ABSTRACT
The relevance and application of renewable energy (RE) technologies in electrical power systems continue to spread across the globe. This development is occasioned by a growing global load demand, the need to embrace an eco-friendly energy supply to mitigate the issues of global warming and climate change, and the concerted efforts to combat energy poverty in some developing countries, i.e., to improve electrification access rates. This chapter, therefore, introduces interesting perspectives on the various applications of renewable energies in electrical systems. Firstly, it presents the overview of inherent features, characteristics, and limitations of RE to aid the understanding of how they may be harnessed for energy generation or grid support purposes. One of these is the issue of the intermittency of RE sources; this is followed by the idea of hybrid or multi-energy sources for reliability purposes. Secondly, the chapter examines different configurations of RE systems such as on-grid and off-grid applications, which showcase whether or not the energy systems considered have an interaction with the existing grid and how the intended users are served. Thirdly, different electrical topologies of RE applications are presented and compared in conjunction with other important components such as storage devices, power electronic converters, and possibly a conventional resource. These include autonomous, backup, grid-tie, and grid-parallel power applications. This chapter provides useful insights into the use of RE resources to produce and manage power.
