Abstract
This article presents the development of a constrained optimization algorithm, whose scope is to support the preliminary design of a renewable microgrid, integrating solar panels and wind turbines with reversible solid oxide cells. The motivations behind this research activity lie in the increasing interest in renewable-based production and on-site storage of hydrogen, and its aim is to help this energy vector spread worldwide and in as many industrial and residential sectors as possible within a reasonably short timeframe. To this end, suitable models were developed by referring to the most relevant literature and by introducing some specific simplifying assumptions. Such an approach allowed the setting-up of a multi-variable constrained optimization task, whose outcomes correspond to the most techno-economic effective plant configuration with respect to assigned design criteria. The optimum solution was particularly sought via the generalized reduced gradient method, aimed at determining renewable plants sizes under the constraint that the final stored hydrogen level is brought back to the initial value after one year. The results highlight that an interesting payback time of about 10 years can be attained, while guaranteeing that the optimal configuration holds promising resiliency and islanded-use capabilities (such as almost weekly self-sufficiency) via smart over-the-year charge-sustaining management of the designed hydrogen storage tank. In this way, it was possible to simultaneously address, via the specific optimization problem formulation, the interconnected needs of optimally designing system components in terms of installed power, and the proper management of the reversible solid oxide cell unit.
Highlights
The progressive increase in global energy requirements constantly pushes governments and involved researchers to find clean alternatives to traditional energy production methods
This article presents the development of a constrained optimization algorithm, whose scope is to support the preliminary design of a renewable microgrid, integrating solar panels and wind turbines with reversible solid oxide cells
The optimal value yielded on output by the task (see panels appear better exploited from this point of view, as shown in interestingly sets to 10.7 years, which increases by 15% if reversible solid oxide cells (rSOCs) capital expenditures (CAPEX) costs
Summary
The progressive increase in global energy requirements constantly pushes governments and involved researchers to find clean alternatives to traditional energy production methods. Damage to human health and the environment, increased greenhouse effect, lower availability, and higher prices are consequences of fossil fuel consumption that are difficult to manage. The use of renewable energy sources (RES), which have the particularity of being clean and quickly regenerable, is a viable solution due to related technological improvement. The progressive increase in the use of RES entails adopting adequate energy storage systems, so as to better adapt to the variability and uncertainty of power production. As for alternative storage devices, flywheel technology emerges as a suitable candidate, especially when high power density, fast response, and high efficiency
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