| Peer-Reviewed

Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work

Received: 7 May 2017     Accepted: 26 May 2017     Published: 7 July 2017
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Sunlight though not heat, has inherent potential for direct conversion to mechanical work, just as heat does. The Physics pitching the possibility of direct conversion of nearly the entire sunlight received by a system into mechanical work has been formulated in this work. The feasibility of the concept has also been pursued, as well as alignment of the idea to the 2017-2027 predicted technology tipping points. Key to the ultimate realization of this propose, which argues for greater espousal of renewable energy options that foster attainment of engines for direct conversion of solar energy to mechanical work, are highly reflective and perfect mirrors. Smart areas and their associated favorable ecological footprints and climate change moderation will be among the key indicators of espousal of this conception.

Published in Advances in Applied Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11
Page(s) 43-47
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Solar Energy, Direct Conversion, Mechanical Work, Perfect Mirrors

References
[1] Peter Newell, Jon Phillips, Ana Pueyo, Edith Kirumba, Nicolas Ozor, Kevin Urama. The political economy of low carbon economy in Kenya. Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Working Paper 445, 2014.
[2] Lindsay C. Stringer, Andrew J. Dougill, Jen C. Dyer, Katherine Vincent, Florian Fritzsche, Julia Leventon, Mario Paulo Falcảo, Pascal Manyakaidze, Stephen Syampungani, Phillip Powell, Gabriel Kabala. Advancing climate compatible development: Lessons from Southern Africa. Regional Environmental Change, April 2014, Volume 14, Issue 2, pp. 713-725.
[3] Republic of Kenya. Scaling up renewable energy program (SREP). Inter-sessional meeting of the SREP committee, Washington, D. C., September 8, 2011.
[4] Cyril Beland. Hot rocks: Kenya taps geothermal heat to boost power. http://phys.org/news/2016-03-hot-kenya-geothermal-boost-power.html, March 16, 2016. Accessed on May 23, 2017.
[5] Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP). Kenya renewable energy potential. http://www.africa-eu-renewables.org/market-information/kenya/renewable-energy-potential, undated. Accessed on March 23, 2017.
[6] Maulidi Barasa. Wind regime analysis and reserve estimates (case study:-Kenya). Thesis for Master of Science in Energy Management, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nairobi, 2013.
[7] Kiplagat J. K., Wang R. Z., Li T. X. Renewable energy in Kenya: Resource potential and status of exploitation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2011, Volume 12, pp. 2960-2973.
[8] Elmar Dimpl, Michael Blunck. Small-scale electricity generation from biomass: Experience with small-scale technologies for basic energy supply-Biogas. GTZ-HERA Poverty-Oriented Basic Energy Service, 2010.
[9] Rob Byrne, Kennedy Mbeva. The political economy of state-led transformations in pro-poor low carbon energy: A case study of solar PV in Kenya. Institute of Development Studies (IDS), STEPS Working Paper 91, Brighton: STEPS Centre, 2017.
[10] Stephen Karekezi. Renewable in Africa – meeting the energy needs of the poor. Energy Policy, September 2002, Volume 30, Issue 11-12, pp. 909-1144.
[11] Prerna Gangoti, Pooran Koli. Study of the enhancement on photogalvanics: Solar energy conversion and storage in EDTA-safranine O-NaLs system. Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2017, DOI: 10.1039/C7SE00083A.
[12] Alfred H. Sommer. Brief history of photo-emissive materials. Proceedings of SPIE 2022, photo-detectors and power meters, October 15, 1993, Volume 2.
[13] W.M. Fisher, S. C. Rand. Optically-induced charge separation and terahertz emission in unbiased dielectrics. Journal of Applied Physics, 2011, Volume 109, Issue 129901.
[14] Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software and Society. (2015). Deep shift: Technology tipping points and societal impact. Switzerland: World Economic Forum
[15] Qiang Zheng, Bojing Shi, Zhou Li, Zhou Li, Zhong Lin Wang. Recent progress on piezoelectric and tribo-electric energy harvesters in biomedical systems. Advanced Science, March 27, 2017, DOI: 10.1002/advs.20170029.
[16] Xiao Zhang, Li-Dong Zhao. Thermoelectric materials: Energy conversion between heat and electricity. Journal of Materiomics, June 2015, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 92-105.
[17] V. A. Volpyas, A. B. Kozyrev, O. I. Soldatenkov, E. R. Tepina. Efficiency of thermoelectric conversion in ferroelectric film capacitive structures. Technical Physics, June 2012, Volume 57, Issue 6, pp. 792-796.
[18] Ajith Krishnan R., Jinshah B.S. Magneto-hydrodynamic power generation. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, June 2013, Volume 3, Issue 6, pp. 1-11.
[19] Ajimotokan Habeeb A. A study of the trilateral flash cycles for low grade waste heat recovery – to power generation. PhD Thesis for the School of Engineering, Cranfield University, July 2014.
[20] Sylvain Quoilin, Vincent Lemort. The organic Rankine cycle: Thermodynamics, applications and optimization. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). http://www.eols.net/Sample-Chapter/C05/E6-35-43-00.pdf. Accessed on May 22, 2017.
[21] Koichi Hirata. Schmidt theory for Stirling engines. National Maritime Research Institute. http://www.nmri.go.jp/eng/khirata/stirling/schmidt/schmidt_e.pdf. Accessed on May 23, 2017.
[22] B. Zohuri. Combine cycle driven efficiency for next generation nuclear power plants. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 2015.
[23] H. Gichungi, http://www.sv.uio.no/iss/english/research/projects/solar-transitions/announcements/Kenya-Henry_Gichungi.pdf (Accessed on 10 November 2015).
[24] V. I. Laptev and H. Khlyap (2011). Photons as Working Body of Solar Engines, Solar Cells - New Aspects and Solutions, Prof. Leonid A. Kosyachenko (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-761-1, In Tech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/solar-cells-new-aspects-and-solutions/photons-as-working-body-of-solarengines.
[25] W. Shockley, H. J. Queisser. Detailed balance limit efficiency of p-n junction solar cells. Journal of Applied Physics, 1961, Volume 32, pp. 510-520.
[26] Nathan S. Lewis, Daniel G. Nocera. Powering the planet: Chemical challenges in solar energy utilization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006, Volume 103, Issue 43, pp. 15729-15735.
[27] International Energy Agency (IEA). Technology roadmap: Solar photovoltaic energy, 2014, http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publications/TechnologyRoadmapSolarPhotovoltaicEnergy_2014edition.pdf. Accessed on May 23, 2017.
[28] S. Aziz, S. Hassan. On improving the efficiency of a solar panel tracking system. Procedia Manufacturing, 2017, Volume 7, pp. 218-224.
[29] S. Kurtz, J. Geisz. Multijunction solar cells for conversion of concentrated sunlight to electricity. Optics Express, April 2010, Volume 18, Issue S1, pp. A73-78.
[30] Martin Green, Keith A. Emery, Yoshiro Hishikawa, Anita Ho-Baillie. Solar efficiency tables (version 49). Progress in Photovoltaics Research and Applications, November 2016, Volume 25, Issue 1.
[31] Jinyan Zhang, Cao Yu, Miao Yang, Gangqiang Dong, Zhikal Yi, Wei Long, Shihu Lan, Yue Zhang, Jingjing He, Minying Do, Xixiang Xu. Recent development progress of high efficiency emitter heterojunction solar cells. China Semiconductor Technology International Conference (CSTIC), 13-14 March 2016, pp. 1-18.
[32] Government of the Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Planning and National Development and the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), Office of the President. Kenya: Vision 2030, Government Printers, 2007, pp.1-136.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Raphael Venson Makokha Otakwa, Herick Othieno, Andrew Odhiambo Oduor, Awange Joseph Lagat. (2017). Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work. Advances in Applied Sciences, 2(4), 43-47. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Raphael Venson Makokha Otakwa; Herick Othieno; Andrew Odhiambo Oduor; Awange Joseph Lagat. Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work. Adv. Appl. Sci. 2017, 2(4), 43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Raphael Venson Makokha Otakwa, Herick Othieno, Andrew Odhiambo Oduor, Awange Joseph Lagat. Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work. Adv Appl Sci. 2017;2(4):43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11,
      author = {Raphael Venson Makokha Otakwa and Herick Othieno and Andrew Odhiambo Oduor and Awange Joseph Lagat},
      title = {Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work},
      journal = {Advances in Applied Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {43-47},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aas.20170204.11},
      abstract = {Sunlight though not heat, has inherent potential for direct conversion to mechanical work, just as heat does. The Physics pitching the possibility of direct conversion of nearly the entire sunlight received by a system into mechanical work has been formulated in this work. The feasibility of the concept has also been pursued, as well as alignment of the idea to the 2017-2027 predicted technology tipping points. Key to the ultimate realization of this propose, which argues for greater espousal of renewable energy options that foster attainment of engines for direct conversion of solar energy to mechanical work, are highly reflective and perfect mirrors. Smart areas and their associated favorable ecological footprints and climate change moderation will be among the key indicators of espousal of this conception.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Energy Source and Technology Options for Kenya: Towards Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Mechanical Work
    AU  - Raphael Venson Makokha Otakwa
    AU  - Herick Othieno
    AU  - Andrew Odhiambo Oduor
    AU  - Awange Joseph Lagat
    Y1  - 2017/07/07
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11
    T2  - Advances in Applied Sciences
    JF  - Advances in Applied Sciences
    JO  - Advances in Applied Sciences
    SP  - 43
    EP  - 47
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1514
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aas.20170204.11
    AB  - Sunlight though not heat, has inherent potential for direct conversion to mechanical work, just as heat does. The Physics pitching the possibility of direct conversion of nearly the entire sunlight received by a system into mechanical work has been formulated in this work. The feasibility of the concept has also been pursued, as well as alignment of the idea to the 2017-2027 predicted technology tipping points. Key to the ultimate realization of this propose, which argues for greater espousal of renewable energy options that foster attainment of engines for direct conversion of solar energy to mechanical work, are highly reflective and perfect mirrors. Smart areas and their associated favorable ecological footprints and climate change moderation will be among the key indicators of espousal of this conception.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Physics and Materials Science, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya

  • Department of Physics and Materials Science, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya

  • Department of Physics and Materials Science, Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya

  • Department of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia

  • Sections