Tariq Muneer

Background: Generating electricity from renewable sources continues to receive significant attention from both scholars and professional communities. This is mainly because traditional energy use harms public health, threatens biodiversity, and increases pollution, particularly in developing countries. Meanwhile, renewable technologies are considered one of the most effective solutions to enrich energy security for future usage with clean practices and affordable prices. However, planning such applications may become complex due to the convolution of many technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions, particularly from a supply chain management viewpoint. Methods: The paper identifies the dimensions affecting the supply chain variables of downstream processes in renewable energy supply systems, especially for generating electricity in Egypt. Also, this paper investigates the relationships between the dimensions of renewable energy supply systems and the downstream supply chain variables that are closely related to the Egyptian energy sector. Results: The different relationships between these indicators and downstream supply chain variables are revealed. Conclusions: This study employed conceptual causality diagramming to organize these relationships harmoniously, which helps to analyze the behavior of the supply chain during the transitions to renewable energy applications and its implications, whether at the managerial or policy and procedural levels.

Around the world, large-scale bifacial photovoltaics (BPV) modules are increasingly being used to generate clean electricity, given the cost of manufacturing is becoming comparable to conventional monofacial PV modules. BPV, when installed vertically, can still produce high levels of electricity by collecting radiation on the front as well as on the rear side. This paper assessed the renewable energy generation potential of vertical BPV plants along the central reservation of UK motorways. These installations maximize the utility of road space while minimizing land consumption. The feasibility of BPV systems for different segments of a motorway case study in the UK were modelled to calculate energy yield, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), payback period, and net present value. The LCOE of a medium to large-scale system was 10–11 p/kWh, 60% less than that of a small-scale system. The payback period for medium to large-scale systems was found to be 6 years, whereas for small systems, it was 10 years. The paper further discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with installing BPV panels on motorways with guidance on the types of locations which are likely to be most successful for future full-scale installations.

With reference to energy generation, the global society has to urgently address three factors that are now critical: sustainability in terms of climate change, security in terms of the war that is currently raging in Europe with consequences that are being felt around the globe and the steep incline of fossil-fuel based energy costs. Around the world, large-scale solar farms are being constructed with tracking systems to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) modules. This article presents a comparison of energy generation of fixed-slope versus tracking PV modules. The analysis was based on a twenty-year dataset for two locations, namely, Lincoln (England) and Bhavnagar (India), which differ in terms of latitude, sky clarity and ambient temperature. It was demonstrated that a fixed-slope system facing the equator provides a healthy energy receipt that is a high fraction of the energy receipt of a tracking system. Furthermore, analysis was also carried out for a PV facility that will host the largest solar farm in England to conclude that regardless of the solar farm installation location, the use of bifacial PV is beneficial.

Solar PV and wind energy conversion are now so economical that they compete head-on with all forms of fossil fuel and nuclear energy conversion. In view of climate change and the rising price of electricity due to wars, all governments are also facing popular policy pressures to rapidly switch to renewable energy. In this article, broad research questions are raised, and an attempt is made to provide answers in a logical manner. The questions may be categorized as being those related to the validation of fundamental data needed for the design of renewable energy (RE) systems, the long-term measured performance of those systems and the cost of RE electricity. Interest rates are rising rapidly in the current economic situation, and therefore, the present analysis is based on concurrent rates that are payable by borrowers. Measured data from a medium-sized solar PV and wind turbine facility that has been in operation for over a decade in Central Scotland has been used for this work. The main objectives of this article are: (a) to evaluate the manufacturer’s acclaimed performance, (b) to evaluate capacity factors for PV and wind conversion, and complementarily of solar and PV resources, and (c) to obtain the cost of electricity generation of PV and wind. The primary source for undertaking the above exercise was a decade long, measured dataset from an agricultural farm located in Central Scotland. Commercial PV design software was also used to cross check the presently undertaken analysis. The main conclusion was that a community-based wind/solar plant is much more economical than grid- purchased electricity. The novelty of the present work is that all conclusions that were drawn are based on long datasets of measured wind/solar plants.