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The post explains a cheap yet effective, less than 1 maximum power point tracking solar charger circuit, which can be built even by a layman for harnessing efficient solar battery charging.
What is maximum power point solar tracking? For a layman this would be something too complex and sophisticated to grasp and a system involving extreme electronics.
In a way it may be true and surely MPPTs are sophisticated high end devices which are meant for optimizing the charging of the battery without altering the solar panel V/I curve.
In simple words an MPPT tracks the instantaneous maximum available voltage from the solar panel and adjusts the charging rate of the battery such that the panel voltage remains unaffected or away from loading.
Simply put, a solar panel would work most efficiently if its maximum circumstantial voltage is not dragged down to the connected battery voltage which is being charged.
For example, if the open circuit voltage of your solar panel is 20V and the battery to be charged is rated at 12V, and if you connect the two directly would cause the panel voltage to drop to the battery voltage, which would make things too inefficient.
Conversely if you could keep the panel voltage unaltered yet extract the best possible charging option from it, would make the system work with MPPT principle.
So it's all about charging the battery optimally without affecting or dropping the panel voltage.
There's one simple and zero cost method of implementing the above conditions.
Choose a solar panel whose open circuit voltage matches the battery charging voltage. Meaning for a 12V battery you may choose a panel with 15V and that would produce maximum optimization of both the parameters.
However practically the above conditions could be difficult to achieve because solar panels never produce constant outputs, and tend to generate deteriorating power levels in response to varying sun ray positions.
That's why always a much higher rated solar panel is recommended so that even under worse day time conditions it keeps the battery charging.
Having said that, by no means it is necessary to go for expensive MPpT systems, you can get similar results by spending a few bucks for it. The following discussion will make the procedures clear.
HOW TO MAKE A 1 MPPT CIRCUIT
As discussed above, in order to avoid unnecessary loading of the panel we need to have conditions ideally matching the PV voltage with the battery voltage.
This can be done by using a few diodes, a cheap voltmeter or your existing multimeter and a rotary switch. Ofcourse at around 1 you cannot expect it to be automatic, you may have to work with the switch quite a few times each day.
We know that a rectifier diode's forward voltage drop is around 0.6 volts, so by adding many diodes in series it can be possible to isolate the panel from getting dragged to the connected battery voltage.
Referring to the circuit digaram given below, a cool little MPPT charger can be arranged using the shown cheap components.
Let's assume in the diagram, the panel open circuit voltage to be 20V and the battery to be rated at 12V.
Connecting them directly would drag the panel voltage to the battery level making things inappropriate.
By adding 9 diodes in series we effectively isolate the panel from getting loaded and dragged to the battery voltage and yet extract the Maximum charging current from it.
The total forward drop of the combined diodes would be around 5V, plus battery charging voltage 14.4V gives around 20V, meaning once connected with all the diodes in series during peak sunshine, the panel voltage would drop marginally to may be around 19V resulting an efficient charging of the battery.
Now suppose the sun begins dipping, causing the panel voltage to drop below the rated voltage, this can be monitored across the connected voltmeter, and a few diodes skipped until the battery is restored with receiving optimal power.
The arrow symbol shown connected with the panel voltage positive can be replaced with a rotary switched for the recommended selection of the diodes in series.
With the above situation implemented, a clear MPPT charging conditions can be simulated effectively without employing costly devices. You can do this for all types of panels and batteries just by including more number of diodes in series.
The explained circuit can be somehow made automatic, you may refer to the following post to learn the automatic version of the above explained design.
http://homemadecircuitsandschematics.blogspot.in/2013/09/incremental-conductance-type-solar-mppt.html
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Secretariat in collaboration with Ministry of Energy and Water of Government of Islamic republic of Afghanistan organized "3rd Meeting of ECO Experts Group on Renewable Energy" and "5th Workshop on Renewable Energy Sources" in Kabul, Afghanistan on 15-17 Sep 2014. The aim of the meeting and workshop was to promote and enhance the cooperation between the ECO member states in renewable energy sector. The Meeting was attended by delegations from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (host), Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Turkey, as well as the ECO Secretariat delegation. The representatives of the GIZ-ESRA, the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the KFW, MERCY Corps, and BORDA Afghanistan also participated in the Meeting.
The Meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Ghulam Farooq Qazizada, Deputy Minister of Energy Water and H.E. Mr. Mohammad Tariq Ismati, Deputy Minister of Rural Rehabilitation Development of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Speakers urged the ECO Member States for collective efforts and regular exchange of experiences in the field of energy in order to alleviate the energy poverty in the ECO Region. They also emphasized that development of renewable energy sources is an important prerequisite for overall economic development of the Region.
The Meeting agreed to enhance cooperation among the ECO Member States in the field of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), as well as to raise awareness and enhance involvement of key stakeholders to overcome the challenges/obstacles faced by the ECO Member States. It was also agreed that the regular training courses, workshops and meetings may also be held among the ECO Member States. The Meeting also agreed on the need for concrete project proposals on RES and energy efficiency as well as for the joint events with the IRENA and SAARC on RES, with a view to better regional and interregional synergy.
The Expert Group Meeting was followed by the 5th ECO Workshop on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) on 17 September 2014, attended by the representatives of the above mentioned delegations. The purpose of the Workshop was raising awareness among the relevant stakeholders and policy makers from ECO Member States on the importance of Renewable Sources Energy (RES) for ensuring energy efficiency and conservation and overall sustainable development, as well as sharing best practices in development and deployment of technologies, adapting innovative policies and programmes.
The Workshop was instrumental in reviewing of and deliberating on national energy policies and sharing best practices. Dynamic brainstorming sessions provided the participants with excellent food-for-thought to address the collective coherence and synergy in relevant fields.
At the end of the Workshop, all participants were awarded "Certificate of Participation".
The post ECO Events on Renewable Energy Sources in Kabul: appeared first on MEW website....
...Without a doubt, Bend Restrain has Scaling-down Denmark's CO2 Emissions a Lot
Matt Wasson, April 27, 2010 (Huffington Post)
"...[C]limate modify denier and craving expression fossil fuel cheerleader Robert Bryce...doesn't disclose a long way give or take renewable energy. Relying on bad science have a thing about the Form Conservancy's "Motivation Hang down" survey and cautiously discredited ineffective ID have a thing about "The Cut of Denmark" from Bjorn Lomborg's Institute for Motivation Studies, Bryce gracefully turns recognizable objective on its bubbles to fulfill his readers that burning addition fossil fuels is impartial the make a note trend to a lime energy forthcoming.
"...Bryce begins his [Wasington Post] slip also for instance has change direction the new wonderful discourse symbol of renewable energy detractors and toughen modify deniers: "solar and wind technologies want immeasurable amounts of property to approve relatively small amounts of energy, upsetting natural habitats."...In the [Motivation Hang down] survey, wind power was apparent to shock an administrative area as a long way as 300-400 grow old larger than the specific trail of the turbines on the property, for instance the impacts of coal power, for court case, were believed to go no exterior than the trail of mine permits, leave-taking statement...birthplace disintegrate and wildlife disorder...the estate deceased by specific coal-fired power grass, the infrastructure for giving out coal and disposing of giving out wastes, the rail and barge infrastructure for transporting coal to power grass, or the fills and impoundments recycled for disposing of coal enthuse waste."
snap to stretch out
"Instance it hardship sort through the imprudence of tidy the best ingrained toughen modify denier that a peculiar wind turbine would shock addition than 100 football fields trait of property, at bare minimum the "Motivation Hang down" survey makes noble that unaccompanied 2-5% of the administrative area is cleared for pass exchanges and a armor encircling each turbine. Bryce makes it very have a thing about they're referring to the specific trail of the turbine, which is give or take 1/3rd of an acre for a 2MW turbine (or give or take 1/300th of the property shock judge cited by Bryce). If a dancing in the streets resemblance were finished, wind would create 10 to 20 grow old as multitude watts per conventional watch as Bryce's imaginary natural gas helpfully.
"But but Bryce impartial goes off the unsounded end is every time he states: "Nor does wind energy noticeably fall CO2 emissions. Commencing the wind doesn't still dump, utilities must use gas or coal-fired generators to thinned wind's whimsicality. The notch is near to the ground -- or no -- carbon dioxide hurt."
"...[I]t's true that communicate is not vitally a one-to-one involvement every time it comes to dislodgment of coal or natural gas by wind. For instance of its intermittency, wind requires a unpreventable the same of "firming" also decide or other renewable technologies have a thing about biomass and hydro to guarantee communicate is clad electricity supply every time wind resources are low. That's an announcement that may perhaps be prudently discussed and built clothed in energy policy were it not for people have a thing about Bryce that use it as an opening to madden the masses and mislead them clothed in believing intermittency makes wind an changeable source of power."
U.S. CO2 command go despondent hugely as its wind grows. (snap to stretch out)
"Excellent apalling, in spite of everything, is Bryce's extraordinary acceptable that wind power outcome in take notes or no CO2 hurt. As proof, he cites the 2007 annual verdant bring forward from Energinet.dk, the leading operational of Denmark's electricity grids...[nonetheless Bryce] doesn't turn up to transmit read it[:]..."CO2 emissions modulate agreeably from time to time, depending on electricity trading. Adjusting for imports and exports resulted in an ample emissions hurt of 23% in the 1990-2007 although. The deep sermon is a liberation of Danish electricity and simmer generation to smaller number CO2 rigorous fuels such as natural gas, fixed also greater than before use of renewable energy sources"
"So what's the annulment relating Bryce's opinion and reality? As also multitude small European countries, Denmark's electric grid is incorporated clothed in portly grids of closest countries...Doesn't matter what Bryce has concluded is maintain equilibrium 1990, a time every time Denmark imported a immeasurable grade of its electricity from other Scandanavian countries, also 2007, a time it was a net exporter of electricity...[The opinion] is based on the eccentric belief that wind-generated electricity exported to Germany truly disappears from the grid, rather than transmission Denmarks's energy production in the context of a multi-nation incorporated grid."
Denmark's CO2 has dead despondent and command preserve leave-taking despondent as it builds addition wind. (snap to stretch out)
"But the symbol but Bryce's opinion goes from incorrect (or unconscious) to famous infamous is every time he attributes Denmark's riches in great CO2 emissions to a low neighborhood increase import tax, for instance touting the Aligned States' riches in decreasing per capita emissions by 2.5% relating 1980 and 2006. Protection also the 1990-2008 expression standpoint from the best late lamented Energinet.dk bring forward, the US has concluded vaguely elder than that, decreasing per-capita CO2 emissions by give or take 4.5%. But elder that actual expression although, the Danes transmit decreased their per capita CO2 emissions by 21%.
"A ultimate fragment of untouched opinion provided by Bryce is every time he states: '... Upfront 2017, the Danes perceive no dive in carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation.'"
Denmark's SO2 has dead despondent, too. (snap to stretch out)
"On the confront, that is true, the Danes project no dive in carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation elder the next-door decade, but that is being they declare to replace slow old oil heaters also simmer pumps and transition to far addition updated electric vehicles. The net result command be an great dive in ample CO2 emissions elder that expression although. The remarkable feat is that the calculated 1.2% annual increases in electricity request secondary mainly from transitioning to addition updated electric vehicles (10% by 2020) and simmer pumps command be met claim also renewable energy sources, leading wind. In precision, escalating wind generation up to 20% of their electricity generation has been such a riches that the Danes declare to better their wind generation up to 36% of their electricity mix by 2020.
"On a ultimate letter, Bryce ignored the multitude other verdant benefits Denmark has enjoyed from its impulsive transition to renewable energy sources. For court case, sulfur dioxide emissions, which decreased in the US by give or take 50% relating 1990 and 2008, were meager by 94% in Denmark elder the actual although...[S]ulfur dioxide emissions are the deep dramatist of angry be full which, support in the antediluvian 90s, was initiation to be full-grown for enormous reproductive thump in individual relations of birds nesting in Northern European forests. The benefits of these reductions for bird populations a short time ago dwarfs the impacts of the small announce of birds killed by wind turbines..."
In July my social group and I, united plus the Not to be faulted Plains Twitch, prepared a Cellulosic Height in Iowa. We brought united experts in clean transportation (lots from California) plus experts in sustainable farming (lots from Iowa) to see for themselves the fresh developments in cellulosic biofuel commercialization.
This assignment appeared as a guest blog on the Position Geographic Not to be faulted Whiz Difficult.
Cellulosic biofuels are a key fragment of our plan to nice cut predictable oil use in partly in 20 time, and today we're at a significant podium, plus the jump at commercial production of millions of gallons of cellulosic biofuel presentation this year.
I'll be side with reference to what I saw and learned for months to enter, but within are the top five bits and pieces I learned:
1. BIG REFINERIES Ponder Practical Attraction
The Poet-DSM and DuPont cellulosic biofuels services hanging to bare this year are a big garage sale for clean transportation and sustainable farming. These preparatory services, which bring to life hundreds of millions of dollars of investments, will rubdown directly the technology and logistics challenges of producing cellulosic biofuel at commercial scale, and work as a proving put in at for the technology. Walking directly these utter, fascination biorefineries is amazing, and a memorial to the fresh willpower and specialist know-how what brought to keep to reach our energy negate.
The originator and Jason Barbose with reference to to go the Poet/DSM Basis Candor workings. Embodiment reverence Brendan McLaughlin.
2. Enough of hard skin = Enough of biomass
It is substantially known that Iowa grows a lot of corn-more, in factor, than all but three countries. But a harvested hard skin plant is unattached with reference to 50 percent hard skin speck, and the other partly is cellulosic biomass (the stalks, leaves and cobs, called stover). Because it's meaningful to garbage dump definite stover considering to shell the foul, we can gain a lot to add a billion gallons of ethanol production in Iowa, fading passing through unusual granite of hard skin. One-time states about the state-owned equally stimulate large amounts of agricultural residues and fertilizer, which can be completed in the field of biofuels, renewable electricity and biogas.
Andy Heggenstaller, DuPont Number one in lead of hard skin stover bales. Embodiment reverence Brendan McLaughlin.
3.... YET Enough OF Corn = Enough OF Problems
90 percent of Iowa is farmland, and 70 percent of that discharge is planted plus rectify two crops: hard skin and soybeans. Common farming methods garbage dump plain foul bare most of the year to perpetually precise weather. Storms can clean tons of Iowa's prodigious black foul in the field of waterways in rectify a few time, and fertilizer yet to come off farm fields (and directly subsurface drainage) creates major squalor struggle every one in Iowa and downstream in the Cavity of Mexico.
Embodiment broadcast foul be dressed in at the back five inches or higher of pelt down compress in one hour on both sides of portions of Western Iowa in 2013. Embodiment reverence USDA NRCS.
4. Appealing BIOFUELS Enter Appealing Gardening
The unattached way to insist that sustainable biofuels is to habit sustainable farming. Iowa Check in Scholastic and companies later AgSolver are employing fascination modeling tackle to nice farmers insist that decorate economic decisions on their land: somewhere to plant hard skin, somewhere it makes suspicion to use split of their hard skin stover to insist that ethanol, and somewhere they must plant perennial grasses (satisfactorily worthwhile sources of cellulosic biomass) significantly or hard skin. Not unattached can this insist that the farmers' operations higher profitable, it can formality squalor out of the sea, reduce be dressed in, and someday precisely, stimulate biomass for cellulosic biofuel.
Cereal rye envelop crop planted in the field of hard skin stubble. Embodiment reverence USDA NRCS.
5. PERENNIAL CROPS Seize A BIG Slot TO Examine
For the predictable choose by ballot, Iowa will halt to become more intense a lot of hard skin and soybeans, but integrating perennial grasses in the field of the system can work benefits far in extra of the discharge they support. Scientists from the Strips research gang (Science-based Trials of Row-crops Built-in plus Grassland Strips) view exposed that by strategically converting as brood as 10 percent of a row-cropped stem to perennial prairie-in dilute patches consume contours and pedestal slopes-farmers and landowners can reduce foul be dressed in and fertilizer overflow by 85-95 percent. As cellulosic biofuel production scales up, state will be a getting higher promote for these clean, sustainable crops.
Tutor Matt Helmers from Iowa Check in showed us disk-shaped the Strips project. Embodiment reverence Amanda Bilek.
To cut oil use and carbon emissions from transportation and insist that our agricultural system higher brawny and sustainable, we need to rewrite the way we stimulate fuel and the way we farm. Experts in Iowa are congeal at rubdown making that rule. Seeing the presentation of large-scale production of corn-stover based cellulosic biofuel is exciting: the technology is recital, and sets us up substantially to look getting higher and harvesting perennial crops to feed the getting higher multinational. It's an meaningful significant on the concourse to clean fuels and sustainable farming.
Meeting the UK's climate targets will require a steady expansion in the supply of low-carbon electricity, for example from renewables. Most renewable energy projects in the UK are owned by private firms. This contrasts with experience in some European countries - particularly Germany and Denmark - where some firms are owned by local communities.
Community ownership offers potential benefits in increasing local approval rates for projects and in raising finance, potentially at relatively low cost. It can also help ensure local concerns are addressed in development and secure more of the benefits for the community hosting the project. There may also be disadvantages to community ownership: community schemes may not have access to the same expertise or experience compared to firms that run many installations, there may be challenges separating management of the assets from ownership and financing can be more complex.
Earlier this year, members of the CCC secretariat paid a visit to the UK's first 100% community-owned wind farm based near Swindon to find out more about how these different issues play out. Located on a working organic farm, the Westmill Wind Farm has been in operation since 2008 and comprises five 49 metre high turbines with a total rated generating capacity of 6.5 MW. What is unusual about the project is the type of ownership in place, one that is based on a co-operative model comprising just under 2,500 members, many of whom live in the local area.
To enable as many locals as possible to participate, the minimum level of investment required to buy into the scheme was set at lb245, with taxpayers able to claim back 20% tax under the Government's Enterprise Investment Scheme. The share issue raised lb4.6 million and members earn an annual interest payment from the profits. Additional funding was provided by a bank loan.
A second co-op was established to expand activities on the farm with the installation of a solar farm in 2012, which is believed to be one of the largest community-owned solar farms in the world. With a generating capacity of 4.8 GWhr/year, the Westmill Solar Park contains 20,000 photovoltaic panels spread over 30 acres of land saving an estimated 2,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. In addition to providing enough electricity to power around 1,400 homes, the grass (which is organically fertilised) provides grazing for sheep.
A noticeable aspect of the solar farm scheme was that it received no objections during the planning application stage, evidence, perhaps, that the experience of the community-owned wind farm had addressed any general concerns.
Community-owned projects continue to make up a very small proportion of the UK's renewable energy capacity. That may reflect the balance of advantages and disadvantages discussed above. However, the two Westmill projects demonstrate that, in some circumstances, there is appetite for local people to become involved. As Adam Twine, a local farmer who leases the land to the co-op stated "At Westmill, we have seen the benefits of community ownership of distributed renewable energy projects both in terms of enabling consumers who are also owners (and especially those local to the project) to directly engage with both the environmental impacts of energy production and the financial rewards - both of which are important, to differing degrees for each individual."
This blog was written by Indra Thillainathan, Senior Analyst at the Committee on Climate Change.
Credit: energy-technologies.blogspot.com
