Preface

Chapter 8 163

Chapter 9 183

Sustainable Development and Impacts of Renewable Energies 205

Chapter 10 207

Chapter 11 227

Evaluation of PV-Wind Hybrid Energy System for a Small Island

Methodology for Sizing Hybrid Battery-Backed Power Generation

Towards Sustainable Rural Development in South Africa through

by Ochuko K. Overen, Edson L. Meyer and Golden Makaka

Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts of Renewable

by Oswaldo A. Arraez-Cancelliere, Nicolás Muñoz-Galeano and

by Sajid Ali and Choon-Man Jang

Systems in Off-Grid Areas

Passive Solar Housing Design

Energy Resources by Mahesh Kumar

II

Jesús M. López-Lezama

Section 3

Recently, the fight against polluting emissions, which is the cause of many harmful phenomena like the greenhouse effect, the stratospheric ozone hole, global warming, etc., is on the rise. These harmful gases are emitted mostly by various human activities, thus making the environment unfriendly.

In the field of electricity production, conventional sources of energy based on fossil fuel are considered an important source of pollution. Renewable energies constitute excellent solutions to both the increase in energy consumption and environmental problems. They are clean and present an alternative to meet the needs of today's society. The electrical needs of people can be met through distributed generation provided by renewable energy sources (RES), which reduce the electrical energy generated from conventional sources and therefore their pollutant emissions and consequences.

Renewable energy participation to meet consumer needs is governed by the "Kyoto Protocol," which imposes tangible requirements for the signatory countries. This document provides the basis for the future development of RES. On the basis of the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union requires a strategy for member states, better known as the 20/20/20 strategy. These figures equate to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, 20% reduction in energy consumption due to energy efficiency, and 20% participation of RES to meet future objectives. These objectives should be achieved by 2020.

Despite global development, the use of RES encounters a number of difficulties due to the intermittent availability of these sources. The main difficulty is the lack of guaranteed power from generators, converting primary energy potential into electricity due to the stochastic nature of variations of energy sources. In the case solar energy, the variations are caused by the day/night cycle, clouds crossing the sky, or other obstacles between the sun and the photovoltaic (PV) installations. For wind turbines, the variations in power are due to the variability of wind speed, gusts, and other barriers. In this way, the power of the wind, converted by the wind turbine into mechanical power, has a variable character, because it is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. However, this problem is less pronounced in hydroelectric plants, because the presence of dams that retain the water predetermines the presence of a certain quantity of water. The technological experience acquired form hydraulic turbines facilitates the application of this RES.

Several sources of renewable energy are the subject of great interest for scientific research. In this work, we focus on solar and wind energy. The use of these energies has become competitive due to three main factors:


• The evolution of semiconductor/power electronics technologies and new methodologies for the effective enhancement and control of both variable speed wind turbines and PV systems.

Dr. Ahmed Tahour

Dr. AbdelGhani Aissaoui

Electrical Department, Faculty of Technology,

Université Mustapha Stambouli de Mascara,

University Tahri Mohamed of Bechar,

Professor,

Professor,

Bechar, Algeria

Algeria

The integration of renewable energy resources into the electric grid is very important, based on recent grid codes that require renewable energy sources to remain grid connected, despite their stochastic nature. A hybrid energy system, including solar power systems and wind turbines, is a very interesting technology. It is more reliable and often yields greater economic and environmental returns than standalone systems (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.).

The goal of this book is to present recent works on the concept, control, and applications in hybrid renewable energy. Developments in this field are rapid, accompanied by many difficulties that require solutions. In this book, different solutions are proposed based on new techniques of control and advanced technology products in the field of hybrid renewable energy.

The book is intended for researchers in the field of design of hybrid renewable energy. For anyone working in the development of renewable energy systems, it is hoped that it will serve as a useful reference work.

This book is divided into three sections:


The contributions of this book reveal the importance of the subject matter. The aim of this book is to provide new trends of research into renewable energy, and to present recent challenges in the implementation of hybrid renewable energy topologies. We hope that readers will find this book a unique and significant source of knowledge and reference.

> Dr. Kenneth E. Okedu Visiting Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

> > V

Dr. Ahmed Tahour Professor, Université Mustapha Stambouli de Mascara, Algeria
