In this assignment, you are asked to design a renewable energy system,The following considerations are important for the case:
- You will need to use a combination of different renewable energy sources and storage to ensure that electricity and heat is always available throughout the year.
- You need to make assumptions for the load you need to supply for. The average energy consumption of a household depends on the climate. In all cases we only consider the use of energy for household use (heating, light, cooking, household appliances). Transport and industry are excluded from the cases.
- Use as many assumptions as necessary, but make sure you present an argument clearly stating the data on which the assumption was based, or the reason behind the assumption.
This rural village is in a warm climate with mild winters. The village has a large surface of agricultural land with scattered small forests. The farmers use their lands for sugar cane crops and own the small forests. The farms are not connected to the electricity grid, but use diesel generators for electricity for heat, light and cooking. Farmers are amenable to wind turbine and solar panel deployment. Household organic and organic waste is used by the farmers as fertilizer.
The village has 40 households. Average use per household is 1250 liter diesel per year, which produces 4000 kWh (3475 kg CO2).
Other data:
- Average wind speed: 8 m/s, capacity factor: 0.18, 2 MW wind turbines possible
- Solar irradiance per year: 2200 kWh/
- Production of sugar cane: 60 ton per year per hectare
– Potential of renewable energy sources
List for your case the top 3 potential renewable energy sources in kWh/day per person. For example:
- Solar [insert number] kWh/day per person
- Wind [insert number] kWh/day per person
- Biomass [insert number] kWh/day per person
Rank them from biggest to smallest.
– Energy use
Describe the current energy use in kWh/day per person per carrier. For example:
- Electricity (coal) [insert number] kWh/day per person
- Fuel [insert number] kWh/day per person
- Gas [insert number] kWh/day per person
Rank them from biggest to smallest.
– What do you expect the fluctuations in generation and use to be?
Explain how you think the season and daily pattern is from the renewable energy sources and the use. Also give a statement how you think the energy demand will develop in the coming years. (max 100 words)
– Design
Explain your design for a 100% renewable energy system. Which sources will you use? How much energy will these provide? Where are they located? How can the households use the energy? How does the design deal with fluctuations in generation and demand? (max 300 words)
– Pros and cons
Explain what the pros and cons are of your design. Think of reliability, costs, technical challenges etcetera. (max 100 words, list your pros and cons clearly in order of descending importance, list at least 2 pros and 2 cons).