Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering (MSRCE), Wright State University, 2020, Renewable and Clean Energy

At the present time, using wind and solar energy for producing electricity in the United States is becoming cost competitive. According to Lazard's 2019 [36] levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis of a number of energy sources used for producing electricity in the United States, wind and solar are cheaper than natural gas and coal. While capital, maintenance, operation, and fuel costs are included in LCOE numbers, energy source intermittency is not. Intermittency is an important issue with wind and solar energy sources, but not with natural gas or coal energy sources. Combining wind and solar energy sources into one electrical generating station, is one means by which the intermittency of the electricity provided by wind alone and solar alone can be reduced. The combination of wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels into a wind-solar farm can produce electricity over a greater fraction of the day or year than wind or solar alone. Predicting the energy output of different combinations of wind turbines and solar panels in a wind-solar farm is an objective of this work. While yearly electricity production rates are an important and necessary part of this work, this quantity does not provide a means to compare the wind-solar farms to each other, to a pure wind farm, to a pure solar farm, or to meeting a given electrical demand by purchasing all electricity from the local electrical grid. An economic analysis has to be performed to do this. This is the ultimate objective of this work. The economic analysis done in this work determines the net present cost of providing a specified electricity demand by a wind-solar farm with grid backup. Including grid purchased electricity to meet demand that cannot be met by the wind-solar farm is essential in this economic analysis. This sets the net present cost of providing all the electricity demand by grid purchased electricity as the cost that must be beat by a wind-solar farm with grid backup. Using grid (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Menart Ph.D. (Advisor); Rory Roberts Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mitch Wolff Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Alternative Energy; Engineering; Environmental Education; Environmental Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Sustainability; Systems Design

Master of Science in Engineering, Youngstown State University, 2013, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

As the future progresses, many companies and industries are striving to achieve a "greener" approach to energy production by using solar energy. Solar panels that use PV cells (semiconductor devices used to convert light into electrical energy) are popular for converting solar power into electricity. One of the problems in using PV cells to extract energy from sunlight is the temperature effect on PV cells. As the solar panel is heated, the conversion efficiency of light to electrical energy is diminished. Because solar panels can be expensive, it is important to be able to extract as much energy as possible. This thesis proposes cooling methods for the panel in order to achieve optimum efficiency. To achieve this, various cooling methods have been proposed. A bare solar panel with no air velocity was used as a base model. This was tested and compared to bare solar panels cooled by heat sinks, in the form of extended surfaces such as plate fins, that can be mounted on the back surface of solar panels. These heat sinks were also tested for still air and different air velocities. Analytical calculations were also performed for the case of a bare panel with natural convection. Finally, computational models were made in ANSYS to obtain results that were compared with the experimental and analytical results. Other methods are discussed including using a pump to cool the panels using water or a coolant. Results showed that the heat sinks were only marginally effective; they resulted in a steady-state temperature of only a few degrees less than a solar panel without a heat sink. Due to these results, it is proposed that pump cooling would be far more beneficial. With the correctly sized pump, the temperature can be made to closely match any desired value. The results are presented in the following thesis.

Committee: Ganesh Kudav PhD (Advisor); Hazel Marie PhD (Committee Member); Douglas Price PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Energy; Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Mechanical Engineering

Access to space has consistently presented difficulties, particularly for universities and research with limited financial resources. Overcoming high costs, long development times and weight limitations were major obstacles. Over the past 20 years, a consortium of universities has successfully addressed these challenges linked to deploying experiments in orbit by employing a miniature satellite known as CubeSats. The CubeSat specification opened a new possibility to space exploration for the academic community and contributed to creating a new standard for space equipment. Advances in electronic miniaturization further fueled this development while allowing robust capability. However, the size and weight limitations of CubeSats severely reduce the available power budget and stored energy reserves, thus limiting their useful on-orbit lifespan, performance, and capabilities. This research studies the solar energy output from solar arrays on a 3U CubeSat in different configurations in Geosynchronous and Sun-synchronous orbits. A robot kinematics approach was developed using a homogeneous matrix tool to describe and evaluate both orbits and the output energy from the solar arrays. In addition, optimum angles of the solar arrays are determined in different CubeSat configurations including seven models in 0 degrees of freedom (DoF), three models in 1 DoF, and one model in 2DoF to maximize the energy output. Moreover, the commercially available orbital mechanics ‘System Tool Kit' (STK), is used to validate the results for orbit parameters and energy generation for the rigid-mounted solar arrays. Finally, a mechanical design models of all CubeSats using SolidWorks software is created to simulate all the models in different configurations. The design models provide a check to ensure that the mass and size are suitable for standard 3U CubeSat and allows a ratio comparison between the power output of CubeSats in different configurations to the mass of the CubeSat.

Committee: David Myszka Professor (Advisor); Andrew Chiasson Associate Professor (Committee Member); Rydge Mulford Assistant Professor (Committee Member); Youssef Raffoul Professor (Committee Member) Subjects: Mechanical Engineering

Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2023, Renewable and Clean Energy

Bifacial solar photovoltaic modules generate electrical power on both sides of the panel, increasing energy output. Through more effective utilization of installed surface area, bifacial panels surpass the energy generation of monofacial panels per unit installed acreage. The performance of bifacial panels largely depends on their positioning relative to the sun. Therefore, bifacial panels require specific orientations to maximize energy production. The specific challenges of bifacial modules have sparked research into the ideal spacing and orientation of bifacial panels, considering geographic location, tilt angles, and solar energy production. The present study aims to pinpoint the most favorable tilt angles, azimuth angles, and panel row spacings for bifacial panels across various latitudes for a fixed array area and an adjustable array area. The core objective of this research is to maximize the electricity generated by bifacial solar panels. This involves creating a model that predicts power output for a specific location, accounting for variables like panel spacing, azimuth angle, average cell temperature, local ground reflection, and panel efficiency. The study also seeks to employ optimization to achieve peak annual power production. Methodologically, the study stratifies the solar panel array into zones, calculating the power generation capacity for a central panel in each zone. This includes factors like cell temperature, efficiency, and irradiance levels on both sides. Such calculations leverage Python APIs and packages for efficiency and accuracy. The computational model also factors in shadow effects, albedo, panel placement, and atmospheric conditions. To determine the optimal setup, the study adjusts variables such as panel tilt, azimuth angle, and spacing between panels using a differential evolution algorithm. The results reveal that optimal power production exists for bifacial panels with an associated optimal tilt angle, azimuth angle, and panel s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rydge Mulford (Committee Chair); Andrew Chiasson (Committee Member); Kevin Hallinan (Committee Member) Subjects: Energy; Engineering; Sustainability

Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering (MSRCE), Wright State University, 2023, Renewable and Clean Energy

In the past several years, the energy sector has experienced a rapid increase in renewable energy installations due to declining capital costs for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries. Wind and solar electricity generation are intermittent in nature which must be considered in an economic analysis if a fair comparison is to be made between electricity supplied from renewables and electricity purchased from the grid. Energy storage reduces curtailment of wind and solar and minimizes electricity purchases from the grid by storing excess electricity and deploying the energy at times when demand exceeds the renewable energy supply. The objective of this work is to study the generation of electric power with wind turbines and solar panels coupled to either battery energy storage or hydrogen energy storage. So that logical conclusions can be drawn on the economic effectiveness of battery and hydrogen energy storage, four scenarios are analyzed: 1) purchasing all required electricity from the grid, 2) generating electricity with a combined wind and solar farm without energy storage, 3) generating electricity with a combined wind and solar farm with battery energy storage, and 4) generating electricity with a combined wind and solar farm with hydrogen energy storage. All four of these scenarios purchase electricity from the grid to meet demand that is not met by the renewable energy power plant. All scenarios are compared based on the lowest net present cost of supplying the specified electrical loads to serve 25,000 homes in Rio Vista, California over 25 years of operation. The detailed economics and electric power production of both wind and solar combined with energy storage for any size of wind facility, solar facility, battery facility, and hydrogen facility are analyzed with a MATLAB computer program developed for this work. The program contains technical and economic models of each of these systems working in different combinations. Current equipment c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Menart Ph.D. (Advisor); Hong Huang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mitch Wolff Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Alternative Energy; Energy; Engineering

Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy Engineering (MSRCE), Wright State University, 2021, Renewable and Clean Energy

The amount of cloud cover present in the sky is a significant factor when determining the solar radiation impinging on a solar panel. The optimum tilt required to achieve maximum energy impingement on a surface is also influenced by the amount of cloud cover. This work presents a method for determining the optimum tilt angle for a fixed solar panel when a set amount of cloud cover is present in the sky. Fixed tilt angles that have the most incident solar energy over the course of a year as a function of cloud cover, latitude, and azimuthal angle orientation are calculated for the entire world, the entire range of cloud covers, and the entire range of azimuthal orientations. Maximum intercepted energy is also presented. A trigonometric, integral equation is derived to determine the optimum tilt angle. This derivation was done as a continuation of prior work performed at Wright State University on optimum panel tilts for no atmosphere and clear sky conditions. The model developed here is different in that it includes the effects of the change of panel sunrise and sunset with panel tilt. In comparing results calculated with this effect to those without, it was determined that including panel sunrise and sunset change with tilt has no significant impact on the optimum tilt angle or intercepted solar energy. This is beneficial because the complexity added to the model by including this effect is substantial. In addition to deriving a more complete optimum tilt angle equation, clear sky models for beam and diffuse transmissivities from two different sources are combined with cloud cover models from a third source. It is felt that this combination of models results in more realistic beam and diffuse transmissivity models than using the recommended clear sky models. Using this combination of clear sky and cloudy sky transmittance models required adjustments to the cloud cover model. These adjustments are clearly described in this thesis. The resulting model is capable o (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Menart Ph.D. (Advisor); Scott Thomas Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mitch Wolff Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Energy; Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2020, Honors

Solar technology has the potential to make a large impact on American society. Widespread adoption will reduce water usage and, air pollution and contribute to the efforts of national security. However, high investment costs have prevented solar panels from being widely adopted as a means of residential power production. This proposal seeks to mitigate the problem of initial installation costs and expand the accessibility of solar panels through the modification of federal tax incentive policy. Proposed production tax credits and federal loan partnerships will replace existing income tax credits. Although of lesser value, the different structure of the incentive offers greater benefit to the consumer in countering loan costs and providing more long-term benefits. Expanded access will encourage the widespread adoption of solar panels bringing benefits to both consumers and the nation.

Committee: Carl Taylor PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Economics; Political Science

Master of Sciences (Engineering), Case Western Reserve University, 2019, EMC - Mechanical Engineering

A method for establishing external loads applied to a steel purlin in a solar panel canopy and calculating the resulting deflection, moment, and shear reactions is developed. The methodology is compliant with American Society of Civil Engineers, International Building Code, American Iron and Steel Institute, and the American Institute of Steel Construction Inc. A user-friendly MATLAB program is created to automate the validation and optimization of steel purlin members based on the particular parameters of the canopy design and build location. A sample calculation is conducted. Results indicate that the program produces results within 20% of those of a more complete industry standard analysis. This program is immediately applicable for use in the initial selection and preliminary validation of steel purlins in solar panel canopy systems.

Committee: Paul Barnhart (Committee Chair); Clare Rimnac (Committee Member); Sunniva Collins (Committee Member) Subjects: Alternative Energy; Mechanical Engineering