07.02.2013 Views

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

then be made about the suitability <strong>of</strong> potential supply systems based on<br />

subsequent cost analyses.<br />

• It must be possible to analyse and compare a number <strong>of</strong> potential<br />

combinations quickly and easily.<br />

Along with the temporal pattern <strong>of</strong> demands and supplies, the timing <strong>of</strong> the<br />

production <strong>of</strong> derived fuels must also be taken into account in the design <strong>of</strong><br />

sustainable energy systems. If seasonal energy crops are used, the fuel may be<br />

harvested for two months <strong>of</strong> the year only, and requires to be stored if it is to be<br />

used for the remainder <strong>of</strong> the year. Other sources, such as biogas from<br />

anaerobic digestion or landfill gas, are produced by a steady, continual process,<br />

and biodiesel and ethanol are <strong>of</strong>ten made by batch production processes that can<br />

take from eight hours to five days to complete. These different production rate<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>iles must be compared with demand variation in order to determine daily<br />

and seasonal storage requirements, and to ensure that there is enough fuel at any<br />

given time to meet peak demands. Also, if excess electricity, or electricity from<br />

intermittent renewable sources, is used to generate hydrogen, this production<br />

will be intermittent and unreliable, and again must be compared with demand<br />

for the same reasons. This is further complicated if the fuel is to be used for two<br />

different purposes, for example, the supply <strong>of</strong> heat and as a transportation fuel.<br />

It is, therefore, important to be able to analyse this daily and seasonal production<br />

and use, along with the daily and seasonal demand and supply matching, in<br />

order to assess the suitability and storage requirements <strong>of</strong> different types or<br />

mixes <strong>of</strong> fuel, with different availabilities, for each particular demand and<br />

supply mix.<br />

A program (MERIT) has been developed, which contains some <strong>of</strong> the desired<br />

features described above [1]. This program allows electricity, heat and hot<br />

water demands to be matched with supplies from intermittent sources (wind<br />

turbines, PV cells, PV concentrators and flat plate collectors) and a basic base<br />

load small high-speed diesel generator that can supply electricity and heat.<br />

Auxiliary plant (load following supplies) such as storage devices (batteries,<br />

80

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!