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In this paper a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter with embedded storage units is proposed. The multi-input single-output inverter architecture allows a distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT) approach, thus mitigating the mismatch effects. The energy storage units (ESUs) embedded at each dc-link provides more flexibility to the power circuit compensating for the inherent variability of the PV sources. The proposed power system ensures a continuous power supply to the grid also in case of PV power fluctuations due to irradiance conditions as well as to the MPPT. In particular, the presence of a storage element allows a voltage sweep on the PV source to be implemented, thus guaranteeing the maximization of PV energy harvesting, with no detrimental effect on the power delivery to the utility network. The numerical results, carried out on a single-phase nineteen-level PV CHB inverter, reveal the improved performance of the proposed design and control technique.

Abstract The kinetics of methane hydrate decomposition was studied using a semibatch stirred-tank reactor. The decomposition was accomplished by reducing the pressure on a hydrate slurry in water to a value below the three-phase equilibrium pressure at the reactor temperature. The data were obtained at temperatures from 274 to 283 K and pressures from 0.17 to 6.97 MPa. The stirring rates were high enough to eliminate mass-transfer effects. Analysis of the data indicated that the decomposition rate was proportional to the particle surface area and to the difference in the fugacity of methane at the equilibrium pressure and the decomposition pressure. The proportionality constant showed an Arrhenius temperature dependence. An estimate of the hydrate particle diameters in the experiments permitted the development of an intrinsic model for the kinetics of hydrate decomposition.

The safeguard of power equipments is assuming a major role in the deregulated electricity market, where a malfunctioning power system could be responsible for serious damages to a large number of system operators having access to the shared energy resource. In this context thermal monitoring of power cables represents a key issue in evaluating the risks associated with a given load management policy especially during emergency conditions. In particular this demands for reliable assessment models that should be able to predict the transient thermal behaviour when the load exceeds the nameplate value. In this connection the application of both simplified and detailed power cable thermal models is often complicated by the presence of uncertainties affecting the tolerances of the input data. The effect of these uncertainties could influence the final solution to a considerable extent. A comprehensive tolerance analysis is therefore required in order to incorporate the effect of data uncertainties into the thermal modelling process. To address this problem, in the paper the employment of interval mathematic is proposed. Several numerical results are presented and discussed in order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed methodology which offer a rough qualitative insight of the solution in a very short time, comparable to the time required for a deterministic numerical simulation.

In this article is presented the preliminary evaluation of the performance of radiation transmission of glass block, used in support of photovoltaic cells, investigating different internal surface points of the block, which are subject to different shading during daylight hours. The aim is to establish how the edging setting, the only opaque element, can reduce the amount of light radiation during the day, introducing in this way a reduction of efficiency of the entire generation system. The generation system can be based on traditional photovoltaic cells or on the most suitable dye sensitized solar cells. An experimental measurement setup employing a microprocessor-based instrument has been created and a set of measures have been carried out. The measures prove that the shading effect at different irradiation angles do not affect significantly the lighting over the PV cell.

The South is likely to suffer more from climate change than the North due to its already vulnerable situation and lack of the necessary resources to adapt to change. But do the interests of men and of women differ as regards climate change and does this have a South-North dimension? This paper attempts to establish whether gender issues need to be addressed in the climate change debate. Towards this goal, a number of different issues within the climate change debate, in particular the instruments proposed, are analysed. These include responsibility for emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), studies on vulnerability to the effects of climate change, mitigation of emissions, capacity building for participation in flexible mechanisms and adaptation to climate change. We conclude that while there are many gender angles related to the climate change convention and the instruments therein, some are more strategic than others. There is little to be gained by looking at the responsibility for emissions on a gendered basis. But in mitigation activities, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), capacity building, technology transfer, vulnerability studies and projects for adaptation, the poor, the majority of who are women, should be targeted and active participants in decision-making.

Nowadays, many islands worldwide are lack of electrical energy. Thus, it is convenient to exploit available renewable energy sources, among which sea waves near the islands. This paper focuses on the power conversion system coupled with an offshore wave energy device, such as an improved linear generator, to be used for sea wave energy harvesting. Particularly, the design of the linear generator has been proposed to improve the energy efficiency of the entire system. The proposed power conversion system is composed by two Boost Rectifier (BR) directly coupled to the linear generator, and one Voltage Source Inverter (VSI), which it is used as front-end between the DC-bus and the grid. The proposed converters are realized using the Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices in order to improve the efficiency. Furthermore, the control strategy to regulate the generator side and grid side currents has been implemented. The proposed system has been validated using the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) test bench and 20 kW SiC power converters.

Abstract Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are growing to a relevant role in solar cooling applications. Hence, high energy density is a desirable property of the TES system. Phase change materials (PCM) helps to increase this characteristic. A high temperature pilot plant able to test different types of TES systems and materials was designed and built at the University of Lleida (Spain). This pilot plant is composed mainly of three parts: heating system, cooling system, and different storage tanks. Two identical storage tanks based on the shell-and-tubes heat exchanger, one of them including 196 squared fins in the bundle of the tubes and the other without, were experimentally tested. Hydroquinone was selected as the storage material, having a latent heat of 205 kJ/kg and a phase change temperature between 168 and 173 °C. The aim of this paper is to test experimentally, and compare the average effectiveness of the TES systems analyzed using PCM for solar cooling and refrigeration applications. It was found out that for the same tank configurations (shell-and-tubes) even changing drastically the dimensions of the tank or the number and the diameter of the tubes, the average effectiveness curve proposed in the literature fits well with the results showed here.

In recent years, the portable technology is receiving a great interest and significant improvement due to the progresses in electronic technology development and energy storage solutions. The decrease in power requirements for working energy systems, due to the increased efficiency and to the reduction in components size, opens the access to new solutions for power supplying. In particular, alternative backup systems for battery charging or replacement could be designed taking advantage of unconventional technologies. It is the case of small photovoltaic portable panels or fuel cells technology: in these solutions different sources are used to produce limited electrical powers required to keep devices on. In this paper, a thermoelectric solution for the power generation has been considered: the generator has been designed and assembled starting from a catalytic combustor. Catalytic combustion allows safe control of the processes, and the choice of a hydrocarbon fuel ensures the power availability and a fast recharge. The size of the system is set to fit a volume close to the one of AA batteries. The electrical power output obtained is close to 1 W with a cold side temperature below 40 °C. The limited values of these physical parameters allow obtaining a portable and safe device. The generator has been fully characterized in different ranges of fuel flow rates and the performances have been thoroughly analysed for processes optimization and efficiency improvement.