Renewable Energy Technology (RET)

CH5210 : Lecture 1 and 2

Presented by :
Dr. Pradeep Kumar
Associate Professor (CHD, IIT BHU)
What is energy ?
Energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to
an object in order to perform work on, or to heat, the object. Energy is
a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that
energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed.

 We use energy every day. It surrounds us in different forms, such as

light, heat, and electricity.
 Our bodies use the energy stored in molecules of substances like
carbohydrates and protein to move, breathe, grow, and think. We also
use energy to do work and to play.
 Humans have invented
thousands of machines and
appliances that use energy to
make our work easier, to heat
our homes, and to get
ourselves from place to place.

 Some of these machines use

electricity, while others, like
automobiles, use the energy
stored in substances such as
gasoline.
Save Energy

Save Money

Save the Planet

Non-Renewable Energy

Non-renewable energy comes from sources that will

run out or will not be replenished for thousands or
even millions of years. Most sources of non-renewable
energy are fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels were created as the remains of marine
creatures decayed millions of years ago, under huge
amounts of pressure and heat. Most fossil fuels are
burned to create energy and electricity. Coal, above,
is a type of rock that is a fossil fuel.
Why we need to study the RET ?

Renewable Energy (RE) is the energy

which is derived from a limitless source
such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and
geothermal energy.
 Proper utilization of energy resources is
a hot debate going these days. It is very
essential to choose which source of
energy must be used and why.
 Majority of factors such as cleanliness,
cost, stability, efficiency and
environmental effects must be taken into
account.
 It is a bitter fact that many industries around the world are still
dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation. No doubt, these
fuels are very effective as far as power production quality is
concerned, but in the long run they are not advantageous. Fossil fuels
will deplete one day and the industries must turn to renewable
sources as soon as possible. Moreover, these fossil fuels pose a huge
threat to environmental balance and are a cause of many ecological
hazards.
• Although the solar radiation is relatively constant outside the earth's
atmosphere, local climate influences can cause wide variations in
available radiation on the earth’s surface from site to site.
• In addition, the relative motion of the sun with respect to the earth
will allow surfaces with different orientations to intercept different
amounts of solar energy.
• It is the primary task of the solar energy system designer to
determine the amount, quality and timing of the solar energy
available at the site selected for installing a solar energy conversion
system.
 Advantage of Non-conventional (or) Renewable
energy resources

1. It is fact that the consumption of conventional sources of energy

has caused more environmental damage than any other human
activity.
2. The use of fossil fuels such as oil and coal produce high
concentration harmful gases in the atmosphere and creates so
many problems such as Ozone depletion and global warming.
3. The Non-conventional energy sources, such as the sun and wind,
can never be exhausted and therefore are called renewable. They
cause fewer emissions and are available locally.
 Some Aspects of RE

It exists perpetually and in

abundant in the environment.
Ready to be harnessed,
inexhaustible.
It is clean alternative to fossil
fuels.
Energy that is derived from the
natural process that are
replenished constantly.
 Renewable energy is a source of energy that can never be
exhausted and can be replaced continuously
 We can obtain renewable energy from the sun, from the water,
from the wind, from crop residues and waste
 The types of Renewable energies are

Solar energy Tidal energy

Wind energy Hydro energy
Biomass energy Biofuels
Geothermal Wave Power
 Wind Energy
 Wind energy is the kinetic energy
associated with the movement of
atmospheric air.
 Wind energy systems convert
kinetic energy to more useful forms
of power.
 Wind energy systems for irrigation
and milling have been in use since
ancient times.
 From beginning of the 20th century
it is being used to generate electric
power.
• Wind is simple air in motion.
• Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by
the sun.
• During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than
the air over water.
• The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier,
cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating winds.
• This winds are used to rotate turbine blades which spins the
generator to produce electricity.
 Biomass energy

 The term "biomass" refers to organic matter that has stored energy
through the process of photosynthesis. It exists in one form as plants
and may be transferred through the food chain to animals' bodies and
their wastes, all of which can be converted for everyday human use
through processes such as combustion, which releases the carbon
dioxide stored in the plant material.
 Biomass energy (or) bioenergy, is the energy stored in non-fossil
organic materials such as wood, straw, vegetable oils and wastes
from the forest, agricultural and industrial sectors.
 It is such a widely utilized source of energy, probably due to its
low cost and indigenous nature, that it accounts for almost 15% of
the world's total energy supply and as much as 35% in developing
countries, mostly for cooking and heating.

Burn Fuel  Heat water to make steam 

Steam turns turbine  Steam turns generators 
Electrical power sent around country
 Tidal Energy
 Tidal Energy or Tidal Power as it is also called, is another
form of hydro power that utilizes large amounts of energy
within the oceans tides to generate electricity.
 Tidal Energy is an “alternative energy” that can also be
classed as a “renewable energy source”, as the Earth uses the
gravitational forces of both the moon and the sun everyday to
move vast quantities of water around the oceans and seas
producing tides.
 It is a hydropower due to raise and fall of water wave in
ocean. The raise and fall of water wave is due to the
gravitational forces of the moon and sun as well as the
revolution of the earth.
 The raising and falling waves are used to rotate the turbines
and hence the electricity is produced.
Electric power from Tidal Flows
 Hydro Energy

 Hydropower refers to power obtained from the flow of moving

water.
 Along wind, it’s one of the oldest forms of power generation.
 The earliest forms, of course, were water wheels. These have been in
use for at least 2000 years.
 In the past, water wheels created mechanical energy to turn shafts to
accomplish tasks such as grinding grain or sawing wood. The energy
had to be used at the point of production.
 Today, hydropower plants use turbines to generate electricity. In the
form of electricity, the energy can be transported from the river of
origin to where it's need
 Hydropower Originates From the Sun
 It is interesting to note that you can think of hydropower as a form of
solar energy. The basis of this is what scientists refer to as the hydrologic
cycle.
How Hydroelectricity Generated ?
Geothermal Power Plant working
 Solar energy – basic
concept

Introduction
 The sun radiates energy uniformly in all the direction in the form of
electromagnetic waves. when absorbed by a body, it increases its
temperature.
 It is a clean, exhaustible, abundantly and universally available
renewable energy source.
 The major drawback of the solar energy are it is a dilute form of
energy, which is available intermittently, uncertainly and not steadily
and continuously. However more predictable than the wind energy.
 The output of sun is 2.8 x 1018 kWh/year.
Solar energy can be utilized directly in
two ways:
1) By collecting the radiation heat and using it in a
thermal system “Solar thermal”.
2) By collecting and converting it directly to electrical
energy using Photovoltaic system “Solar
Photovoltaic(SPV)”.
1. By collecting the radiation heat and using
it in a thermal system “Solar thermal”.
2. By collecting and converting it directly to
electrical energy using Photovoltaic system “Solar
Photovoltaic(SPV)”.
 Solar energy is the mother of all the forms of energy : conventional or
non- conventional, renewable or non-renewable, the only exception
being the nuclear energy.
 Various forms of the energy find their origin in sun as mentioned
below:
 Wind energy
 Biomass energy
 Tidal energy
 Ocean wave energy
 Ocean thermal energy
 fossil fuels and other organic chemicals
 Hydro energy
 Areas of the world with high Solar radiation

• The basic resource for all solar energy systems is the sun.
• Knowledge of the quantity and quality of solar energy available at a
specific location is of prime importance for the design of any solar
energy system
 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation
 The intensity of solar radiation keeps on attenuating as it
propagates away from the surface of the sun, though the
wavelengths remains unchanged. Solar radiation incident on
the outer atmosphere of the earth is known as Extraterrestrial
Solar Radiation, Iext..
 The Extraterrestrial Radiation deviates from solar
constant value due to two reasons.
1. The variation in the radiation emitted by the sun itself.
The variation due to this reason is less than +1.5 % with
different periodicities.

2. The variation of earth sun distance arising from earth’s

slightly elliptic path. The variation due to this reason is +3
% and is given by
Iext = Isc [1 + 0.033cos(360/n 365)] W/ m2
where, n is the day of the year starting from January 1.
Isc : Solar Constant defined as the energy received from the
sun per unit time, on a unit area of surface perpendicular to
the direction of propagation of the radiation, at the earth’s
mean distance from the sun.
 The world radiation center(WRC) has adopted a value of solar
constant as 1367 W/ m2 . This has been accepted universally as a
standard value of solar constant.
 The extraterrestrial radiation, being outside the atmosphere, is not
affected by change in atmospheric condition. While passing
through the atmosphere it is subjected to mechanisms of
atmospheric absorption and scattering depending on atmospheric
condition, depleting its intensity. A fraction of scattered radiation is
reflected back to space while remaining is directed downward.
 Solar radiation reaches earth surface after passing through the
earth’s atmosphere is as terrestrial radiation.
 The terrestrial radiation express as energy per unit time per unit
area (i.e. W/ m2 ) is known as Solar Irradiation.
 The solar radiation is the incident solar radiation energy received
on a given surface area in a given time()in J/m2 or kWh/ m2 )
The position of extraterrestrial and terrestrial regions are indicated in
the below picture
Extraterrestrial and Terrestrial Spectra
 Solar Radiation Measurement
 Three types of instrument are generally used to measure three
different aspects of solar radiation as follow:

1. To measure global or diffuse radiation: A Pyranometer is designed

to measure global radiation, usually on a horizontal surface, but
can also be used on an inclined surface. Pyranometer also measure
diffused radiation by a shading ring.
2. To measure beam or direct radiation: A Pyrheliometer is used to
measure beam radiation by using a long narrow tube to collect only
beam radiation from the sun at normal incidence.
3. To measure sunshine hours in a day : A Sunshine recorder is used
to measure the duration in hours or bright sunshine during the
course of the day
Another two type more measurement devices for solar radiation:

1. To measure terrestrial radiation : A Pyregeometry is used to

measure terrestrial radiation.
2. To measure both solar and the terrestrial radiation: A Pyradiameter
is used to measure both solar and terrestrial radiation.
 Pyranometer

 A precision Pyranometer is designed to respond to radiation of all

wavelength and hence accurately the total power in the incident
spectrum
 It contains thermopiles whose sensitive surface consists of circular,
blackened, hot junctions, exposed to the sun and cold junctions are
completely shaded. The temperature difference between the hot and
cold junctions is the function of radiation falling on the sensitive
surface.
 A Pyranometer is designed to measure basically, the solar radiation
flux density (W/m2) from the hemisphere above within a wavelength
range 0.3 μm to 3 μm.
 Pyrheliometer

 A pyrheliometer is an instrument for measurement of direct

beam solar irradiance.
 Sunlight enters the instrument through a window or uses
collimator tube to collect beam radiation whose field of view is
limited to a solid angle of 5.5 degree(generally) and is directed
onto a thermopile which converts heat to an electrical signal that
can be recorded. The signal voltage is converted via a formula to
measure watts per square meter.
 It is used with a solar tracking system to keep the instrument
aimed at the sun.
 A pyrheliometer is often used in the same setup with
a pyranometer.
 Sunshine recorder

 A sunshine recorder is a device that records the amount

of sunshine at a given location or region at any time. The results
provide information about the weather and climate as well as the
temperature of a geographical area. This information is useful in
meteorology, science, agriculture, tourism, and other fields.
 Sunshine recorder essentially consists of a glass sphere mounted in a
spherical bowl and a metallic groove which holds a record card. Sun's
rays are refracted and focused sharply on the record card beneath the
glass sphere, leaving burnt marks on the card. As the sun traverses,
continuous burnt marks will appear on the card. Observers can
measure the sunshine duration based on the length of the burnt marks.
 Although the design and operation of sunshine recorder are quite
simple, it requires manual observations of burnt marks on record
cards as well as manual change of cards.

 To streamline operations, the Observatory started using a fully

automatic CSD sunshine meter to record sunshine duration since
2005. The sunshine meter consists of three sensors.
 When sunlight is detected by the sensor, it will be transformed into
electricity. Solar radiation can be calculated based on the generated
voltage.
 The sensor at the front, which is used for measuring global solar
radiation, is not shaded and receives sunlight from all around. The
sensors in the middle and to the rear are partly shaded. The purpose
for the shading is to avoid direct sunshine for measurement of diffuse
solar radiation. By using the values of global and diffuse solar
radiation, the direct solar radiation can be computed and the sunshine
duration can be determined according to the latest World
Meteorological Organizations definition.
 Solar Radiation Geometry
The Earth’s daily rotation about the axis through its two celestial poles (North and South) is
perpendicular to the equator, but it is not perpendicular to the plane of the Earth’s orbit. In
fact, the measure of tilt or obliquity of the Earth’s axis to a line perpendicular to the plane of
its orbit is currently about 23.5°.
Some of the terms are necessary to known for the calculation of the solar radiation related
problems as follows:
 Earth Angles;
 Sun Angles;
 Surface Angles.
Earth Angle: Latitude, Declination, Hour
Angle
 1. Latitude (Angle of latitude) Φ : The latitude of a location on the Earth is
the angle between the line joining that location to the center of the earth and
the equatorial plane. For example, Chicago, Illinois is on the circle of latitude
41.8° N. All locations at the same latitude experience the same geometric
relationship with the sun.
2. Declination (δ) : Defined to be that angle made between a ray of
the Sun, when extended to the center of the earth, O, and the
equatorial plane. We take δ to be positively oriented whenever the
Sun’s rays reach O by passing through the Northern hemisphere.
3. A Hour Angle (ω) : It is the angular distance between the meridian
of the observer and the meridian whose plane contains the sun. Thus,
the hour angle is zero at local noon (when the sun reaches its highest
point in the sky).
At this time the sun is said to be ‘due south’ (or ‘due north’, in the
Southern Hemisphere) since the meridian plane of the observer
contains the sun. The hour angle increases by 15 degrees every hour.
 Sun angle: Inclination angle, Zenith angle,
solar Azimuth angle

 Inclination Angle (Altitude) (α) is defined as before, to be

the angular measure of the Sun’s rays above the horizon.
Equivalently, it is the angle between the direction of the
geometric centre of the Sun and the horizon.
The Solar Zenith Angle (θz) is the angle between
the sun’s ray and perpendicular (normal) to the horizontal
plane.

The Solar Azimuth Angle(Ƴs ) is the angle on a horizontal

plane, between the line due south and the projection of
sun’s ray on the horizontal plane. It is taken as positive
when measured from south towards west.
 Surface angle: Tilt angle, Surface azimuth angle,
Angle of incidence
 Tilt Angle (β) : it is the angle between inclined plane surface, under
consideration and the horizontal. It is taken to be +ve for the surface
sloping towards south.
 Surface Azimuth Angle (γ): it is the angle in horizontal plane,
between the line due south (OS) and the horizontal projection of
normal to the inclined plane surface (OQ). It is taken as +ve when
measured from south towards west.
 Angle of incidence (θi): It is the angle between sun’s ray incident on
the plane surface (collector) and the normal to that surface.
 In general angle of incidence can be expressed as,
Cos θi = cos δ cos ω( cos Φ cos β + sinΦ sin β cos γ) + cos δ sin ω sin β
sin γ + sin δ (sin Φ cos β - cos Φ sin β cos γ)
Special cases :
 For surface facing due south, γ = 0
Cos θi = cos δ cos ω( cos Φ - β) + sin δ (sin Φ - β )
 For Horizontal surface, β = 0, θi = θz (zenith angle)
Cos θz = cos δ cos ω cos Φ + sin δ sin Φ
 For a vertical surface facing due south, γ =0, β = 90 degree
Cos θi = - sin δ cos Φ + cos δ cos ω sinΦ
Cos θi = cos δ cos ω( cos Φ cos β + sinΦ sin β cos γ) + cos δ sin ω sin β
sin γ + sin δ (sin Φ cos β - cos Φ sin β cos γ) ( 4.7)
Thank You