Energy plays a pivotal role in human development. Not only is it sine qua non for national economic development, but it also provides services that enhance social development including, health and sanitation, education, potable water, cooking. In spite of this, at present, there are about two billion people without access to modern sources of energy, most of them in the rural areas of the developing world. Consequentially, the social and economic development of these two billion people hangs in the balance. In recent times, however, considerable advocacy has taken place in the academic and policy studies, environmental fora, and national agenda about solar PV energy technology serving as a panacea to the energy problems of rural populations in developing countries, especially Sub-Sahara Africa, whilst also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Notwithstanding this great advocacy, the literature on the dissemination of this technology has been incomplete in fostering understanding on the discourses surrounding its low dissemination rates in rural Ghana compared to countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe; the sustainability of installed solar PV systems; and the usefulness of solar PV in serving the needs of the rural poor. In resorting to an interdisciplinary approach (methodology and theoretical foundation), this study has explored the energy perspectives of Ghana, the dynamics of rural electrification and energy needs, and the interplay of processes and forces underpinning the adoption and non-adoption of solar PV in rural Ghana. Results of this study show that, Ghana has abundant renewable energy resources, especially solar radiation. However, the study further reveals that the resource base alone of solar PV technology is not the panacea to its successful dissemination and the energy needs of all in rural Ghana. Significantly, this study has shown that the adoption and non-adoption perspectives of solar PV in rural Ghana and the sustainability of installed solar PV systems, as well as the disparate levels of solar PV dissemination in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, are contingent on multi-dimensional circumstances. This stands in contrast to the majority of literature that often emphasise cost as the sole determining factor of the non-adoption of solar PV in most developing countries. Results of this study therefore have implications for rural energy supply policy approaches and other institutional arrangements on solar PV issues in Ghana.

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Since the reform in the 1980s, the Chinese electric power industry has experienced rapid expansion in both capacity and outputs, which is surprising since the industry is still under a plan control. The shortage of supply is a common problem in a plan economy according to the conventional wisdom. But China provides very different experience that challenges the wisdom. Why? This thesis attempts to understand why the plan-controlled industry can achieve such rapid growth over a short period of time. The study pursues its investigation through exploring three issues: the price and cost structures, the pricing setting and the capacity expansion with reference to OECD experience. By comparing power prices of China with the West, we find that China has successfully kept its household prices as lower as its industrial prices, while the OECD economies are reverse, a lower power price for the industry but higher for the household users. The finding shows that the plan increases consumers‟ welfare more than the market does. With further investigation to the cost structure of Chinese power plants with reference to the UK experience, we find that the Chinese power producers have lower variable costs than the Western plants, but similar overheads costs. To further explain such finding, we studied a sample of 100 coal-fired power plants from 2003 to 2005 for their pricing behaviour. We find that the firms adopt a high cost strategy to bargain with the state for higher plan prices, because of the one-firm-with-one-plan-price policy. This causes a soft price constraint on costs, which inevitably protects high cost firms, driving up the total costs of the firm, and providing a lower incentive to the firm to improve their cost efficiency. The firms are planned by the state for their outputs. Will the state plan affect the capacity of power supply in favour? The study argues yes, because (1) entry is free and capacity investment is under firm‟s autonomy, (2) the firms are very responsive to capacity utilization and demand in choosing their capacity investment, and (3) the firms seek more profits through seeking more plan outputs that are linked with capacity. Therefore, the firms do not compete in prices but the capacity of power generation. These explain why the reformed plan system works in stimulating capacity growth.

This project examines the implications of the photovoltaic power generation as well as the battery storage systems on the distribution network tariff structures. Different types of existing distribution tariffs were applied to the residential households’ demand patterns. Several scenarios of demand profiles were theoretically investigated. First scenario included households’ consumption under current situation without on-site power production and any storage, second scenario concerned penetration of average size of solar panel installations and the last demand profile with maximum possible size of photovoltaic panels complemented with battery storage use. The distribution tariffs included in the comparison are: power based tariff and two energy based tariffs, one with flat-rate and another with time-of-use structure. Distribution tariffs were normalized with the aim to research the implications of the on-site production and storage use. Normalization factors were used when comparing financial bills from the households under above mentioned scenarios. Energy distribution tariffs have higher potential for households to save on their energy bill with the introduction of the on-site solar power utilization. On the other hand power tariff provides higher incentive for the implementation of the demand response strategies in the households.

by Chow Lap-wai. / Thesis (M.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 185-188.

Tetraphenylporphyrins can be used to absorb visible light and pass on their excitation energy to electron transfer agents. The purpose of this research has been to investigate our ability to understand and control the energetics of porphyrin derivatives in order to use their electron transfer ability to harness the energy of sunlight. Shifts in the redox (reduction and oxidation) potentials of tetraphenylporphyrins result from variations in the substituents attached at the para- position of the phenyl rings of tetraphenylporphyrins, as well as variations in the state of ionization of those substituents, and the solvent in which the reactions are carried out. To measure the effect these variations, results from cyclic voltammetric experiments were plotted versus literature values of Hammett substituent constants to confirm the validity of linear free energy relationships as a model of substituent effects. Solvent effects on reduction potentials were correlated using experimentally determined values of the empirical solvent parameter ET. Some specific conclusions are summarized. 1. The usefulness of linear free energy relationships in correlating variations in redox potentials with changes in substituent was confirmed with two exceptions. Two of the porphyrins were shown to undergo a different electrochemical oxidation mechanism than the remaining porphyrins, and another porphyrin was shown to be more difficult to reduce than predicted on the basis of its substituent constant. 2. Solvent effects, here investigated as the effect of added water on the reduction potential of tetraaminophenylporphyrin in DMSO, were demonstrated to correlate with the Dimroth-Reichardt solvent parameter, ET , determined experimentally for each water-DMSO mix. 3. Variations in the state of ionization of ionizable substituents such as carboxylic acid, amine, and hydroxyl substituents were shown to affect porphyrin electrochemistry mostly through the protonation of bulk, solution-phase porphyrin by added proton donor. An additional effect of added proton donor was noted in an alteration in the mechanism of reduction to include some of a different mechanism wherein reduced porphyrin is protonated in a chemical equilibrium and then further reduced electrochemically.

It takes 3~5 years to finish a power plaint project including location, reliability, environment evaluating, investigation, etc. In addition, it is difficulty to get a right place and hinder by the environment protection. So, it is an important class on boosting the existing power generation capacity. It was used to enhance power generation capacity by increasing the combustion chamber temperature in traditional way. However, it not only increases the exhaust temperature of gas turbine, but also increase the compressor ration. However, it is more difficulty on the design of gas turbine. And then we consider the other way in this thesis by reducing inlet air temperature of compressor to increase the density and flow of air and the power generation capacity. The result is magic that the power generation capacity enhance 10% ~20%. The analysis of Combustion Turbine Inlet Air Cooling System by Absorption refrigerant system(CTIAC-ABS) describe in chapter 2 including fundamental of a gas turbine, the absorption refrigerant chiller, the inlet cooling coil and cogeneration system. It lets us know how to select the style of cogeneration and specification of an absorption refrigerant chiller. It is important to consider the mass condensate water in the air side of inlet cooling coil. The author suggest to use the analysis method of wet-coil developed by Threlkeld(1970). The CTIAC system could be used to the Gas Turbine System, Gas Turbine with HRSG System and Combined System. Because of there is not high pressure steam, we can use the fired-gas absorption refrigerant system as the source of chiller on the CTIAC-ABS system. There is the high pressure steam of Gas Turbine with HRSG System and Combined System. So we can divided the high pressure steam into two part, one to process and the other could be used as the heat source of absorption refrigerant chiller There are two advantages of using CTIAC-ABS on cogeneration power plaint. 1.The new purpose of mass high pressure steam could be used in cogeneration power plaint in Taiwan. 2.Reduction operational cost of CTIAC-ABS The author finished the sensibility of power generation capacity with the analysis of practical operative data, classification of gas turbine and the power plaint Simulation program (GateCycle). When the compressor inlet temperature decrease from 30OC to 10OC, the results are : air flow rate increase 6.3%, fuel flow rate increase 5.95%, exhaust air temperature decrease 1.7% and exhaust air flow rate increase 6.3%, net power output increase 12.2%, heat rat decrease 3.7% and thermal efficiency upward 1.32%.Then, the author got a simulative equation of power capacity. The typical gas turbines operate at full-load condition, 52.25% of annual hours, in 1998 in Taiwan. Gas turbines were almost full load on daytime and half-load or closed at night. If we apply the CTIAC-ABS system on TPC's combined power plant, it can operate at 8:00~18:00 on daytime and shutdown at night. If there is high pressure steam in the cogeneration with HRSG, the CTIAC-ABS system can operate at the time that the cogeneration power plant is operative. How to decide the capacity of absorption refrigerant chiller? The author decided the maximum capacity of absorption refrigerant chiller operating at 31OC , 80%RH of weather condition that limit by 2.5% ***. The author forecasts the lowest compressor inlet air temperature will be 10OC. The steam double-effect CTIAC-ABS system could make the compressor inlet air temperature decrease from 30OC to 10 OC and enhances the heat rate 3.8%, the thermal efficiency 1.2%. The fired-direct CTIAC-ABS system also enhances the heat rate 5% and the thermal efficiency 1.5%. The results are close to the simulation of GateCycle program. So, the author compared the result of simulation with real data that the optimumal operative point of the CTIAC-ABS system is 10OC.

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