Compared with traditional energy sources, the advantages of renewable energy power generation are very obvious. It has no or very little pollution, can be recycled, is widely distributed, and is available everywhere. Among them, wind power generation and solar photovoltaic power generation do not require water, which are particularly outstanding advantages for dry and early water shortage areas. Of course, renewable energy power generation also has its shortcomings, such as low energy flow density, strong randomness, and strong intermittentness. However, the development difficulties caused by these shortcomings can be overcome by continuous improvement of related technologies. At present, renewable energy power generation has received widespread attention from countries all over the world, with a strong momentum of development and promising prospects.
At present, the types of renewable energy power generation technologies mainly include wind power generation technology, solar power generation technology, biomass power generation technology, geothermal power generation technology, ocean power generation technology, etc.
1. Wind power generation technology
Wind energy utilization technologies mainly include wind power generation technology, wind water extraction technology, analysis of wind heating technology, etc. Among them, wind power technology is the core technology of wind energy utilization technology, which is a comprehensive high-tech system engineering technology involving aerodynamics, automatic control, mechanical transmission, electrical machinery, mechanics and materials. At present, in the field of wind power generation, research difficulties and hot spots are mainly concentrated on the large-scale wind turbines, advanced control strategies and optimization technologies for wind turbines, etc.
2. Solar power generation technology
The most basic way of solar thermal utilization is to use certain technical means to collect solar radiation, and make it serve people’s production and life through certain transformation or transfer means. Solar power generation technology is the mainstream technology for solar energy utilization. It is mainly divided into two types: solar photoelectric conversion technology and solar photothermal power conversion technology. Among them, solar photoelectric conversion technology mainly uses photovoltaic effect to manufacture solar cells and then converts solar energy into electrical energy; solar photothermal power conversion technology first converts solar energy into heat energy, and then uses thermal power generation technology to convert thermal energy into electrical energy.
3. Biomass power generation technology
Biomass energy is a major member of the future sustainable energy system, and expanding its use is the most important way to reduce CO2. Therefore, the development and utilization of biomass energy is highly valued in many countries. Biomass power generation is the main way to utilize biomass energy. Its mainstream technologies include biomass combustion power generation technology, biomass gasification power generation technology, biogas power generation technology, waste-to-energy technology, etc.
4 Geothermal power generation technology
Geothermal energy resources can be used directly for hot water, heating, cooling, etc., or for power generation, depending on their quality. Generally, as long as the temperature of the local thermal energy is higher than 150°C, it can be used for power generation. Of course, geothermal energy with a temperature lower than 150°C can also be used to generate electricity, but the efficiency is not ideal. At present, mainstream geothermal power generation technologies include steam-type geothermal power generation technology, hot water-type geothermal power generation technology, dry hot rock geothermal power generation technology, etc.
5. Ocean power generation technology
Ocean energy, as a special energy source, mainly includes tidal energy, sea temperature difference energy, sea wave energy, sea water current energy, sea water salinity difference energy, sea water tidal energy, etc. All these forms of ocean energy can be used to generate electricity. At present, tidal power generation technology has been used on a large scale in many countries. Seawater salinity difference energy power generation technology, seawater temperature difference energy power generation technology, seawater tidal current power generation technology, seawater wave energy power generation technology, etc. are also being constantly improved, and a few areas have been tentatively commercialized.