Towards Efficient Energy Usage at Ain Shams University Campus

In the light of global energy transition to renewable resources and energy efficiency usage, Ain Shams University (ASU) developed an ambitious plan to transform its campus into Green Campus. From an energy perspective, energy consumption data were continuously collected and audited to calculate the university campus carbon footprint. An energy usage strategy was established to tackle various pillars such as electrifying the campuses’ transportation system, improving energy efficiency usage, generating Renewable Energy (RE) for self-consumption, etc. Extensive research has been initiated on electric vehicles, wind and solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy generation with students’ activities/competitions. Thus, electric cars and buses were manufactured at the Faculty of Engineering (FoE) for elderly people and staff movement in ASU campus. Solar PV lighting poles with batteries were installed in the main campus. A small-scale Wind Turbine (WT) is manufactured and installed at the FoE and a pilot solar PV system is installed as well. Currently, an energy efficiency project is under implementation in various buildings/faculties and a parking lot that targets energy efficiency and solar PV energy generation. An energy efficiency measure is under implementation through replacing lamps with LED lamps, installing motion sensors, setting up a control center for monitoring and operation that is supported by Artificial Intelligence decision making algorithms. Rooftop solar PV energy systems are under design with smart meters. The project is targeting energy saving and bill reduction by at least 30% and as a result a reduction of carbon footprint will be achieved following the COP27 recommendations

Life cycle energy and environmental analysis of a microgrid power pavilion

Microgrids—generating systems incorporating multiple distributed generator sets linked together to provide local electricity and heat—are one possible alterative to the existing centralized energy system. Potential advantages of microgrids include flexibility in fuel supply options, the ability to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, and energy efficiency improvements through combined heat and power (CHP) applications. As a case study in microgrid performance, this analysis uses a life cycle assessment approach to evaluate the energy and emissions performance of the NextEnergy microgrid Power Pavilion in Detroit, Michigan and a reference conventional system. The microgrid includes generator sets fueled by solar energy, hydrogen, and natural gas. Hydrogen fuel is sourced from both a natural gas steam reforming operation and as a by-product of a chlorine production operation. The chlorine plant receives electricity exclusively from a hydropower generating station. Results indicate that the use of this microgrid offers a total energy reduction potential of up to 38%, while reductions in non-renewable energy use could reach 51%. Similarly, emissions of CO 2 , a key global warming gas, can be reduced by as much as 60% relative to conventional heat and power systems. Hydrogen fuels are shown to provide a net energy and emissions benefit relative to natural gas only when sourced primarily from the chlorine plant. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55887/1/1223_ftp.pd

Application of DSTATCOM for surplus power circulation in MV and LV distribution networks with single-phase distributed energy resources

Single-phase distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop photovoltaic arrays, are usually installed based on the need and affordability of clients without any regard to the power demand of the connected phase of a three-phase system. It might so happen that the power generation in a particular phase is more than its load demand. This may cause a reverse power flow in a particular phase, especially in a three-phase, four-wire distribution system. If now the load demand in the other two phases is more than their respective generations, then these two phases will see a forward power flow, while there will be a reverse power flow in the third phase. This will create severe unbalance in the upstream network. In this paper, a distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) is used to circulate the excess generation from one phase to the others such that a set of balanced currents flow from or into the upstream network. Two different topologies of DSTATCOM are proposed in this paper for the low and medium voltage feeders. Two different power circulation strategies are developed for this purpose. Furthermore, a suitable feedback scheme is developed for each topology for power converter control. The performance of the proposed topologies and the control schemes for the DSTATCOM is evaluated through computer simulation studies using PSCAD/EMTDC