A comprehensive techno-economic and power quality analysis of a remote PV-diesel system in Australia

Presently, the world is considering the integration of small, medium and large-scale PV systems into both urban and remote rural electricity networks. This sees a transition towards a 100% renewable energy based electricity supply from the current conventional fossil fuel based electricity supply. Australia has a significant electricity generation potential from solar PV resources which also encourages the uptake of PV-battery hybrid systems. Australian utilities operating in the isolated and remote areas are now seriously considering the integration of solar PV systems as a long-term solution to reduce costs and facilitate sustainable electricity generation. This would also defer expensive grid extension to supply electricity to these dispersed remote communities. This study aims to model and optimise a remote Australian PV-diesel system incorporated with high levels of PV penetration and battery storage and investigate the system power quality issues. The study includes system component optimisation and techno-economic analysis which considers the outcomes regarding the cost of energy (AUD$/kWh), fuel savings potential and environmental impacts. Power quality issues have been explored by analysing the response of fast frequency-responsive (FFR) battery storage. The overall study has found that higher levels of PV penetration integrated with the current diesel operated system provides a comprehensive and efficient electricity supply and FFR Li-ion batteries can mitigate transient power quality issues and maintain system frequency within acceptable limits

Mobile Broadband Possibilities considering the Arrival of IEEE 802.16m & LTE with an Emphasis on South Asia

This paper intends to look deeper into finding an ideal mobile broadband solution. Special stress has been put in the South Asian region through some comparative analysis. Proving their competency in numerous aspects, WiMAX and LTE already have already made a strong position in telecommunication industry. Both WiMAX and LTE are 4G technologies designed to move data rather than voice having IP networks based on OFDM technology. So, they aren't like typical technological rivals as of GSM and CDMA. But still a gesture of hostility seems to outburst long before the stable commercial launch of LTE. In this paper various aspects of WiMAX and LTE for deployment have been analyzed. Again, we tried to make every possible consideration with respect to south Asia i.e. how mass people of this region may be benefited. As a result, it might be regarded as a good source in case of making major BWA deployment decisions in this region. Besides these, it also opens the path for further research and in depth thinking in this issue.Comment: IEEE Publication format, ISSN 1947 5500, http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis

Barriers to Energy Access in the Urban Poor Areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh: Analysis of Present Situation and Recommendations

Energy is a crucial input to promote socioeconomic development. In Bangladesh, about 96 million people (59%) do not have access to electricity and 143 million people (88%) still depend on biomass for cooking. The urban poor living in slum areas with lack of access to clean and modern sources of energy have not been addressed comprehensively. The main objective of this study is to identify the barriers faced by the urban poor in the slum areas of Dhaka in accessing different fuels and provide specific recommendations to overcome the barriers to enable energy access. The study is mainly based on field survey covering 185 households of the four major slum areas of Dhaka, literature review, and stakeholder interviews. Many barriers have been identified through this research where urban poor face problems in accessing legal energy services due to illegal settlement, lack of explicit policy on energy and housing, lack of dedicated institution, the pervasive role of Mastaans, poor infrastructure and lack of monitoring and evaluating system. Barriers specific recommendations are also suggested based on the experiences from the field visit and the best practices outside Bangladesh are also identified. Keywords: Urban poor; Energy access; Energy policy; Slums; Dhaka JEL Classifications: C83; G28; R2

Modelling and Performance Evaluation of ANFIS Controller-Based Bidirectional Power Management Scheme in Plug-in Electric Vehicles Integrated with Electric Grid

A bi-directional power exchange between the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and the AC electrical grid is necessary to perform the Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and Grid to Vehicle (G2V) operations. While performing these operations, different power converters and controllers play an important role as mediators between the PEV and electric grid. Various works have demonstrated the utilization of controllers for PEV’s battery power management. However, the existing conventional controllers have technical shortcomings about vulnerability to controller gain, accurate mathematical modelling, poor adaptability, sluggish response to a sudden outburst and lengthy interval execution processing. Therefore, this paper develops an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) control strategy based bidirectional power management scheme to ensure the optimal electrical power flow exchange between the AC electrical grid and battery storage system in PEVs. This paper aims to reduce the stress on the grid power side and utilize the unused power properly. The performance of the ANFIS model is varied using two PEVs based on real-life power consumptions by different loads at home based on five operational modes. Besides, a comparative analysis between the ANFIS controller and the PI controller is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. The results illustrate that the proposed ANFIS controller delivers a smoother power injection from the PEV to the AC power grid with the least harmonics as well as achieves a smoother battery profile and less distortion when power is absorbed by PEV battery.publishedVersio

Integration of Large-Scale Electric Vehicles into Utility Grid: An Efficient Approach for Impact Analysis and Power Quality Assessment

Electric vehicles (EVs) have received massive consideration in the automotive industries due to their improved performance, efficiency and capability to minimize global warming and carbon emission impacts. The utilization of EVs has several potential benefits, such as increased use of renewable energy, less dependency on fossil-fuel-based power generations and energy-storage capability. Although EVs can significantly mitigate global carbon emissions, it is challenging to maintain power balance during charging on-peak hours. Thus, it mandates a comprehensive impact analysis of high-level electric vehicle penetration in utility grids. This paper investigates the impacts of large-scale EV penetration on low voltage distribution, considering the charging time, charging method and characteristics. Several charging scenarios are considered for EVs’ integration into the utility grid regarding power demand, voltage profile, power quality and system adequacy. A lookup-table-based charging approach for EVs is proposed for impact analysis, while considering a large-scale integration. It is observed that the bus voltage and line current are affected during high-level charging and discharging of the EVs. The residential grid voltage sag increases by about 1.96% to 1.77%, 2.21%, 1.96 to 1.521% and 1.93% in four EV-charging profiles, respectively. The finding of this work can be adopted in designing optimal charging/discharging of EVs to minimize the impacts on bus voltage and line current

Enhancement of Solar PV Hosting Capacity in a Remote Industrial Microgrid: A Methodical Techno-Economic Approach

To meet the zero-carbon electricity generation target as part of the sustainable development goals (SDG7), remote industrial microgrids worldwide are considering the uptake of more and more renewable energy resources, especially solar PV systems. Estimating the grid PV hosting capacity plays an essential role in designing and planning such microgrids. PV hosting capacity assessment determines the maximum PV capacity suitable for the grid and the appropriate electrical location for PV placement. This research reveals that conventional static criteria to assess the PV hosting capacity fail to ensure the grid’s operational robustness. It hence demands a reduction in the theoretical hosting capacity estimation to ensure grid compatible post-fault voltage and frequency recovery. Energy storage technologies, particularly fast-responsive batteries, can potentially prevent such undesirable scenarios; nevertheless, careful integration is required to ensure an affordable cost of energy. This study proposes a novel methodical techno-economic approach for an off-grid remote industrial microgrid to enhance the PV hosting capacity by integrating battery energy storage considering grid disturbance and recovery scenarios. The method has been validated in an industrial microgrid with a 2.6 MW peak demand in a ready-made garment (RMG) factory having a distinctive demand pattern and unique constraints in remote Bangladesh. According to the analysis, integrating 2.5 MW of PV capacity and a 1.2 MVA battery bank to offset existing diesel and grid consumption would result in an energy cost of BDT 14.60 per kWh (USD 0.1719 per kWh). For high PV penetration scenarios, the application of this method offers higher system robustness, and the financial analysis indicates that the industries would not only benefit from positive environmental impact but also make an economic profit

The role of ‘living laboratories’ in accelerating the energy system decarbonization

To decarbonize the energy system by the year 2050, it is crucial that innovations are trialled in a ‘real world’ setting for the purpose of increasing public adoption and support, and for providing insights to decision-makers to ensure their decisions are effective and influential. Together, renewable energy systems, distributed and digitized ‘smart’ energy networks (SEN) provide opportunities to maximize energy efficiency, reduce transmission losses and drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, such integrated Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) are in the early stages of development and the technologies that underpin them lack testbeds where they can be developed and tested in a real-world environment. Here we demonstrate the potential role of one of Europe’s largest ‘at scale’ multi-vector Smart Energy Network Demonstrator—SEND, developed within a ‘living laboratory’ setting that provides the ‘blueprint’ for the development and testing of low-carbon energy technologies on the UK’s journey to net zero. Based on the SEND platform and data, we have developed and demonstrated several novel AI based smart algorithms for intelligent SLES control and management. We are also working with industry partners to develop a digital twin of the smart energy system on our campus

Techno-economic and carbon emission assessment of a large-scale floating solar pv system for sustainable energy generation in support of malaysia’s renewable energy roadmap

Energy generation from renewable sources is a global trend due to the carbon emissions generated by fossil fuels, which cause serious harm to the ecosystem. As per the long-term goals of the ASEAN countries, the Malaysian government established a target of 31% renewable energy generation by 2025 to facilitate ongoing carbon emission reductions. To reach the goal, a large-scale solar auction is one of the most impactful initiatives among the four potential strategies taken by the government. To assist the Malaysian government’s large-scale solar policy as detailed in the national renewable energy roadmap, this article investigated the techno-economic and feasibility aspects of a 10 MW floating solar PV system at UMP Lake. The PVsyst 7.3 software was used to develop and compute energy production and loss estimation. The plant is anticipated to produce 17,960 MWh of energy annually at a levelized cost of energy of USD 0.052/kWh. The facility requires USD 8.94 million in capital costs that would be recovered within a payback period of 9.5 years from the date of operation. The plant is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 11,135.2 tons annually. The proposed facility would ensure optimal usage of UMP Lake and contribute to the Malaysian government’s efforts toward sustainable growth

An innovative planning approach to improve PV integration into remote electricity networks

The deployment and integration of PV systems into conventional type standalone off-grid power supply (SOPS) systems in remote communities have a significant impact on the technical and non-technical aspects of their operations. This poses new challenges for system operators. Deployment of PV and battery systems into SOPS systems thus needs addressing both the technical and non-technical issues of economic, social and environmental factors. This research proposed an innovative planning approach to improve PV integration into diesel-PV-battery based SOPS systems. The study has identified the key technical and non-technical challenges to facilitate the integration of high levels of PV penetration into these systems. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach is used to obtain the views from worldwide experts regarding the planning of diesel-PV-battery based SOPS systems. The results show that the economic criterion is the most important factor followed by technical, environmental and social factors. The outcomes are then applied to a remote Australian SOPS system which establishes a unique research methodology. It is also observed from the analysis that the integration of battery storage technology provides a better techno-economical solution to address the challenges. To eliminate the uncertainties of PV output variability, a short-term PV forecasting mechanism using sky imagery technology has been studied and applied. In doing so, a minute-based energy flow modelling tool is developed and applied to evaluate a SOPS system’s performance. The results show that PV forecasting application allows the system to integrate high levels of PV penetration. Overall, this research provides an insight into the off-grid remote community electrification planning issues. This systematic approach can help the system planners to determine more accurately how much extra PV capacity can be penetrated into remote electricity networks