Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System

The use of diesel generators to provide power for islanded grids has been the technology of choice but they generate substantial carbon emissions unless the part or all the fuel comes from a renewable source. Notwithstanding this, the engine must be sized to meet maximum demand and will operate inef...

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Main Authors: Mustafa E. Amiryar, Keith R. Pullen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/17/3356
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author Mustafa E. Amiryar
Keith R. Pullen
author_facet Mustafa E. Amiryar
Keith R. Pullen
author_sort Mustafa E. Amiryar
collection DOAJ
description The use of diesel generators to provide power for islanded grids has been the technology of choice but they generate substantial carbon emissions unless the part or all the fuel comes from a renewable source. Notwithstanding this, the engine must be sized to meet maximum demand and will operate inefficiently at part load most of the time, which is particularly bad for a synchronous constant speed engine. Given the availability of low cost solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, it is very enticing to fit a diesel generator and allow the engine to be turned off during PV generation. However, this combination will not work without some form of energy storage since it takes time for the engine to start, leading to gaps in supply and instability of the system. Lithium-ion batteries are typically considered to be the best solution to this problem because they have a high response rate, costs are lower, and they are available as products. However, they will suffer from the limited cycle and calendar life due to high cycling requirements in the application described. It is, therefore, proposed that a flywheel system could offer a lower lifetime cost alternative since only short duration bridging power storage is needed and flywheels of appropriate design can offer lower power cost than Lithium-ion battery systems. Flywheels are particularly attractive since they have a very high calendar with almost an infinite cycle life and are fully recyclable at the end of life. This research, therefore, presents an assessment of the flywheel energy storage system (FESS) as an alternative to electrochemical batteries to supplement solar PV systems backed up by diesel generators. The model of an islanded PV system combined with a diesel generator and a FESS supplying power to a residential load is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The results of the analysis for the cases with and without storage based on a number of different charge-discharge strategies provide evidence to support this hypothesis.
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spelling doaj.art-1915eb79327e4057964995e271ac5e972022-12-22T03:10:29ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732019-08-011217335610.3390/en12173356en12173356Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid SystemMustafa E. Amiryar0Keith R. Pullen1School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering at City, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UKSchool of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering at City, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UKThe use of diesel generators to provide power for islanded grids has been the technology of choice but they generate substantial carbon emissions unless the part or all the fuel comes from a renewable source. Notwithstanding this, the engine must be sized to meet maximum demand and will operate inefficiently at part load most of the time, which is particularly bad for a synchronous constant speed engine. Given the availability of low cost solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, it is very enticing to fit a diesel generator and allow the engine to be turned off during PV generation. However, this combination will not work without some form of energy storage since it takes time for the engine to start, leading to gaps in supply and instability of the system. Lithium-ion batteries are typically considered to be the best solution to this problem because they have a high response rate, costs are lower, and they are available as products. However, they will suffer from the limited cycle and calendar life due to high cycling requirements in the application described. It is, therefore, proposed that a flywheel system could offer a lower lifetime cost alternative since only short duration bridging power storage is needed and flywheels of appropriate design can offer lower power cost than Lithium-ion battery systems. Flywheels are particularly attractive since they have a very high calendar with almost an infinite cycle life and are fully recyclable at the end of life. This research, therefore, presents an assessment of the flywheel energy storage system (FESS) as an alternative to electrochemical batteries to supplement solar PV systems backed up by diesel generators. The model of an islanded PV system combined with a diesel generator and a FESS supplying power to a residential load is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The results of the analysis for the cases with and without storage based on a number of different charge-discharge strategies provide evidence to support this hypothesis.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/17/3356flywheel energy storagesolar photovoltaic systembackup diesel generatordynamic modelstandalone hybrid system
spellingShingle Mustafa E. Amiryar
Keith R. Pullen
Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
Energies
flywheel energy storage
solar photovoltaic system
backup diesel generator
dynamic model
standalone hybrid system
title Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
title_full Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
title_fullStr Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
title_short Assessment of the Carbon and Cost Savings of a Combined Diesel Generator, Solar Photovoltaic, and Flywheel Energy Storage Islanded Grid System
title_sort assessment of the carbon and cost savings of a combined diesel generator solar photovoltaic and flywheel energy storage islanded grid system
topic flywheel energy storage
solar photovoltaic system
backup diesel generator
dynamic model
standalone hybrid system
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/17/3356
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