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Wind energy has emerged as a promising renewable energy source and wind turbine technology has developed rapidly in recent years. Improved wind turbine performance depends heavily on the design and optimization of wind blades. This work offers a critical evaluation of the state of the art in the field of numerical modelling and simulation analysis, which have become crucial for the design and optimization of wind blades. The evaluation of the literature includes considerable research on the application of numerical methods for the structural and aerodynamic performance of wind blades under various operating situations, as well as for analysis and optimization of wind blades. The article illustrates how numerical techniques can be used to analyse wind blade performance and maximize design efficiency. The study of blade performance under various wind conditions has also been made possible through the use of simulation analysis, thus enhancing the efficiency and dependability of wind turbines. Improvements in wind turbine efficiency and dependability, and ultimately the move towards a more sustainable energy future, will be greatly helpful for the development of numerical modelling and simulation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With global warming and the depletion of fossil energy sources, renewable energy is gradually replacing non-renewable energy as the main energy in the future. As one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources, the safety and reliability of wind energy have been paid more and more attention. The size of modern wind turbines is becoming larger and larger. As the main component of wind turbines to capture energy, the blade is often damaged by various complex environments and irregular loads. Therefore, the health monitoring and damage identification of wind turbine blades have become a main research focus. At present, in addition to the overview of various detection methods of wind turbine blades, there is a lack of comprehensive classifications and overviews of the main damage types, damage-generation mechanisms, and basic principles of the damage-detection technology of wind turbine blades. In this paper, firstly, the common fault types of wind turbine blades, such as trailing edge cracking, lightning strike, leading edge corrosion pollution, icing, and delamination, as well as their generation mechanism, are comprehensively analyzed. Then, the basic principles and the latest research progress of the current main detection technologies, such as vision, ultrasonic, thermal imaging, vibration, acoustic emission, and so on, are comprehensively reviewed. The advantages and limitations of the various detection technologies for practical application are summarized. Finally, through a comparative analysis of the various damage-detection technologies, we try to find potential future research directions, and draw conclusions. This paper will provide a reference for understanding the mechanism behind the main damage types and the damage-detection methods of wind turbine blades. It has important reference value for further promoting practical research of wind turbine blade damage-detection technology and grasping this research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview on the assessment of wind energy technology adoption and the extent of penetration of wind energy as an alternative energy source in different regions of the world is presented. A global scenario of Asia, Americas, Europe and Gulf States were reviewed and particular attention was centred on the successes of wind energy in Africa. The four major drivers—global warming, natural disasters, crisis and agreements—that have affected growth of wind energy technology were discussed. The economics of wind energy technology particularly as a grid connected solution was reviewed, challenges in the roll-out of wind energy technology were also highlighted. Finally, the prospects and future of wind energy as part of the overall energy mix was reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy generated by grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) systems is considered an important alternative electric energy source because of its clean energy production system, easy installation, and low operating and maintenance costs. This has led to it becoming more popular compared with other resources. However, finding optimal sites for the construction of solar farms is a complex task with many factors to be taken into account (environmental, social, legal and political, technical-economic, etc.), which classic site selection models do not address efficiently. There are few studies on the criteria that should be used when identifying sites for solar energy installations (large grid-connected photovoltaic systems which have more than 100 kWp of installed capacity). It is therefore essential to change the way site selection processes are approached and to seek new methodologies for location analysis. A geographic information system (GIS) is a tool which can provide an effective solution to this problem. Here, we combine legal, political, and environmental criteria, which include solar radiation intensity, local physical terrain, environment, and climate, as well as location criteria such as the distance from roads and the nearest power substations. Additionally, we use GIS data (time series of solar radiation, digital elevation models (DEM), land cover, and temperature) as further input parameters. Each individual site is assessed using a unique and cohesive approach to select the most appropriate locations for solar farm development in the Valencian Community, a Spanish region in the east of Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Succeeding energy transition is the current challenging objective of many remote islands such as Reunion Island to reduce their dependency to fossil resources. To define an efficient energy framework strategy for the territory, it is important to be able to assess the electricity consumption intensity per typology of consumers. A particular attention must be paid on building electricity consumption in energy planning scenarios. This paper proposes to investigate the electricity consumption ratio per square meter per building type which appears as a relevant indicator. The proposed methodology aims at filling the lack of data (ratio kWh/m2/ type of consumers) when this information doesn't exist for a territory. This type of ratio can be useful in two ways: on the one hand to characterize the building energy demand, and, on the other hand, to understand the consumption mode of the inhabitants. We can therefore provide future energy policy framework in favor of demand-side management what is a key step, a lock to solve for the deployment of sustainable cities. This work calculates electricity consumption ratios per area by using a GIS (Geographic Information System) method, distinguishing the type of building. The case of Reunion Island is studied and four building categories are identified corresponding to the functional characteristics such as industry, administration, companies and residential. The results highlight that residential sector has one of the lowest electricity ratios with a value of 29.84 kWh/m2, but also the highest part of electricity consumption, 45.2%. The different ratio value has been cross validated by estimating municipalities electricity consumption based on the distribution of consumers and the associated ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY In this study, an integrated community-scale energy model (ICEM) was developed for supporting renewable energy management (REM) systems planning with the consideration of changing climatic conditions. Through quantitatively reflecting interactive relationships among various renewable energy resources under climate change, not only the impacts of climate change on each individual renewable energy but also the combined effects on power-generation sector from renewable energy resources could be incorporated within a general modeling framework. Also, discrete probability levels associated with various climate change impacts on the REM system could be generated. Moreover, the ICEM could facilitate capacity-expansion planning for energy-production facilities within a multi-period and multi-option context in order to reduce energy-shortage risks under a number of climate change scenarios. The generated solutions can be used for examining various decision options that are associated with different probability levels when availabilities of renewable energy resources are affected by the changing climatic conditions. A series of probability levels of hydropower-, wind- and solar-energy availabilities can be integrated into the optimization process. The developed method has been applied to a case of long-term REM planning for three communities. The generated solutions can provide desired energy resource/service allocation and capacity-expansion plans with a minimized system cost, a maximized system reliability and a maximized energy security. Tradeoffs between system costs, renewable energy availabilities and energy-shortage risks can also be tackled with the consideration of climate change, which would have both positive and negative impacts on the system cost, energy supply and greenhouse-gas emission. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]