A comprehensive review of 4E analysis of thermal power plants, intermittent renewable energy and integrated energy systems

The concern for environmental devastation due to high dependency on fossil fuel sources is shifting focus towards efficient utilization of energy by integrating renewable energy and integrated energy system. Efficient energy deployment can be attained by alleviating the actual losses, costs and environmental impact of the energy sources. This paper aims to address the above issues by reviewing the 4E analysis known as energy, exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironment analysis of thermal power plants, intermittent renewable energy and integrated energy system. Amongst other noteworthy aspects outlined in this paper, it has been found out that extensive work has been done on TPP energy and exergy analysis but exergoeconomic and exergoenvironment analysis are still considered as emerging fields. Moreover, most of the analysis conducted for intermittent renewable energy and integrated energy system is based on energy analysis. Some vital conclusions have been drawn from literature survey like boiler, PV surface module and wind rotor are the major sources of exergy destruction/losses in thermal power plants and intermittent renewable energy system. Decreasing the above components losses will significantly increase the energy quality, thereby will achieve a cost-efficient, sustainable and eco-friendly energy system.