Manuel Alcázar-Ortega

By Javier Rodríguez-García, David Ribó-Pérez, Carlos Álvarez-Bel and Manuel Alcázar-Ortega

Although being among the least responsible for climate change, islands are in great threat due to it. The decarbonisation of the power system arises as a key factor to ensure adaptation and mitigation to it. Islands\' characteristics make renewable electrification a challenge. Most islands are isolated systems with low levels of inertia that require stability for ensuring security of supply. Therefore, the potential of smart grids and flexible resources must be fully exploited to ensure a viable integration of renewable energy sources. In this vein, it is necessary to evolve the system including demand response, batteries and electric transport to increase the share of renewables. However, all these elements require a reliable communication architecture to be deployed. A communication architecture is hereby presented and applied to Galapagos for exploiting flexible resources. Different protocols have been selected to interoperate flexible resources integrated on the system. Each of them tries for each application to standardise and ensure the largest functionalities available. The deployment of smart grids in islands can reduce their carbon footprint as it is validated with a case study in Santa Cruz, Galapagos. This system proves to ensure the energy balance in a viable way, in technical, economic and environmental terms.

Part of the book: Advanced Communication and Control Methods for Future Smartgrids

By Lina Montuori and Manuel Alcázar-Ortega

This chapter discusses different aspects related to the operation of natural gas systems in the framework of the new configuration of energy systems based on the smart grid concept. First of all, different experiences performed worldwide regarding the application of demand response principles to increase the efficiency and operability of natural gas networks are presented. Next, the characteristics of the natural gas system to be configured according to the smart grid architecture are discussed, including the necessary agents for the proper functioning of such infrastructure. After that, the current state of installation of gas smart meters in some European countries is presented, according to the massive rollout process promoted by the European Union. Barriers that prevent the full exploitation of demand response resources related to natural gas systems are presented in the next section. After that, technical constraints which may be solved by using demand response are presented. Finally, last tendencies related to the development of natural gas systems, such as the injection of hydrogen, are considered.

Part of the book: Natural Gas

By Lina Montuori and Manuel Alcázar-Ortega

This chapter provides an overview on the outstanding production, distribution and storage technologies that will likely make the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and renewable BioLPG expand their utilization as a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuels. The growth of the Global LPG Market size will be presented, with a focus on US and the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. Moreover, the increment of worldwide policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) will be investigated. The growth of the LPG market is primarily propelled by the rising demand for a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable substitute of conventional fossil fuels. Concerning the residential sector, the demand for LPG is due to such end-uses as cooking, water heating and other household purposes. Regarding transportation, LPG’s popularity as an alternative automotive fuel (auto-gas) has also contributed significantly to its widespread adoption in this sector. On the other hand, the utilization of BioLPG is also going up since it is chemically indistinct from LPG and so, it can be ‘dropped-in’ to existing LPG boilers and appliances. Finally, the existing barriers and the new developments on this topic will be investigated to understand why LPG and BioLPG could represent a great investment for the future.

Part of the book: Liquefied Petroleum Gas - Recent Advances and Technologies for Energy Transition [Working title]