Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy http://scitation.aip.org/ Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Pandora's box: Photovoltaic energy and economic crisis in Greece http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033110/1&agg=rss Daniel M. Knight and Sandra Bell<br/> The Greek photovoltaic program was launched in 2006 and rebranded in 2011 as a way to repay debt and decrease national deficit. The scheme promotes new livelihood opportunities on all levels, from micro-scale home installations to macro-scale solar parks producing energy for international export. Of ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033110 (2013)] published Fri May 24, 2013. Synthesis and incorporation of high quality FeS nanoparticles within poly(3-hexylthiophene):Phenyl-C60-butyric acid methyl ester to increase the photosensitivity of composite material http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/031601/1&agg=rss Animesh Layek, Somnath Middya, and Partha Pratim Ray<br/> In this study, high quality environment friendly FeS nanoparticle was synthesized in hydrothermal route with capping reagent. Band gap energy of FeS has been modified and applied in polymer:inorganic nanocomposite. Pyrite structure of FeS nanoparticle has been confirmed by different structural chara ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 031601 (2013)] published Fri May 24, 2013. Effect of embedding silica nanoparticles and voids in the performance of c-Si solar cells http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/031603/1&agg=rss Sonali Das, Avra Kundu, Hiranmay Saha, and Swapan K. Datta<br/> The effect of embedding nanoentities (silica and voids) on the optical and electrical performance of Si solar cells has been investigated in an attempt to decouple the Anti-Reflection (AR) properties of the standard nitride coated Solar Cells (SCs) and the scattering properties of the nanoentities. ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 031603 (2013)] published Fri May 24, 2013. Improved photoelectrochemical performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se thin films prepared by pulsed electrodeposition http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/031602/1&agg=rss Sreekanth Mandati, Bulusu V. Sarada, Suhash R. Dey, and Shrikant V. Joshi<br/> Solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se absorber layers have yielded the highest conversion efficiency among all the thin-film technologies. CIGS thin-films possess large optical absorption coefficient ([approximate]10 cm) and a suitable bandgap of [approximate] 1.20 eV for an ideal stoichi ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 031602 (2013)] published Fri May 24, 2013. Electrodeposited CuInGaSe thin films from non-aqueous medium for solar cell applications http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/031604/1&agg=rss N. B. Chaure<br/> Polycrystalline thin films of group I-III-VI, especially copper indium diselenide and its alloys with gallium (CuInGaSe, CIGS) have proven to be a suitable absorbers layer to obtain high-efficiency solar cells. We have deposited CuInGaSe (CIGS) thin films by cost effective electrochemical technique ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 031604 (2013)] published Fri May 24, 2013. Design and realization of a novel sun tracking system with absorber displacement for parabolic trough collectors http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033108/1&agg=rss A. Gama, C. Larbes, A. Malek, F. Yettou, and B. Adouane<br/> Algeria has an important solar irradiation potential especially in the southern area. Technically, the hard climate of the region makes exploitation of this energy very difficult; thus, looking for adequate and innovative solutions is a necessity. In this paper, we propose and describe a new single ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033108 (2013)] published Thu May 23, 2013. Nonlinear modeling and simulation of waste energy harvesting system for hybrid engine: Fuzzy logic approach http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033109/1&agg=rss Ataur Rahman, Fadhilah Abdul Razak, M. N. A. Hawlader, and Mahbudur Rashid<br/> Fuel consumption could be cut significantly if waste heat energy of internal combustion engine (ICE) is harvested. Currently, ICEs lose their 42% of energy to exhaust and 28% of energy to the coolant. Several methods for waste thermal energy recovery from ICE have been studied by using supercharger ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033109 (2013)] published Thu May 23, 2013. Alumina reduction by laser sustained plasma for aluminum-based renewable energy cycling http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/039101/1&agg=rss Makoto Matsui, Naohiro Fukuji, Masakatsu Nakano, Kimiya Komurasaki, Yoshihiro Arakawa et al.<br/> A novel alumina (AlO) reduction technique for a renewable energy cycling system based on aluminum is proposed. AlO powder was fed into laser-sustained plasma and thermally dissociated. The produced Al was expanded to supersonic speeds through a nozzle. From the Al and argon line distributions in the ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 039101 (2013)] published Tue May 21, 2013. Enhancement of efficiency of a conducting polymer P3HT:CdSe/ZnS quantum dots hybrid solar cell by adding single walled carbon nanotube for transporting photogenerated electrons http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033107/1&agg=rss Shiv Kumar Dixit, Shikha Madan, Amandeep Kaur, Devinder Madhwal, Inderpreet Singh et al.<br/> Hybrid solar cells consisting of a composite of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), and cadmium selenide/zinc sulphide (CdSe/ZnS) coreshell quantum dots (QDs) have been fabricated in the present work. The bulk hetrojunction has been formed from the bilayer of P3HT: ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033107 (2013)] published Tue May 21, 2013. Conventional and global maximum power point tracking techniques in photovoltaic applications: A review http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/032701/1&agg=rss A. Pallavee Bhatnagar and B. R. K. Nema<br/> Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is a technique employed to extract maximum power available from a photovoltaic (PV) module under varying atmospheric conditions. It traces the PV operating voltage corresponding to the maximum power point (MPP) and operates the panel at MPP. However, if a PV array ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 032701 (2013)] published Mon May 13, 2013. The simultaneous effect of a fairing tower and increased blade flexibility on a downwind mounted rotor http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033106/1&agg=rss M. Reiso and M. Muskulus<br/> This is a parametric study on how blade and tower loads for a prototypical downwind offshore wind turbine are affected as the tower geometry and blade properties are changed. Downwind turbines have the potential to reduce the cost of energy, as blades can be more flexible and lighter, but the tower ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033106 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. A comprehensive view on performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of biodiesel-diesel blends at advanced injection timings http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033103/1&agg=rss A. Murugesan, D. Subramaniam, A. Avinash, and N. Nedunchezhian<br/> In this article, an endeavor has been made to assess the operating characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with methyl esters of pungamia, ethyl esters of pungamia, and ethyl esters of neem, added to diesel by percentage volume ranging from B20 to B80. The test runs on diesel fuel in the first ph ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033103 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. Optimization of biohydrogen production by Enterobacter species using artificial neural network and response surface methodology http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033104/1&agg=rss P. Karthic, Shiny Joseph, Naveenji Arun, and S. Kumaravel<br/> Optimization studies on fermentative hydrogen production were investigated using a facultative bacteria namely, Enterobacter species (MTCC 7104). The present study emphasizes the application of mathematical tools such as response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) to predi ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033104 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. Model study of combined wind and solar electricity production in Hungary http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033102/1&agg=rss Imre M. Janosi<br/> Since large-scale and cheap energy storage is an unsolved problem, the main difficulty of using wind and solar electricity is caused by their intermittent nature. It is a widespread belief that the combination of the two renewable technologies generally improves the reliability and supply quality of ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033102 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. Transport and interfacial transfer of electrons in dye-sensitized solar cells based on a TiO nanoparticle/TiO nanowire double-layer working electrode http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033101/1&agg=rss Aixiang Wei, Zhipeng Zuo, Jun Liu, Kangbao Lin, and Yu Zhao<br/> Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with different thickness TiO nanoparticle films and a double-layer working electrode of TiO nanoparticle/TiO nanowire are fabricated. The influence of the TiO nanoparticle films thickness and of a light-scattering layer of TiO nanowire on the photovoltaic performan ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033101 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. Solar cell parameters estimation from illuminated I-V characteristic using linear slope equations and Newton-Raphson technique http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/033105/1&agg=rss Shubham Raj, Ankit Kumar Sinha, and Ashish K. Panchal<br/> To extract maximum output power from a solar cell, it is essential to know the solar cell parameters such as the photo-current (I), the series resistance (R), the shunt resistance (R), the reverse saturation current (I), and the diode ideality factor (n). This paper presents new and simple methods f ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 033105 (2013)] published Fri May 3, 2013. Economic feasibility and environmental life cycle assessment of ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstock in Pacific Northwest U.S. http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/023142/1&agg=rss Ankita Juneja, Deepak Kumar, and Ganti S. Murthy<br/> Bioethanol produced from the lignocellulosic feedstock is a potential alternative to fossil fuels in transportation sector and can help in reducing environmental burdens. Straw produced from perennial ryegrass (PR) and wheat is a non-food, cellulosic biomass resource available in abundance in the Pa ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 023142 (2013)] published Tue Apr 30, 2013. An experimental study on the impacts of key parameters of all-glass evacuated tubes on the thermal performances of all-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/023140/1&agg=rss Fangfang Ma, Wenfeng Gao, Tao Liu, Wenxian Lin, and Ming Li<br/> In this paper, the effects of the stagnation parameter Y, the solar irradiance under stagnation H, and the average heat loss coefficient U of individual all-glass evacuated solar collector tubes, which were identified as the major parameters to characterize the thermal performance of the tubes, on t ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 023140 (2013)] published Mon Apr 29, 2013. The relationship between economic growth and biomass energy consumption in some European countries http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/023141/1&agg=rss Melike E. Bildirici and Fulya Ozaksoy<br/> In this paper, the causality analysis between biomass energy consumption and economic growth was investigated in the selected 10 countries by using Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach and vector error-correction models. Annual data cover the period from 1960 to 2010. The short run ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 023141 (2013)] published Mon Apr 29, 2013. Resiliency in offshore wind farm communication networks http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/023139/1&agg=rss Kiran Gajrani, Krishan Gopal Sharma, and Annapurna Bhargava<br/> Wind energy is getting a considerable attention worldwide from the fraternity of the power system engineers as clean and green energy that can help reduce the carbon content and limit dependence on conventional fossil fuels. This has lead to the development of offshore wind farms in last few years. ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 023139 (2013)] published Thu Apr 25, 2013. Preface to Special Topic: Selected Papers from the 7th International Energy Conference and the 1st Dalian National Laboratory Conference on Clean Energy, Dalian, China, 2012 http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/021301/1&agg=rss Huamin Zhang<br/> Abstract not available. [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 021301 (2013)] published Thu Apr 25, 2013. Performance and emission evaluation of biodiesel fueled diesel engine abetted with exhaust gas recirculation and Ni coated catalytic converter http://link.aip.org/link/?RSE/5/023138/1&agg=rss D. Subramaniam, A. Murugesan, and A. Avinash<br/> This article summarizes the results of a laboratory exertion to evaluate the performance and emission parameters of a single cylinder, water cooled, direct injection diesel engine with and without the aid of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), as well as with and without the assistance of nickel coated ... [J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 023138 (2013)] published Thu Apr 25, 2013.