical model derived from energy and exergy analysis is developed for the evaluation of the effect of operating conditions on the system COP, exergetic losses, and exergetic efficiency. The evaluation has been conducted for evaporation and condensation temperatures ranging between -30°C to 15°C and 25°C to 55°C, respectively. Results showed that the cycle with R510A has the maximum COP. The average system COP with R510A, RE170, and R152a are 19.54%, 13.53%, and 9.36 % higher than that with R134a, respectively. The highest value of exergy loss takes place in the compressor. At different working fluids, exergy losses decrease as evaporation temperatures increase and condensation temperatures decrease. The system with R510A has the minimum exergy losses. The average exergy losses for systems with R510A, RE170, and R152a are 34.62%, 28.33%, and 18.64% lower than that of R134a, respectively. The system with R510A has higher exergy efficiency and R134a has the minimum values of exergy efficiency. Generally, the water cooler provided better performance with R510A and RE170 than with R152a and R134a. Therefore, R510A can be considered as the best replacement for R134a and R152a.

Uncertainties associated with large-scale deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and photovoltaic (PV) pose challenges to distribution network expansion planning (DNEP). This paper proposes an optimal planning method for EV charging stations (EVCS) and distribution systems to accommodate the ever-increasing uncertainties. It is achieved by entailing PV-grid-EV transactions, which enables EVCS and PV prosumers to trade energy to make profits while complying with grid securities. It offers a cost-effective operational alternative to long-term planning, which would otherwise result in PV curtailment or unnecessary DNEP. The transactive market operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis and is cleared via a decentralized algorithm to protect privacy and enable autonomous decision-making. EVCS is incentivized by a designed network charge, quantifying its impact on adhering to security constraints from both long-term and short-term perspectives. Considering EV users’ charging decisions, we derive optimal EV charging prices to regulate EV charging flow. We employ multiple linearization techniques to ensure the convergence of the non-convex model. Results demonstrate that the proposed method enables the distribution networks to accommodate the large-scale integration of EV and PV more effectively.

Gas turbine (GT) power plants operating in arid climates suffer a decrease in output power during the hot summer months because of insufficient cooling. Cooling the air intake to the compressor has been widely used to mitigate this shortcoming. An energy analysis of a GT Brayton cycle coupled to a refrigeration cycle shows a promise for increasing the output power with a little decrease in thermal efficiency. A thermo-economics algorithm is developed and applied to an open cycle, Hitachi MS700 GT plant at the industrial city of Yanbu by the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Result shows that the enhancement in output power depends on the degree of chilling the air intake to the compressor (a 12 - 22 K decrease is achieved). For this case study, maximum power gain ratio (PGR) is 15.46%, at a decrease in thermal efficiency of 12.25%. The cost of adding the air cooling system is also investigated and a cost function is derived that incorporates time-dependent meteorological data, operation characteristics of the GT and the air intake cooling system and other relevant parameters such as interest rate, lifetime, and operation and maintenance costs. The profit of adding the air cooling system is calculated for different electricity tariff.

electricity. In this research, the potential of ZigZag PVNBs has been investigated. The ZigZag Solar product, developed by Wallvision, has proven to offer multiple advantages in energy yield and aesthetics for building fa & ccedil;ade applications. For noise barrier applications, the ZigZag structure could offer interesting features in safety and noise cancellation (obtained by filling the ZigZag construction with Rockwool material) on top of the advantages in aesthetics and energy yield. A ZigZag PVNB has been designed and constructed at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, after which the electrical performance has been automatically monitored under Dutch climate conditions. The measurements have been compared to simulated data, which allowed optimiza