John Barton

Loughborough University, School of Electronic Electrical and Systems Engineering, Post-Doc

Followers

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

Address: Loughborough, England, United Kingdom

less

Interests

Uploads

Papers by John Barton

Techno-Economic Analysis of Low Carbon Hydrogen Production from Offshore Wind Using Battolyser Technology

Energies, Aug 10, 2022

A battolyser is a combined battery electrolyser in one unit. It is based on flow battery technolo... more A battolyser is a combined battery electrolyser in one unit. It is based on flow battery technology and can be adapted to produce hydrogen at a lower efficiency than an electrolyser but without the need for rare and expensive materials. This paper presents a method of determining if a battolyser connected to a wind farm makes economic sense based on stochastic modelling. A range of cost data and operational scenarios are used to establish the impact on the NPV and LCOE of adding a battolyser to a wind farm. The results are compared to adding a battery or an electrolyser to a wind farm. Indications are that it makes economic sense to add a battolyser or battery to a wind farm to use any curtailed wind with calculated LCOE at £56/MWh to £58/MWh and positive NPV over a range of cost scenarios. However, electrolysers, are still too expensive to make economic sense.

format_quoteIncluding an electrolyser with a wind farm is economically unfeasible; LCOE exceeds that of a standalone wind farm.format_quote

Download

Promoting Battery Testing in Developing Countries Through Development of a Low-Cost Battery Test System

2021 IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference (IHTC), 2021

Off-grid renewable energy electricity generation is a proven solution to meeting energy needs in ... more Off-grid renewable energy electricity generation is a proven solution to meeting energy needs in situations such as a refugee camp and communities with no access to modern energy services. To overcome the problem of intermittence that is inherent in renewable energy resources, battery energy storage is used to store excess energy and release it when the renewable resource is insufficient. However, batteries, not only have a high upfront cost but are reported to be the leading cause of failure in renewable electricity generation systems. These are the major challenges facing low income countries in their efforts to increase access to clean energy. The situation requires a blend of localised solutions including meaningful battery testing that goes beyond measuring open circuit voltage which can only provide very limited information about performance and longevity of the batteries. Traditionally, battery test systems are expensive to buy, making it difficult for developing nations to actively participate in research by testing battery performance as well as help with detecting poor quality products that typically fail more quickly than expected. In this work, a low-cost battery test system was designed, developed, and implemented for lifecycle testing of three batteries at the same time.

Download

A Portable Power Station for Humanitarian Contexts

2021 IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference (IHTC), 2021

For the estimated 80 million refugees, energy access is a significant challenge owing to difficul... more For the estimated 80 million refugees, energy access is a significant challenge owing to difficulties in infrastructure development in camps. Energy is needed for lighting, communication and in particular cooking. Cooking requires fuels and it tends to fall on women and children to collect firewood. Therefore, this research is about developing an energy system that can meet the basic energy requirements for a family in rural off-grid or humanitarian contexts. A literature review was undertaken to assess the range of interventions already taking place for example, solar home systems. This led to a systemic development process for designing the device. Subsequently, a portable photovoltaic power station has been developed to meet the energy needs of a family in refugee or other contexts. This consists of a 360W PV module, 25.6V 75Ah lithium-iron-phosphate battery rated at 20A (500W), MPPT charge controller, breakers, connectors, and an enclosure, as well as USB lights and two cooking appliances. The system has been laboratory tested to ensure it delivers the power requirements for cooking and other services. Furthermore, typical meals have been cooked with different food loads. The next steps are a field trial in which 60 pilot systems will be during 2022.

Download

Side-by-side testing to assess the benefits of adding insulation to a commercial electric pressure cooker using the ‘Aobosi YBW60’ 6 litre

Reducing the costs of cooking is one of the enablers to improve access to MECS (modern energy coo... more Reducing the costs of cooking is one of the enablers to improve access to MECS (modern energy cooking services). Electric pressure cookers (EPCs) already compare favourably against conventional stoves, and very favourably against biomass cooking, in terms of energy consumption, but have evolved to satisfy wealthy consumers’ expectations which don’t necessarily match the needs of the global south. Choosing an EPC with an air-gapped lid provided the opportunity to replicate how a factory might install insulation, but displacing trapped-air insulation can be seen to provide limited benefit. This also demonstrates that improving something that is already high performing provides diminishing returns. In contrast, a poorly designed EPC may benefit to a greater degree.

Download

A Domestic Demand Model for India

This paper describes the extension of CREST’s popular and open-source domestic energy demand mode... more This paper describes the extension of CREST’s popular and open-source domestic energy demand model for UK households into one that can also model households in India. The model is based on a representation of individual appliances and their usage, dependent on ‘active occupancy’, meaning the times that people are both at home and awake. The model is well suited to the analysis of low-voltage networks and micro-grids, for which its ability to account for demand diversity is of critical importance. Energy consumption in households in India is quite different from that in the UK. Several functional extensions are required in order to represent features that are significant in India. The per-household ownership of appliances and lighting fixtures is currently much lower in India than in the UK. The model represents both urban and rural locations and the expected increase in appliance ownership in India. In India, the model shows that domestic demand profile is currently more heavily dom...

format_quoteCurrent and predicted appliance ownership in India is notably lower than in the UK, affecting energy consumption projections until 2031.format_quote

Download

Short-run impact of electricity storage on CO2 emissions in power systems with high penetrations of wind power: A case-study of Ireland

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 2016

This article studies the impact on CO2 emissions of electrical storage systems in power systems w... more This article studies the impact on CO2 emissions of electrical storage systems in power systems with high penetrations of wind generation. Using the Irish All-Island power system as a case-study, data on the observed dispatch of each large generator for the years 2008 to 2012 was used to estimate a marginal emissions factor of 0.547 kgCO2/kWh. Selected storage operation scenarios were used to estimate storage emissions factors – the carbon emissions impact associated with each unit of storage energy used. The results show that carbon emissions increase in the short-run for all storage technologies when consistently operated in ‘peak shaving and trough filling’ modes, and indicate that this should also be true for the GB and US power systems. Carbon emissions increase when storage is operated in ‘wind balancing’ mode, but reduce when storage is operated to reduce wind power curtailment, as in this case wind power operates on the margin. For power systems where wind is curtailed to ma...

Download

Transition pathways for a UK low carbon electricity future

Energy Policy, 2013

Download

Solar integration in the UK and India: technical barriers and future directions

The technology of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has seen remarkable boom the past decade and re... more The technology of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has seen remarkable boom the past decade and remains central in the decarbonization and post-COVID19 recovery plan of many countries worldwide. However, global experience shows that PV installations start to level off in networks with certain solar integration levels. Among the various reasons, such as financing, regulations, markets etc., this report focuses and takes a deep look on technical challenges that act as barriers against further solar integration and develops a roadmap with technology innovations and transformations that will allow a high-solar future. The UK and India are the focal points of this investigation, examining closely how the challenges and future directions relate or differ between the two countries. This report arises out of the UK-India Joint Virtual Clean Energy Centre (JVCEC), which is a research consortium that involves ten UK universities and thirteen Indian institutes within three virtual centres namel...

Download

Microgeneration from renewable and non-renewable sources

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2009

Microgeneration can become a key sector for abating climate change, as heat and lighting for dome... more Microgeneration can become a key sector for abating climate change, as heat and lighting for domestic properties contributes around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[1] These could be cut by 50% or more by generating energy on-site with either renewable or more efficient technologies. In the area of microgeneration, renewables show an enormous potential for emissions reductions, with each household producing their own zero-carbon heat and power. However, they are complemented by several non-or semirenewable ...

A Comparison of Batteries for the MECS Project

In the context of the MECS project, the batteries are required to operate cooking appliances. In ... more In the context of the MECS project, the batteries are required to operate cooking appliances. In off-grid applications they are needed to store solar PV electricity. In weak-grid or mini-grid applications, batteries are needed to store electricity for later use, when grid electricity is more expensive, insufficiently powerful, or unavailable.All the batteries tested have a nominal capacity of 100Ah and a nominal voltage of 12V. In the case of lead-carbon, a single 100Ah battery was used. In the case of VRLA and LiFePO4, two 50Ah batteries of each were used to make a total of 100Ah when connected in parallel. Of the three battery chemistries tested, the lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) is clearly superior to the lead-acid and lead-carbon. It maintains a higher open-circuit voltage and can deliver much more energy at high power.

Download

Distributing power, a transition to a civic energy future: Report of the Realising Transition Pathways Research Consortium ‘Engine Room’

The overarching challenge for UK energy policy is to ensure the delivery of secure, affordable en... more The overarching challenge for UK energy policy is to ensure the delivery of secure, affordable energy in a way that meets the emission reductions targets laid out in the Climate Change Act (2008). The EPSRCfunded Transition Pathways (TP) and, more recently, Realising Transition Pathways (RTP) projects have both argued that multiple logics of governance, ownership, and control of the electricity system can be followed to address the energy trilemma. This work has developed three transition pathways for the UK energy system, each driven by different governance patterns. Each pathway has a specific technological mix, institutional architecture, and societal drivers. These pathways are: Central Co-ordination: Central to this pathway is the role of the nation state in actively delivering the transition. Market Rules: After the creation of a broad policy framework, the state allows competition and private companies to deliver sustainable, affordable energy. Thousand Flowers: This pathway ...

format_quoteThe Thousand Flowers pathway could fulfill 50% of electricity demand with distributed generation by 2050, needing smart grids and new technologies for feasibility.format_quote

Download

Time-step analysis of the DECC 2050 Calculator pathways

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 2017

An hour-by-hour time-step analysis is presented of United Kingdom electricity grid balancing in l... more An hour-by-hour time-step analysis is presented of United Kingdom electricity grid balancing in low-carbon energy pathways from the DECC 2050 Calculator. The detailed modelling uses the future energy scenario assessment (FESA) tool, which uses real weather data and real electricity demand data from year 2001 to model future supply and demand profiles, suitably adjusted to reflect technology uptakes. The paper describes the linking of the DECC 2050 Calculator with FESA and many of the detailed considerations within the modelling. The calculation of net demand (total demand less intermittent renewables and inflexible portions of other electricity generation) reveals the magnitude and duration of peaks and troughs throughout the year and this allows quantification of required peaking plant, energy storage, demand response or a combination of these. The results indicate that the grid balancing challenge is much greater than is apparent from the DECC 2050 Calculator, with significant exc...

format_quoteHigh-renewable pathways require energy storage for several days, not just hours, for effective grid balancing.format_quote

Download

Maximising energy savings from domestic microgeneration: A cultural and behavioural analysis

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2009

This study looks at the cultural and behavioural sides of microgeneration, focusing on the UK. We... more This study looks at the cultural and behavioural sides of microgeneration, focusing on the UK. We consider household behaviour as well as installers&amp;#x27; practices and institutional issues, and analyse the prospects for maximising energy and emissions savings from microgeneration. We consider what it would take to maximise uptake of the technology; whether installations would be the most appropriate and professionally installed; whether installations would then be used properly and to their full potential; and how behaviour ...

UK microgeneration. Part II: technology overviews

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Energy, 2010

This paper reviews the current status of microgeneration technologies at the domestic scale. Over... more This paper reviews the current status of microgeneration technologies at the domestic scale. Overviews are given for nine such technologies, grouped into three sections: (a) low carbon heating: condensing boilers, biomass boilers and room heaters, air source and ground source heat pumps; (b) renewables: solar photovoltaic panels, flat plate and evacuated tube solar thermal panels and micro-wind; and (c) combined heat and power: Stirling engines, internal combustion engines and fuel cells. Reviews of the construction, operation and performance are given for the leading commercial products of each technology. Wherever possible, data are presented from the field, giving the actual prices paid by customers, efficiencies and energy yields experienced in real-world use, reliability and durability, and the problems faced by users. This information has a UK focus but is generally relevant in the international context. Two issues are found to be prevalent throughout the microgeneration indus...

format_quoteMicrogeneration technologies can yield energy and emissions recovery within three years, providing economic and environmental benefits.format_quote

Download

The evolution of electricity demand and the role for demand side participation, in buildings and transport

Energy Policy, 2013

This paper explores the possible evolution of UK electricity demand as we move along three potent... more This paper explores the possible evolution of UK electricity demand as we move along three potential transition pathways to a low carbon economy in 2050.The shift away from fossil fuels through the electrification of demand is discussed, particularly through the uptake of heat pumps and electric vehicles in the domestic and passenger transport sectors. Developments in the way people and institutions may use energy along each of the pathways are also considered and provide a rationale for the quantification of future annual electricity demands in various broad sectors. The paper then presents detailed modelling of hourly balancing of these demands in the context of potential low carbon generation mixes associated with the three pathways. In all cases, hourly balancing is shown to be a significant challenge. To minimise the need for conventional generation to operate with very low capacity factors, a variety of demand side participation measures are modelled and shown to provide significant benefits. Lastly, projections of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK and the imports of fossil fuels to the UK for each of the three pathways are presented.

Download

Beyond Nimbyism: Project Summary Report

The project had four main parts. 1) A review of literatures in key subject areas; 2) the producti... more The project had four main parts. 1) A review of literatures in key subject areas; 2) the production of a conceptual framework of public engagement with renewable energy technologies 3) analysis of how public engagement is conceived by networks of actors in the renewable energy sector and in the media 4) Case studies of specific renewable energy projects and the engagement activities involved in each of these. Participants in the project: A total of 3251 people drawn from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England participated in the project. 91 people were interviewed; 249 participated in 34 focus group discussions and 2911 completed the questionnaire survey administered in each of our case studies. Project Outcomes: Part 1: Literature Review: working papers were written on (a) Public acceptance of renewable energy (b) Participatory engagement; (c) Planning and regulatory aspects of renewable energy; (d) NIMBYism. These documents can be downloaded from the project website, in the section called 'deliverables'. Part 2: Conceptual framework: an overarching framework for understanding the processes involved in shaping patterns of engagement and public responses to project development has been evolved during the project. The diagram below shows a simplified version of the framework's core elements. The complete version will be made available via the project website, in the section called 'deliverables'.

Download