Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

As we move forward, the need to limit our use of non-renewable energy sources is drastically needed. The world is steadily shifting towards Wind and Solar based solutions in order to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and, hence combat the environmental degradation that non-renewable sources are

Project Title

Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

As we move forward, the need to limit our use of non-renewable energy sources is drastically needed. The world is steadily shifting towards Wind and Solar based solutions in order to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and, hence combat the environmental degradation that non-renewable sources are causing. These technologies have moved past their development phases and are becoming financially viable for all states to adapt to. Pakistan has also begun its journey towards replacing its energy sector with Renewable Technology, with new developments in Wind and Solar solutions being studied and implemented throughout the country in the shape of multiple Wind and Solar farms. Pakistan has started working on Wind (2011) and Solar (2014) projects recently, and we will see a change in energy trends sometime soon. Although these solutions hold immense economic benefits and environmental advantages, there still remain numerous problems linked with these technologies. One of the most significant issues with using renewable energy sources for energy production is the intermittency of these sources. Solar technologies run on the Sun’s irradiance, which allow Solar Energy technologies to only produce power during times when there is a sufficient amount of irradiation present, rendering these technologies insufficient during night times and cloudy days. Similarly, Wind Farms can only operate during times when winds have sufficient speeds that are capable of moving the turbine propellers. To fix these issues of intermittency, certain solutions have been adapted by the world. One such solution present to combat this intermittency is the concept of Hybridization through the usage of complementarity which is defined as the inclusion of two or more sources that compensate for the lack of availability of each other. In this manner, the possibility of deploying such hybrid solutions to cater to our energy demands and use the natural and geological conditions to our advantage not only presents a viable answer to environmental degradation, but also combats the issue of intermittency in an economically feasible way. In this project we wish to develop the understanding of RES Hybridization and present an index that allows use to quantify the feasibility of hybridization installations at locations by taking into account the Capacity Factors of Wind and Solar energy present at the locations, the area’s complementarity potential, and it’s land and infrastructure assessment. The locations chosen initially will be pre-existing Wind Farms within Pakistan. The study will allow us to develop an index that can then use the factors discussed above in order to analyze and provide a quantified value of Hybridization Potential for a given location.

Project Objectives

The project aims at addressing the problem of intermittency in power output through the integration of Hybridization within Renewable Energy Generation technologies in Pakistan. The objective is to collect data regarding areas within Pakistan with optimal complementarity between wind and solar energy, the location specific solar and wind capacity factors and the area’s land and infrastructure assessment, through which analysis regarding areas with the highest potential for these Hybrid RESs and, hence, the formation of an index will be done. Apart from that, our goal also revolves around providing economic feasibility reports for the introduction of this technology within Pakistan, including land costs, investment capitals, and maintenance costs. The objectives of the project as are follows:

• To understand the working behind Renewable Energy Generation, in particular Wind and Solar PV technology
• To study the effects of landscape and other geographical factors present within Pakistan on these technologies, including but not limited to –
  • Weather patterns
  • Terrain effects
  • People
  • Existing sociological systems i.e., irrigation systems, agricultural fields, settlements etc.
• To calculate solar and wind capacity factors using variables such as wind speeds and solar irradiance particular to a location in order to generate subsequent power potentials and, hence, the capacity factors for the areas. These metrics will allow the study to tabulate the amount of effective power conversion that can take place within those areas, hence providing data for the amount of power production capacity present in the location.
• To calculate complementarity using coefficients of correlation and other needed indices and metrics such as wind/ solar intensity, both hourly and yearly, potential energy generation, partial energy and amplitude complementarity, load tracking index, output fluctuations, etc.
• To compare weather patterns within Pakistan to areas where hybrid sources of generation already exist such as Europe in order to further accurately map out the feasibility of hybridized technology in Pakistan.
• To document “pro-complementarity” regions within Pakistan and compile an accurate report demarcating areas within Pakistan capable of supporting Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources.
• To assess the land conditions of geographical locations under study in order to carry out infrastructure mapping i.e. pre-existing land utilization, free land space for solar panel installation etc. in regions within Pakistan and compile an accurate report demarcating areas within Pakistan capable of supporting Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources.

Project Implementation Method

The methodology that was chosen to start our feasibility study revolved around a step-by-step analysis of individual factors present at a chosen location in Pakistan. The location chosen was a pre-existent windfarm in Jhimpir, Sindh, managed by Master. The coordinates for the Windfarm were used to map out the location and the infrastructure present within the area, while the turbine and farm specifications were taken from a turbine database and the managing company’s website respectively.

For the ultimate task of developing an index for solar-wind hybridization, our chosen methodology comprised of four steps.

Task 1: Wind Capacity Factor

The Wind Power production varies with time in comparison to the total installed power capacity / rated power of the turbines. In order to quantify this variation, the capacity factor is a good measure to encompass that.

The values of the wind speeds for this formulation have been taken from the ERA5 Dataset which provides hourly average values of meteorological data.

For our initial investigation, the site chosen is the Master Wind Farm in Jhimpir, Sindh. The values for the cut-in, cut-out and rated wind speeds were taken from the specifications for the Wind Turbines installed at the Master Wind farm in Jhimpir. There are a total of 33 Turbines installed in the region, where each turbine has a rated power production capacity of 1.5 MW. Using speeds and formulation, the power generated by each turbine was calculated. This power was then divided by rated power to calculate the Capacity factor.

Task 2: Solar Capacity Factor:

Task 2 also followed a similar methodology to wind calculations. The solar irradiance for this location was obtained from the ERA5 data set. This data set provided us with the Average Solar Irradiance present in the region for the year 2019.

The values for the efficiency and performance ratio were taken for panels manufactured by Canadian Solar, which are the same panels that have been used in Quaid e Azam Solar Park.

Task 3: Complementarity Analysis:

This assessment is based on Pearson’s Correlation coefficient. This coefficient measures the association strength between two variables, with values ranging from ?1 to +1.

Task 4: Index Development:

With the proper analysis of data from the above sources, we aim to develop an index that measures the feasibility of hybridization with respect to the determined features. This index would preferably be from 0 to 1, where a value of 0 would signify negligible Hybridization Potential, while a value of 1 would signify high Hybridization Potential.

Benefits of the Project

The Hybridization of Renewable Energy Sources aims at addressing these key issues of insufficient energy production and combatting the environmental degradation occurring within the world today. Through Hybridization, we will not only be harnessing the power of nature for energy production in order to slowly phase out the use of conventional methods, but will also be inculcation new procedures through which rural areas within countries such as Pakistan may get access to electricity and power. Hybridization will allow us to find newer methods of producing electricity, thereby helping us reduce the ever-growing carbon footprint that conventional methods contribute to. By researching on the feasibility of introducing hybridization within RES’s, we will be able to integrate renewable energy technologies in the remotest of areas to help solve problems related to inaccessibility as well.

The legal issues that may arise through our project revolve around the geographic aspects of Hybridized RESs. Through preliminary research, we observed that due to the vast amount of land that is required to establish renewable energy production plants, many residents within rural areas are hesitant to include this technology as they feel it is counterproductive and intrusive to their ways of life. Modernization comes at a cost, and the cost in this case translates to land which may pass feasibility reports and will then be needed to construct that actual sites of production. Existing areas within Pakistan where Solar PV technologies and Wind farms have already been established have been seen to take up huge amounts of land, the minimum of which has been recorded to use up 100 square feet of land for every 1kW of energy producing solar panels. In order to compensate and help Pakistan reduce its energy dependency on conventional plants, vast amounts of areas will be required.

The benefits, however, that will be brought about by this project outweigh the drawbacks – at the cost of land, Pakistan will finally have an accurate idea as to the potential that is available within its borders to introduce Hybrid Renewable Energy systems, thereby cutting down the amount of contribution of greenhouse gasses and also helping in making energy more accessible to areas that are without it.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deliverable of the project will be in the form of a weighted index integrating all five factors that are studied through out the project. These factors, namely the Solar and Wind Capacity Factors, amount of Complementarity between Solar and Wind in specified regions, and the geographical Land and Infrastructure Assessment of the regions will be used with the above stated formula, thereby giving us a quantified value denoting the percentage of feasibility for the integration of Hybridized Renewable Energy Generation plants. This index value will then be used to determine the size of the power plant that is to be installed, denoting the area demarcated for Solar and Wind Technologies as well as specifying the number of Solar Panels and Wind Turbines required for the maximum production of Energy in the region. Through this, an economic feasibility report will be generated for the plant, which will take into account all the instruments that are to be installed, thereby giving us a specified payback period, LCOE allowed, and the amount of investment that will be required for the installation to take place.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Software System

Core Industry

Energy

Other Industries

Core Technology

Clean Tech

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Action

Required Resources

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