Abstract
Independence from the power grid can be pursued by achieving total self-sufficient electricity supply. Such an energy supply model might be particularly interesting for settlements located in rural areas where enough space is available for energy generation installations. This article evaluates how and at what cost electricity demand of residential users across Germany and the Czech Republic could be covered by hybrid renewable energy generation systems consisting of photovoltaics, micro-generation wind turbines and batteries. High-resolution reanalysis data are used to calculate necessary system sizes over a large area by simultaneously accounting for the temporal variability of renewable energy. For every potential location in the research area, the hybrid system requirements for clusters of 50 self-sufficient single-family houses are calculated. The results indicate no general trend regarding the size of the respective technologies, although larger areas where PV-wind power complementarity enables lowering the total system costs and required storage capacities were determined. Assuming that the cluster of households could be constituted and depending on the location, the total installation and operation costs for the proposed systems for a lifetime of 20 years range between EUR 1.8 Million and EUR 5 Million without considering costs of financing. Regions with the lowest costs were identified mainly in the south of Germany.
Highlights
IntroductionBuildings continue to exceed 40% of the primary energy consumption in most countries [1]
Buildings continue to exceed 40% of the primary energy consumption in most countries [1].The awareness is rising, that this demand needs to be covered by sustainable energy sources in order to reduce CO2 emissions
We use standardized load profiles of residential households obtaining electricity demand time series for rural and low-density-populated urban areas (Section 2.2). These datasets are input to a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) which calculates the optimal number of wind power installations and PV and battery system sizes
Summary
Buildings continue to exceed 40% of the primary energy consumption in most countries [1]. The awareness is rising, that this demand needs to be covered by sustainable energy sources in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The enormous technical improvements of renewable energy generation technologies and the thereof corresponding cost reductions in recent years, have made renewable energy systems an attractive solution to locally produce and provide clean electricity [2]. Modern systems combining solar energy and electrical storage are able to supply large parts of the common residential electricity demand and are a well-established modernization measure among homeowners [4]. There is an ongoing reduction of current support policies in several countries. The key question of the Energies 2019, 12, 4185; doi:10.3390/en12214185 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
