A Techno-economic feasibility study of a green energy initiative for a university campus (original) (raw)
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Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 2022
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Optimization of an Autonomous Hybrid Power System for an Academic Institution
European Journal of Engineering Research and Science, 2020
The epileptic power supply in Nigeria is enormously impeding universities’ administrative, academic, and research activities. The diesel generators on which most of these institutions rely as alternative power sources during grid failures are not viable solutions as the grid outage is incessant and the duration usually lasts for hours, at times for days. The effects of these are high running costs and increased environmental pollution. If normal activities in the universities are to continue unhindered and to reduce the health risks associated with the fossil-based generators, there is the need to explore other alternatives such as utilizing the environmentally-friendly, free and abundant renewable resources to meet their electricity demands. The present study uses Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) to evaluate two different configurations of a stand-alone diesel generator (DG) system and a hybrid solar photovoltaic(PV)-diesel generator(DG)-battery energy stora...
Techno-Economic Evaluation of a Hybrid Energy System for an Educational Institution: A Case Study
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This study evaluates the technical, economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy resources (RER) for electricity supply to large size buildings in an educational institution. The cost of energy generation coupled with the epileptic power supply has led to the demand for an alternative source of energy supply to an education institution in Nigeria. The essence of renewable energy generation is becoming more glaring and a hybrid energy system (HES) is believed to deliver efficient and sustainable energy for the institutions; this paper aims to analyse the techno-economic assessment of a HES design setup at the College of Engineering, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti for powering the university buildings; this grid connected system was assessed with various system configurations was simulated using hybrid optimization model for electric renewables (HOMER) software and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) with the consideration of the HES benefits was developed. The results o...
Energy Optimization of Power Station for a Small Research Institute
International Journal of Energy Optimization and Engineering, 2013
Renaissance University, Agbani has a research institute with internet facility that accommodates 200 computers for student training, research and browsing. This facility becomes impossible to run due to the inability of the public utility to provide steady, reliable and efficient power. A 250KVA generating set was denoted by the school Administration and latter installed for this facility. After the installation, the facility cut off from public utility and depends wholly on Diesel generator. From experience with the performance of the existing generating sets as regards emissions and operating costs due to high cost of maintenance and diesel, a hybrid system (Diesel-Solar PV) was proposed. This paper investigates and analyzes the economic and environmental benefits of the proposed project to existing diesel generator. From the analyses, the proposed system (solar PV-diesel) has less total net present cost and less emission as a result of less fuel consumption and higher efficiency operation of the diesel genset when compared to the existing system (diesel only).
Economic and environmental analysis of a grid-connected hybrid power system for a University Campus
Bulletin of the National Research Centre
Background The generation of clean and affordable energy by 2030 is a challenging task, necessitating the integration of renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal, crude oil, and natural gas. This study examines the optimization and performance analysis of a hybrid microgrid for a university campus as a potential solution to achieve this goal. The primary objective is to decrease the cost of energy and reduce CO2 emissions on the campus using a hybrid approach. Results The Howard college campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) was used as a case study, with meteorological data obtained from NASA and real hourly electrical load data for 2019 from the university smart meters. HOMER, an optimization software, was employed to model and simulate the case study. The results demonstrated significant savings of R15.7 million (approximately $ 820 000) in annual utility bills, a 51% reduction in CO2 emissions, a return on investment of 20%, and ...
Optimization of Stand-Alone Renewable Energy Facilities Inside an Academic Premises
2020
Energy conservation and carbon-dioxideemissions revamp energy management initiatives in institutions. Renewable energy powered equipment are employed to achieve this task. This paper integrates an energy mixture facility using heuristic techniques for allocating renewable energy facilities to power street lamps installed in academic premises. A case study is done on a college campus to analyze the feasibility of improved Hybrid optimization using genetic algorithm (iHOGA). The iHOGA offers simple steps and provides more allocation plans to satisfy minimum net-present cost (NPC), minimum carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, and minimum unmet load (UL). The results demonstrate that the best solution obtained for solving multi-objective optimization considering three objectives include the exploitation of both solar and wind energy.
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Hybrid renewable energy systems are a promising technology for clean and sustainable development. In this paper, an intelligent algorithm, based on a genetic algorithm (GA), was developed and used to optimize the energy management and design of wind/PV/tidal/ storage battery model for a stand-alone hybrid system located in Brittany, France. This proposed optimization focuses on the economic analysis to reduce the total cost of hybrid system model. It suggests supplying the load demand under different climate condition during a 25-years interval, for different possible cases and solutions respecting many constraints. The proposed GA-based optimization approach achieved results clear highlight its practicality and applicability to any hybrid power system model, including optimal energy management, cost constraint, and high reliability.
Hybrid solar, wind, and energy storage system for a sustainable campus: A simulation study
Science and Technology for Energy Transition
The reliance on grid electricity generated from fossil fuels in many countries continues to contribute to annual CO2 emissions. Implementing renewable energy systems helps reduce the carbon footprint and enhances local grid stability, particularly in areas with high demand where power outages are frequent. This study used the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software to determine the most cost-effective composition of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES). Simulation results indicate that a system comprising a 3007 PV array, two 1.5 MW wind turbines, and a 1927 kW converter is most suitable. Combining solar panels and wind turbines remains the most economically feasible option for on-site electricity production. The study demonstrates that installing a hybrid renewable energy system is viable on an academic campus, with an initial investment cost of US 6.58millionandyearlyoperationalcostsofUS6.58 million and yearly operational costs of US 6.58millionandyearlyoperationalcostsofUS1.38 million, which is 40.8% lower than the current syst...
Multi-objective optimization tools using genetic algorithms (GAs) are being increasingly used for improving building performances and sustainability. However, few studies focus on district-scale solutions. Here, a multi-objective optimization method using GAs was applied in order to help decision makers find the optimal energy mix of a district energy system in the preliminary design phase. The new Albano Campus in Stockholm was used as a case-study. Having a wide range of energy systems as design variables, three objectivefunctions were to be minimized: the lifecycle costs; the annual greenhouse gas emissions; and the annual non-renewable primary energy consumption. The district energy balance is calculated using a steady-state method with an hourly resolution. The optimization processwas implemented on MOBO, a multiobjective optimization tool based on GAs. The findings include understanding the trade-offs among the three objectives and a selection of energy supply systems to investigate in the detailed design phase.
Optimal Design and Operation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Oakland University
This research paper presents a comprehensive study on the optimal planning and design of hybrid renewable energy systems for microgrid (MG) applications at Oakland University. The HOMER Pro platform analyzes the technical economic and environmental aspects of integrating renewable energy technologies. The research also focuses on the importance of addressing unmet load in the MG system design to ensure the university's electricity demand is always met. By optimizing the integration of various renewable energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), energy storage system (ESS), combined heat and power (CHP), and wind turbine energy (WT), the study aims to fulfill the energy requirements while reducing reliance on traditional grid sources and achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed MG configurations are designed to be scalable and flexible, accommodating future expansions, load demands changes, and technological advancements without costly...