Data Science of Renewable Energy Integration: The Nexus of Energy, Environment, and Economic Growth

This book covers various data scientific approaches to analyze the issue of grid integration of renewable energy for which the grid flexibility is the key to cope with its intermittency. It provides readers with the scope to view renewable energy integration as establishing a distributed energy network instead of the traditional centralized energy system. Specifically, quantitative valuation system-wise of the levelized cost of energy, which includes both initial cost and various operational costs, enables readers to optimize energy systems in order to minimize economic cost and environmental impact. It is noted, however, that the high cost of integrating renewable energy on a large scale might slow economic growth considerably. Topics addressed in the book also include statistical comparative study of the relationship between energy and economic growth, a graphical model of determinant factors for foreign direct investment in renewable energy, the coupled oscillator model and unit commitment model to capture intermittency of renewable energy, and the network model of evolving micro-grids. The book explains desired innovation to reduce the integration cost significantly using innovative technologies such as energy storage with hydrogen production and vehicle-to-grid technology. Illustrated by careful analysis of selected examples of renewable integration using different types of grid flexibility, this volume is indispensable to readers who make policy recommendations to establish the distributed energy network integrated with large-scale renewable energy by disentangling the nexus of energy, environment, and economic growth.

Yuichi Ikeda, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University