Reducing carbon emissions of industrial large livestock farms using hybrid renewable energy systems

Abstract

Industrial livestock farms emit greenhouse gases from various sources, including the milking parlor, the livestock storage environment, and the mass of manure stored. This research aims to reduce the emissions produced by large industrial livestock farms by implementing several hybrid renewable energy systems. To this end, various scenarios are simulated for a single case study, and the results are then generalized to all farms in the country. A novel approach is used in this study to cover a country's industrial livestock farms with a comprehensive plan. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) Pro software was employed to simulate and analyze energy configurations.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that both primary and deferred loads are considered. Throughout the project's duration, a multi-year sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the reliability of the obtained results. The degradation of photovoltaic panels, the price of diesel fuel, the electrical load, the inflation rate, and the discount rate are considered. The results indicate that by utilizing a solar/biogas/diesel/battery system while remaining connected to the grid, an average of 778 tons of carbon emissions per year can be avoided at a net present cost of $2.53m and an Cost of Energy of 0.083 $/kWh. This calculation was made by utilizing the biomass produced by all industrial livestock farms in a country to meet its energy needs, where 665,755 tons of carbon emissions could be avoided (average amount of 176.15 kg of CO2 per animal). Additionally, the research demonstrates that as solar panels degrade and diesel prices rise, biogas consumption increases by 7%, and diesel consumption decreases by 14% in the optimal scenario.