Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development systems are based on three pillars: economic development, environmental stewardship, and social equity. One of the principles set for finding the balance between these pillars is limiting the use of non-renewable energy sources. A promising method to resolve this challenge is harvesting energy from the ambient environment and converting it into electrical power. Recently, the development of new energy generation technologies, such as solar, wind, and thermal energy, is highly demanded in order to replace fossil fuel energy resources with cleaner renewable sources. Energy-harvesting systems have emerged as a prominent research area and continue to grow at a rapid pace.

Modern technologies such as portable electronic devices, electrical transportation, communication systems, and smart medical equipment require efficient energy storage systems. Electrical energy storage devices are also used for smart grid control, grid stability, and peak-power saving, as well as for frequency and voltage regulation. Electricity generated from renewable sources (e.g., solar power, wind energy) can hardly deliver an immediate response to the demand because of a fluctuating power supply. Hence, it has been suggested to preserve the harvested electrical energy for future requirements. The present status of electrical energy storage technologies is quite far from the needed demand.

It is our pleasure to invite researchers and scientists to submit their research work to this Special Issue. The objective of this Special Issue is to present studies in the field of energy-harvesting and energy storage systems. We look forward to receiving your outstanding theoretical and experimental research findings.

Dr. Shailendra Rajput
Prof. Dr. Moshe Averbukh
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

15 pages, 4840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Light-Emitting Diodes for Energy Harvesting

by Lorenzo Colace, Gaetano Assanto and Andrea De Iacovo

Electronics 2024, 13(8), 1587; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13081587 - 22 Apr 2024

Viewed by 296

Abstract

Energy harvesting is gaining substantial relevance in the realm of ultra-low-power electronics and Internet-of-Things devices with limited access to classic power sources. Several harvesting approaches are available, depending on the energy source; among them, photovoltaic devices benefit from the highest energy density. However, the inclusion of a dedicated photovoltaic cell in a low-power system may result in increased costs and complexity, thus hampering economic sustainability. Conversely, electronic apparatuses often make use of light-emitting-diodes (LEDs), which could be effectively employed as photovoltaic energy harvesters whenever not actively generating photons. Here, we explore the potentials of commercially available LEDs for energy harvesting and determine their quantum efficiency. We examine the correlation of the latter with the spectral response and the available light, demonstrating that visible-wavelength diode emitters can yield very high conversions in the photovoltaic mode. We report measured quantum efficiencies as high as 39% under low-intensity (100 µW/cm²) fluorescent illumination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Harvesting and Energy Storage Systems, 3rd Edition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 3808 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Potential of Floating Photovoltaic Plants in Pumped Hydropower Reservoirs in Spain

by Arsenio Barbón, Claudia Rodríguez-Fernández, Luis Bayón and Javier Aparicio-Bermejo

Electronics 2024, 13(5), 832; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13050832 - 21 Feb 2024

Viewed by 530

Abstract

The Spanish government is a strong advocate of reducing CO₂ emissions and has made a clear commitment to the implementation of renewable energies. As reflected in Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), its objective is to double the current capacity of pumped hydropower storage (PHS) plants by 2030. Therefore, the study presented here is both current and forward-looking. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the technical potential of installing floating photovoltaic (FPV) plants at 25 PHS plants in Spain, i.e., the total capacity of Spanish hydropower plants. The study was conducted using various assessment indicators: the global horizontal irradiance ratio, electrical efficiency ratio, area required ratio, pumping area ratio, volume ratio of water pumped per day, and achievable power ratio. In summary, the following conclusions can be drawn: (i) The global horizontal irradiance ratio indicates whether a FPV plant is economically viable. From this point of view, the Aguayo PHS plant and the Tanes PHS plant are not suitable, as this ratio is very low; (ii) the compliance with the electrical efficiency ratio is flexible, and all hydropower plants meet this criterion; (iii) maximising the use of the assigned grid connection capacity is one of the goals sought by electrical companies when implementing FPV plants at existing PHS plants. The following hydropower plants are not suitable for the implementation of an FPV plant in view of the following: La Muela I, La Muela II, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila II, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Montamara, and IP; (iv) if the aim is energy storage, the following hydropower plants are not suitable for the implementation of an FPV plant: the La Muela I, La Muela II, Tajo de la Encantada, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila II, Conso, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Tanes, Montamara, Soutelo, Bao-Puente Bibey, Santiago de Jares, IP, and Urdiceto; (v) if the aim is to expand an FPV plant already installed at a PHS plant, the following hydropower plants do not meet this criterion: the La Muela I, La Muela II, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Montamara, and IP. There are only eight hydropower plants that meet conditions (i), (iii) and (iv): the Villarino, Torrejon, Valparaiso, Gabriel y Galan, Guijo de Granadilla, Pintado, and Gobantes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Harvesting and Energy Storage Systems, 3rd Edition)

► Show Figures