Main Purpose of the Study - A Feasibility Study of Installing Piezoelectricity at Mass Rapid Tr

With the current policies around the world to promote the preservation of the environment and the creation of programs that stimulates the rational use of energy, the aim is to encourage efficient energy management and also the use of never-ending natural resources to generate electricity, such as sun or wind resources, given that, the relationship between environmental deterioration and energetic consumption is evident.

Different governments worldwide need to have good practices in energy consumption and energy generation, due to the importance of mitigation of greenhouse gasses. Many countries have been implementing non-conventional sorts of electric power generation systems to generate clean energy, for instance, using sea wave, wind or solar electricity

Nowadays Taiwan has been diversifying its energy matrix or power matrix by installing many solar parks just as wind farms, either onshore or offshore, across the country, however, in order to meet its goals, is important for Taiwan keep investing in new technologies that allow the country to develop and strengthen its electrical power system.

Due to the above, the concept of energy efficiency arises, which seeks to generate security of energy supply by incorporating more efficient technologies and good consumption habits by the end-user, seeking the preservation of the environment.

Applying the concept of energy efficiency and energy savings that this entails, a reduction in the carbon footprint will be perceived, besides helping the trade balance or social aspects, among others, and it can be taken into account as a strategy for sustainable development. One sort of

technology that has not been used yet in Taiwan arises with the purpose of helping to diversify the energetic matrix and it is the piezoelectricity.

The current study will focus on this kind of technology (piezoelectricity) and through some tools such as SWOT and PEST to determine how feasible might be this technology. In Taiwan one of the most important means of transport is the MRT (mass rapid transit) located in cities such as Taipei or Kaohsiung, these cities are the economic center of the country and where most of the population live. Daily, many people are using the metro to move from one place to another place rapidly and securely and each station has different devices that work with electricity.

With the purpose to figure out different ways to help Taiwan on its energy transition, arise the question, how feasible, considering quality-cost relationship is the installation of piezoelectric to collect electricity to one MRT station in Kaohsiung city?

The objectives of this work will be briefly stated below.

Aim

 Conduct an investigation of the feasibility of using piezoelectric in an MRT station to generate electrical energy.

 A review of electrical energy consumption in Taiwan C. Research Procedure

This research is expected to determine how feasible it is using piezoelectricity in an MRT Station. To achieve this, make a literature review is necessary to collect enough information that has been put forward already for different researchers and observe the conclusions that have been found out. In the literature review, we also will find the advantages and disadvantages that

piezoelectricity has against other technologies, moreover, the details related to costs-benefits that we can find in this sort of device.

Then an analysis using SWOT and PEST will be conducted in order to learn about the factors the can affect the current project. By working through each point of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), it is possible to identify any internal disadvantages or advantages which could benefit or hinder the outcome of a planned project. In addition to evaluating the state internally, this method is also able to identify the external factors which could also make a difference to the success or failure of a project. Using PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological), which is more directly aimed at the external macro-environmental factors that might be affecting the project, the reasons behind growth or decline in the market and also identify new directions for the project as a whole (Creately, 2018)

Subsequently, an analysis of results must be carried out to decide if the piezoelectricity proposal is feasible or not. Finally, we will finish the study with some recommendations and conclusions.

The flow chart that displays how this study will be done is shown below.

Background Information, Main purpose of the

study and Research Problem

Research Method:

Qualitative Analysis, SWOT & PEST Analysis

Major Findings and Analysis of Results

Conclusions and Recommendations Literature Review (Relevant Information)

Figure 1. Flow Chart

Chapter Two: Literature Review

The present chapter will address some important topics that are useful to develop the main idea of the current study, various definitions related to the electrical sector, just as the description of some sort of renewable energies used in Taiwan. Also will be considered concepts about the research methods that will be used in this study.

A. Taiwan Overview

Taiwan is a small island is located in the west pacific between Japan and the Philippines, where three-quarters of the island is non-arable. Taiwan due to its characteristics does not have enough natural resources on the island to generate its electricity demand, this lack of natural resources makes Taiwan rely on imported energy sources.

Despite this disadvantage, Taiwan has managed to stand out and be reference due to its economic performance and is one of the world's largest suppliers of computer chips, LCD panels, DRAM computer memory, networking equipment, and consumer electronics, so the energy supply has been an important factor to develop its economy. (Chang, 2012)

Table 1. Key Data of Taiwan 2019

Area [km^2] 36,197

Population 23,780,452 GDP [billion US dollars] 605.00

GDP per capita (USD) 27,131 Total Primary Energy

Consumption[10^3KLOE]

125,234 Total CO2 Emission (Tonnes) 269,000,000

In table 1, we can see some Taiwan key data related to its economy, environment, and energy.

8 1. Electricity in Taiwan

As it has been said, in Taiwan is quite important the Energy supply to the final user in order to perform different sort of activities that help to develop and enhance the economy of the country.

Below in Figure 2, shows the flow chart of energy supply and consumption in 2018, the energy units are given in KLOE (kiloliters of oil equivalent).

Figure 2.Energy Supply and Consumption in Taiwan. (Bureau of Energy, 2019)

Having access to energy is a pillar for economic development and poverty alleviation, due to Taiwan is isolated and does not have many energy resources, it has to import most of the energy.

In 2018, the imported energy in Taiwan was 98.06% and the indigenous energy was 1.96%.

In Figure 2 is possible to check the flowchart of the energy, it means we are allowed to know the source of the energy and the consumption of it. Most of the imported energy was from petroleum products with 48.28%, then coal and coal products with 29.38%, natural gas with 15.18%, and others.

As for energy consumption, the industrial sector has an important share with 31.01%, non-energy uses with 30.08%, transport sector with 15.39%, and others. However, in this study, we will focus more on the electrical sector.

The flowchart shows how dependent is Taiwan of fossil fuels in order to generate electricity, but also how important is the electricity in the industrial, residential, and service sectors.

Figure 3.Structure of Electricity Generation. (Bureau of Energy, 2019)

The electricity generation in Taiwan relies mostly on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and of course an important share of Nuclear energy. Taiwan’s electricity generation is mostly fueled by fossil energy, has grown by 14% in the past decade according to Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy. Coal (47.62% share), natural gas (33.54% share), and nuclear power (10.05% share) make up the bulk of the island’s electricity generation portfolio.

It is important to highlight that while coal and gas increase their share in the structure of electricity generation compared to previous years, nuclear energy started to cut down from 2014 due to the new policies. Moreover, the country started to invest in green energies according to its energy transition plan.

Figure 4.Electricity Generation by Fuel. (Bureau of Energy, 2019)

In Figure 4, the renewable energy share represents 4.59% from the total electricity generation of the country, and it is mainly made up of waste with 28.25%, solar energy with 21.68%, wind with 13.34%, and others. Nevertheless, most of the country’s efforts are focused on exploiting the capacity to generate solar and wind energy.

The mentioned fact that Taiwan imports over 98% of its energy, and due to its rapid economic growth is important for the country to increase its installed capacity, this is why the share of coal and LNG has increased in the last years. While in other countries, power grids are interconnected to each other in order to strengthen its electrical system, and also to develop strategies among countries to search for reducing costs of energy, Taiwan requires higher generation reserve margins looking for the reliability of its electrical system. (Chang, 2012)

Also, the Democratic Progressive Party has as its policy the “nuclear-free homeland”, so in the past few years the share of nuclear energy has been reduced but instead, there is even more share of coal and LNG.

One of the main sources of income for Taiwan is about industrial manufacturing, so it is expected that the industrial sector has an important representation on the electricity consumption, in 2018 the industrial sector had 55.93% of total electricity consumption in the island.

Figure 5.Structure of Electricity Consumption. (Bureau of Energy, 2019)

However, services and residential sectors have an important share with 17.69% and 17.60% respectively.

2. Gross Domestic Product in Taiwan

Gross domestic product (GDP) denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a country in any given year.

Currently, Taiwan is the 7th largest economy in Asia and the 21st around the world (Economy of Taiwan, 2019), and since last decade, year by year its gross domestic product (GDP) has been increasing or maintain on its current figures.

However, at the beginning of the decade, it was not like that, in 2009 Taiwan was one of the countries affected for the global financial crisis, mostly known as “The Great Recession”, this crisis altered the economy when it was mostly healthy and successful.

After The Great Recession, Taiwan developed different sorts of short and long term policies in order to overcome the crisis and also thinking about the future to avoid heavy consequences. (Himpler, 2018)

Figure 6.Taiwan Gross Domestic Product in the last decade. (Trading Economics, s.f.)

Then in 2015, Taiwan faced another crisis, this time because there was weak demand for electronic products worldwide and also due to a falling price of crude oil.

Despite these crises that Taiwan has faced, since 2016 the situation has been improving mostly because of its rapid industrialization as it is appreciated in Figure 6, wherein 2018 Taiwan’s GDP was around $590 US dollars and in 2019 it was $605 billion US dollars. (Government Portal of the Republic of China (Taiwan), s.f.)

Figure 7.Taiwan Economic Grow Rates. (Source: Directorate-Generral of Budget, Accounting and Statistics)

By 2018 Taiwan economy grew 2.63% in relation to 2017 as we can see in Figure 7, and it is expected this tendency in the upcoming years.

Figure 8. Gross Domestic Product of Taiwan (2018).

In Figure 8, is observed the breakdown of Taiwan’s GDP in 2018, where services represent 63.1%, the industry 35.3%, and agriculture just 1.6% of the GDP.

After seeing the breakdown of Taiwan’s GDP, we can see how important it is to Taiwan to have a robust electric system in order to keep improving its GDP rates in the service and industry sectors, but also electricity might be important to develop the agriculture sector.

3. Gross Domestic Product, Energy and CO2 Emissions in Taiwan

Taiwan is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers, a term that was created to exalt the rapid economic growth in a short period and the fast industrialization of the country. Taiwan's industrialization relies heavily on energy consumption. In Figure 9, it is represented the Real GDP Growth Rate, the Total Domestic Consumption Growth Rate, and the elasticity of total domestic consumption. (Lu, 2016)

Figure 9.Electricity Consumption, Real GDP, and Elasticity of Domestic Consumption. (Bureau of Energy, 2019)

It is evident that electricity consumption in the country and the growth of real GDP are correlated, which implies the relationship between economic growth and energy consumption.

According to a study performed in Taiwan, it says that there is bidirectional causality between energy consumption and economic growth and implicitly it affects the GDP of the country.

These two variables influence each other in the short and long run, which means, there is a tendency that shows that the productive activities in the industrial sector need energy in order to perform as an engine for economic growth. (Lu, 2016)

Figure 10.Taiwan Electricity Consumption. (International Energy Agency, 2020)

The fact that Taiwan is increasing its rates related to its GDP, implies also an increase in energy consumption in the country. By 2017 the electricity final consumption increased about 206% compared to 1990, as we can see in Figure 10, and with it the large quantities of CO2.

Considering that high amounts of carbon dioxide bring serious consequences for the environment such as global warming and climate change, establish different strategies to minimize these effects must be defined and implemented.

Figure 11. Taiwan Total CO2 Emissions. (International Energy Agency, 2020)

In Figure 11, it is represented how the amount of carbon dioxide has been increasing through the years, and it shows that in almost thirty years of CO2 emissions have increased by about 143% compared to 1990.

As it was explained before, this huge increase in CO2 emissions is due to the rapid industrialization of the country, below we can observe the breakdown of the carbon dioxide emissions by sector.

Figure 12. CO2 Emissions by Sector (International Energy Agency, 2020)

The CO2 emissions by sector show how big are the emissions due to electricity, however, the Industry and Transport sector has an important share in this breakdown. The total amount of CO2 emission in Taiwan in 2017 was roughly 269,000,000 tons, where 165,000,000 tons represent electricity and heat producers. (International Energy Agency, 2020)

Regarding the CO2 emissions by energy source, considering that Taiwan electricity is generated mainly using fossil fuels, it is not a surprise that coal, oil, and gas are responsible for a big part of the CO2 emissions.

Figure 13.CO2 Emissions by Energy Source. (International Energy Agency, 2020)

Several factors such as the size of the population, gross domestic product, or energy mix explain the amount of CO2 emissions. The important fact that Taiwan has limited domestic energy resources and must rely on oil and coal imports to satisfy the majority of its energy demand helps to understand its carbon dioxide levels.

In the last few years, some efforts creating policies to promote the preservation of the environment, and also through some programs that encourage the rational and efficient use of energy, countries around the world, want to face the current situation related to greenhouse gasses.

The Paris agreement is a program that seeks to combat climate change and accelerate and intensify the necessary actions and investments for a sustainable future with low carbon emissions. That is why Taiwan needs to tackle the current situation in reducing its fossil energy dependency.

B. Renewable Energies

This sort of energy is commonly known as clean energy or green energy, it can be produced often by using natural sources of energy or also processes that are replenished. Solar energy or wind energy are two well-known renewable energies. However, there are other sources of renewable energy that harness biomass, geothermal energy, or sea-waves energy and can produce either electricity or heat. (Australian Renewable Energy Agency, 2020)

Another definition of renewable energy is given by the Renewable Energy Development Act, which defines. “Refers to solar energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, wind energy, non-pumped storage hydroelectric power, energy generated by direct use or treatment of domestic general waste and general industrial waste, or other energy approved for sustainable use by the central competent authority” (Laws & Regulations Database of the Republic of China, 2019)

1. Solar Energy

Solar Energy is a sort of renewable energy. The sun is an inexhaustible form of energy present on the earth and also the major existent source. Because of it, many sorts of technologies are being developed, in order to take advantage of its benefits and generate electricity from harvested solar energy. (Kabir, 2018)

Figure 14. Photovoltaic Solar System. (EnergySage, 2019)

It is possible to generate electricity from solar energy, this process is called photovoltaic effect, and so, a definition for this process is given as the energy source that converts light directly into electricity without gas emissions or noise. (Mundo-Hernández, 2014)

A typical photovoltaic system is made up of the solar panel (also known as a solar module, which consists of a layer of silicon cells, a metal frame, a glass casing, and various wiring to allow current to flow from the silicon cells), a storage system (battery), a charge controller and an inverter.

A scheme for representing this kind of system which shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15.Typical System of Photovoltaic Solar Energy. (VasconcelosSampaio, 2017)

One of the major prospects of solar energy is that this technology helps reducing global carbon emissions, and it has been one of the major environmental, economic, and social issues throughout the last years. Although this technology possesses a huge potential to generate electricity, its contribution to the global energy supply is not that strong as it must be.

(VasconcelosSampaio, 2017)

21 2. Wind Energy

According to the Renewable Energy Development Act, wind power system refers to energy generated from wind power is converted into electricity and offshore wind power system refers to energy generated from wind power is converted into electricity with offshore wind farm installed in waters outside the sub-tidal line and not exceeding the bounds of the territorial sea. (Laws &

Regulations Database of the Republic of China, 2019)

Just like the sun, the wind is a never-ending source of energy, because of it, it is an essential resource to generate clean electrical energy. The electricity can be generated through the wind, by using wind turbines, the wind spins the blades and this in turn rotates a generator.

Going into more detail, when the wind is blowing, the turbine spins clockwise capturing in this way the energy. This triggers the main shaft of the wind turbine, connected to a gearbox within the nacelle, to spin. Then, the gearbox transferred the energy to the generator and this one converts the energy into electricity. Finally, the electricity is adjusted to voltage levels that match the grid.

(General Electric, 2020)

Figure 16.Wind Turbine System. (Blaabjerg, 2017)

The wind has a huge potential to fulfill the world's energy needs. The wind is renewable, clean, and highly favorable to the environment, as it does not produce toxic gases during power generation and requires a small land area, either on-shore or offshore. (Kumar, 2016)

It can be used either directly as mechanical power or indirectly by converting the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. The most important element of any wind energy system is the wind turbine, which converts wind energy into mechanical and this one into electricity so that it can be used by the end-user. (Kumar, 2016)

Wind power has become an important element of the modern energy supply. The cumulative wind power capacity from 2001 to 2020 has been increasing through the years as it is shown in Figure 17, by 2016, the installed capacity of wind power achieved 487 GW, with 54 GW in that year. Wind power accounted for 55% of the renewable power capacity globally, not

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