Optimization of a renewable energy plant with seasonal energy storage for the transition towards 100% renewable energy supply

Hilal Bahlawan, Enzo Losi, Lucrezia Manservigi, Mirko Morini, Michele Pinelli, Pier Ruggero Spina and Mauro Venturini

Renewable Energy, 2022, vol. 198, issue C, 1296-1306

Abstract: The exploitation and utilisation of solar energy is challenging because of both diurnal and seasonal variation. Seasonal thermal energy storage is a prominent solution to solve the problem of seasonal variation of solar production. This paper investigates both the optimal design and energy management of a renewable energy plant with seasonal thermal energy storage. As a case study, the thermal, cooling and electrical energy demands of a university campus during one year are considered. Three scenarios, characterized by a different available area (20,555 m2, area covered at present; 50,000 m2, potentially available area by exploiting the entire rooftop and parking area; unlimited area) for solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels are investigated. In the first two scenarios, the exploitation of solar energy allows a primary energy saving of 31% and 57%, respectively compared to the use of a conventional plant. The seasonal storage reaches an overall efficiency (thus considering both charging and discharging) up to 84%. Finally, the analysis of the third scenario shows that the feasibility of meeting the energy demands by only exploiting solar energy is technically challenging because a large area equal to about 100,293 m2 is needed for solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels.

Keywords: Design optimization; Energy management; Renewable energy; Seasonal storage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:198:y:2022:i:c:p:1296-1306

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2022.08.126

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