Microgrid for a Cluster of Grid Independent Buildings Powered by Solar and Wind Energy

Raquel Sandoval Aguilar,Efstathios E Michaelides

doi:10.3390/app11199214

Abstract

The reduction of CO2 emissions and the avoidance of Global Climate Change necessitate the conversion of the electricity generation industry to rely on non-carbon sources. Additionally, the mitigation of the duck-curve effects in microgrids requires the development of grid-independent buildings. Computations were performed for a cluster of one thousand grid-independent buildings in the North Texas area, where air-conditioning demand is high in the summer months. The electricity demand is balanced with energy supply generated from wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, or stored energy in hydrogen tanks. The results indicate that with one wind turbine operating, each building must be fitted with 10.2 kW rating photovoltaics capacity and a tank with 5.2 m3 of hydrogen storage capacity to satisfy the hourly demand of the buildings’ community. The addition of more wind turbines significantly reduces the needed PV rating but increases the required storage. Investing in energy conservation measures in the buildings significantly reduces both the needed storage capacity and the PV cell ratings.

Highlights

This paper aims at presenting the operation of a microgrid that would utilize solar and wind energy in a community of
Calculations were performed using, at first, the base case, where one wind turbine operates, and the PV arrays generate the remainder of the needed energy for the cluster of buildings
Based on the hourly electricity demand–supply matching, calculations are performed on the hourly demand–supply calculations for Based the development ofelectricity grid-independent clustersmatching, of buildings poweredare byperformed renewable for the development of grid-independent clusters ofapparent buildingsthat powered bystorage renewable enenergy sources, wind and solar

Summary

Introduction

Academic Editors: Carlos Moreira and João Peças Lopes. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The continuously increasing carbon dioxide gas (CO2 ) emissions in the atmosphere and the continuous accumulation of this gas have ushered in global climate change (GCC). That promises to adversely affect the activities of humankind and alter our ecosystems

Objectives

Results

Conclusion