PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

location, with intermittent supplies (wind and solar technologies), and auxiliary
supplies (batteries, diesel engines, flywheels and pumped storage systems). The
introduction to this program of methods for generating sustainable fuels derived
from waste and biomass sources and hydrogen from excess electricity, the
definition and matching of transportation demands, and a range of load
following supplies and supplies that use these fuels (engines, turbines, fuel cells,
vehicles, electrolysers, space and water heaters, heat and hot water storage
systems), has greatly increased its functionality and applicability.
The program produced allows half-hourly or more frequent demand profiles to
be chosen or created, and matched with a range of different supply scenarios, in
order to find a range of technically feasible solutions for a given area and range
of supply options. The half-hourly production profiles of sustainable fuels
derived from waste and biomass are modelled using feedstock availability times
and amounts, and easily available manufacturers’ or process data. Any energy
requirements for these processes are also taken into consideration, and halfhourly
profiles for these demands are also created and added to the chosen
demand profiles when matching supply and demand.
Supply technologies that use fuel and/or follow demand are considered after the
chosen demands have been matched with the chosen intermittent supplies. Any
number of these plant types may be chosen for use, and the order in which they
are applied allows different supply strategies to be evaluated. Again, easily
available manufacturers’ data is used in order to estimate the performance of
these supplies, which may be set to different refuelling or operation strategies
(i.e. following the heat demand, electricity demand or both, or used at different
set load percentages at different times of the day and year). The output and
performance of these supplies will, therefore, depend on the residual energy
demands, any excess supplies, and/or appropriate fuel availability. Based on
these factors, the energy supply profiles and required inputs for each technology
chosen can be modelled and used for demand and supply matching.
The matching procedure allows various observations to be made in order to
assess the viability and comparative merits of different supply scenarios, and,
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