Renewable Energy Explained: Power Systems, Storage & Sustainable Technologies
Abstract
Renewable Energy Explained: Power Systems, Storage & Sustainable Technologies is a publication-grade Open Educational Resource (OER) module covering the thermodynamic principles, electrochemical modeling, conversion technologies, and grid integration of sustainable power systems. Serving as an integral core module within the Electrical and Electronic Engineering curriculum on Prep4Uni.Online, this text bridges solar PV, wind turbine aerodynamics, and electrochemical battery storage with contemporary AI-era computational paradigms, microgrid sizing, and clean energy economics. Key Features & Pedagogical Additions:• Theoretical Grounding & Contemporary Paradigms: Integrates classical renewable conversion principles (Betz limit aerodynamics, PV semiconductor physics, Callendar-Van Dusen equations, battery depth-of-discharge constraints) with Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) solving Doyle-Fuller-Newman (DFN) electrochemical battery diffusion equations, Fourier Neural Operators (FNOs) for atmospheric wind turbine wake aerodynamics, and Lie-group Invariant Extended Kalman Filters (IEKF) for grid-forming inverter synchronization.• Systems Engineering Architecture & Trade-Off Analysis: Structured comparison matrix contrasting single-axis tracking against fixed-tilt PV installations, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) against Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) chemistries, Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB) against Lithium-Ion BESS, and green hydrogen electrolysis against utility-scale battery storage.• Worked Numerical Engineering Application: A complete, multi-step engineering calculation detailing a standalone off-grid solar PV array and LFP battery energy storage sizing study, evaluating balance-of-system derating, multi-day autonomy, and DC bus ampere-hour capacities.• Curricular Assessment & Analytical Inquiries: Contains 24 fully resolved foundational review questions, deep analytical design inquiries, and step-by-step numerical problems spanning PV peak power and daily energy yields, wind turbine aerodynamic power generation, battery round-trip efficiency (RTE), pumped hydroelectric potential energy storage, green hydrogen electrolysis production yields, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) calculations, and flywheel kinetic energy storage.
