CONTENTS NUMBER 1 Articles P. T. Williams and P. A. Horne The role of metal salts in the pyrolysis of biomass C.-J. Winter 15 Solar cities D. B. Snyman and J. H. R. Enslin Centralized PV generation and decentralized battery storage for cost effective electrification of rural areas E. Ntibarufata, M. Hasnaoui, 33 Numerical study of natural convection in habitat with direct gain passive P. Vasseur and E. Bilgen window systems O. M. M. Eltom and A. A. M. Sayigh 41 Adsorption capability of charcoal: a comparison study of some activated and non-activated charcoal samples R. Zhang and C. E. Nielsen 47 Study of surface convective zone behavior of solar pond in laboratory R. Y. Nuwayhid and F. Moukalled 53 The effect of planet thermal conductance on conversion of solar energy into wind energy M. M. El-Kassaby 59 Rotation and incidence angles for parabolic trough A. Hasan and A. A. Sayigh 69 Some fatty acids as phase-change thermal energy storage materials M. M. Elsayed and K. A. Fathalah 77 Solar flux density distribution using a separation of variables/ superposition technique Data Bank J. Canada, J. M. Pinazo, J. V. Bosca, 89 The diffuse fraction of daily global radiation V. Ruiz and P. Iglesias J. A. Martinez-Lozano, M. P. Utrillas 95 Estimation of the diffuse solar irradiation from global solar irradiation. and V. Gomez Daily and monthly average daily values M. AA.. C. Chendo and 101 Hourly distributions of global and diffuse solar radiation in Lagos, A.A. A. LL.. Maduekwe Nigeria 109 Legal and administrative measures for energy savings in non-industrial buildings in the member states of the EC O. M. M. Eltom and A. A. M. Sayigh 113 A simple method to enhance thermal conductivity of charcoal using some additives J. Franco and L. Saravia 119 A new design for a passive atmospheric multistage still N. Nijegorodov, P. K. Jain 123 Thermal-electrical, high efficiency solar stills and S. Carlsson G. Karthikeyan, A. Mani and 129 Analysis of an absorption refrigeration system with transfer tank S. S. Murthy ili iv Contents Review H. Jing and R. H. B. Exell 133 Simulation and sensitivity analysis of an intermittent solar-powered charcoal/methanol refrigerator WREN Calendar of Events NUMBER 2 Articles H. Nfaoui, J. Buret, A. A. M. Sayigh Modelling of a wind/diesel system with battery storage for Tangiers, and P. D. Dunn Morocco M. W. Bassey, P. H. Oosthuizen and Using heated chimneys and reduced collector air gap height to improve J. Sarr the performance of indirect passive solar dryers P. K. Jain, N. Nijegorodov and Role of solar energy in development in Botswana C. G. Kartha A. H. Zahed and M. M. Elsayed Transient performance of a natural ventilation solar kiln I. A. Raja and J. W. Twidell Statistical analysis of measured global insolation data for Pakistan M. Bosanac, A. Brunotte, The use of parameter identification for flat-plate collector testing under W. Spirkl and R. Sizmann non-stationary conditions Data Bank S. Topcu and S. Oney The estimation of hourly total irradiation for cloudy sky in Istanbul A. M. Omer Diffuse solar radiation over Shambat, Khartoum North Technical Notes Lj. Sinjeri and P. Kulidié Solar radiation on variously oriented collectors in Croatia G. M. Abdull Aziz and M. A. Mukbel Thermal performance of solar water heater system in Yemen C. Armenta-Deu Capacity effects on the determination of the state-of-charge in lead—acid cells A. K. Sharma, R. Dwivedi, Performance analysis of a modified solar array under shadow conditions S. K. Srivastava and C. M. Pathak E. C. Njau Predictability of wind speed patterns F. A. Banat, S. E. El-Sayed and Carnalite salt gradient solar ponds: an experimental study S. A. El-Temtamy WREN Calendar of Events Contents NUMBER 3 Articles M. Dupont, C. Celestine and Natural ventilation in a traditional house on a West Indies Island T. Feuillard (Guadeloupe): field testing on site and in a wind tunnel A. M. Tayeb Solar-augmented foam-mat drying of fruits V. H. Morcos Optimum tilt angle and orientation for solar collectors in Assiut, Egypt L. Mangialardi and G. Mantriota Automatically regulated C.V.T. in wind power systems S. Sinha and S. Kumar Theoretical evaluation of air regenerative solar distiller integrated with aspirator B. Maad and A. Belghith The intensification of the heat transfer in passive solar systems using grid generated turbulence: spectral study M. M. El-Kassaby and M. H. Hassab Investigation of a variable tilt angle Australian type solar collector S. Kumar, T. C. Kandpal and Effect of wind on the thermal performance of a parabolloid concentrator S. C. Mullick solar cooker E. Zamfir, C. Oancea and Cloud cover influence on long-term performances of flat plate solar V. Badescu collectors D. B. Snyman and J. H. R. Enslin Novel technique for improved power conversion efficiency in systems with battery back-up Technical Note E. Scerri and C. Iskander Hands-on experience of the setting-up of a stand-alone photovoltaic demonstration project in Malta WREN Newsletter Calendar of Events NUMBER 4 Articles C. P. Tso and J. Zhao A study in forced convection of water in a single uneven planar rock fracture for geothermal application A. A. Fatani, G. M. Zaki and Improving the yield of simple basin solar stills as assisted by passively A. Al-Turki cooled condensers M. A. Mosalam Shaltout and Typical solar radiation year for Egypt M. T. Y. Tadros K. M. Siddiqui and C. Z. M. Kimambo Development of a compact integral solar water heater for Africa V. H. Morcos Some experimental and theoretical studies of a single basin solar still vi Contents S. Janjai, A. Esper and A procedure for determining the optimum collector area for a solar W. Mihlbauer paddy drying system Data Banks S. Coppolino A new correlation between clearness index and relative sunshine M. Bashahu and P. Nkundabakura Analysis of daily global irradiation data for five sites in Rwanda and one in Senegal Technical Notes R. D. Hazel and L. P. Langevine Flat plate collector utilizability for Guyana S. M. Shaahid and M. A. Elhadidy Wind and solar energy at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia A. M. Zaki, M. N. Eskander and Control of maximum-efficiency PV-generator irrigation system using M. M. Elewa PLC M. Bashahu and D. Laplaze An atmospheric model for computing solar radiation WREN Newsletter NUMBER 5 Articles C. P. Jacovides, C. Varotsos, Atmospheric turbidity parameters in the highly polluted site of Athens N. A. Kaltsounides, M. Petrakis and basin D. P. Lalas K. A. Antonopoulos and F. Democritou Two wall-coefficients and two climatic parameters for estimating the maximum periodic wall heat gain S. Kumar Return analysis of commercial solar thermal devices W. Lawrance, D. Langridge and Low wind speed wind generation scheme D. Johnston S. Deambi Issues and prospects vis a vis Indian PV Commercialization Programme V. H. Morcos Aerodynamic performance analysis of horizontal axis wind turbines M. M. Elsayed Analysis of air dehumidification using liquid desiccant system N. Nijegorodov, K. R. S. Devan, Atmospheric transmittance models and an analytical method to predict P. K. Jain and S. Carlsson the optimum slope of an absorber plate, variously oriented at any latitude J. B. Kandpal, R. C. Maheshwari and Air pollution from biomass combustion in domestic cookstove T. C. Kandpal Data Bank R. ‘L. Fagbenle and T. G. Karayiannis Harmonic analysis of monthly solar radiation in Nigeria Technical Note K. Sopian, J. Sahari, M. Y. H. Othman Performance monitoring of a thermosyphon solar hot water heater and A. Z. Lubis with a parallel thermoplastic natural rubber tube absorber M. A. Al-Nimr Dynamic behaviour of a cylindrical matrix solar air heater Contents Vii Q. Ahsan and A. Hoque 585 Probabilistic model of a wind turbine generator for use in generation expansion analysis WREN Newsletter 593 NUMBER 6 Special Issue WORLD RENEWABLE ENERGY NETWORK Biographies of WREN Members (up to September 1994) NUMBER 7 Articles E. C. Njau 793 An electronic system for predicting air temperature and wind speed patterns L. Mangialardi and G. Mantriota 807 Continuously variable transmissions with torque-sensing regulators in waterpumping windmills A. Zeroual, E. L. Agouriane, 825 A new method for testing the performance of flat-plate solar collectors M. Ankrim and A. J. Wilkinson J. B. Kandpal, R. C. Maheshwari 833 Release of air pollutants in indoor air: comparison of traditional and and T. C. Kandpal metallic cookstoves K. M. K. Abu-Abdou 839 Analysis of continuous-flow thin-film solar stills A. Bennouna and Y. Ijdiyaou 847 Water pumping using a photovoltaic d.c. solar pump without energy storage N. A. Rahim 855 High performance domestic solar desalination system Data Bank J. A. Martinez-Lozano and 863 Validation of the monthly mean hourly solar irradiance Helios model M. P. Utrillas from Valencia (Spain) experimental data Technical Notes A. Hasan 869 Solar space and domestic water heating for West Bank E. Al-Bassam and G. P. Maheshwari 873 Performance evaluation of air-conditioning units Press Release: World Renewable 879 Energy Congress WREN Council Meeting Report 883 Official Members of WREN 887 Contents NUMBER 8 Articles J. Chandrasekaran and S. Kumar Daily utilizability from hourly cumulative frequency curves M. A. Hammad Experimental study of the performance of a solar thermal—photovoltaic integrated system M. A. H. Ahmed Experience with a surface floating PV pumping system: a case study in Khartoum N. K. Ghaddar Stratified storage tank influence on performance of solar water heating system tested in Beirut F. A. Banat, S. E. El-Sayed and A transient model of a laboratory-scale carnalite salt gradient solar S. A. El-Temtamy pond Data Bank A. De Miguel, J. Bilbao, S. Sals6én Solar radiation and sunshine hour maps in Castilla and Leon region and A. Lage (Spain) Technical Notes R. Kumar, S. C. Kaushik and Transient analysis of evacuated tubular solar collector with finite H. P. Garg difference technique S. Rehman and T. O. Halawani Statistical characteristics of wind in Saudi Arabia Announcement Volume Contents and Author Index for Vol. 4, 1994