Energy Efficiency and Distributed Generation: A Case Study Applied in Public Institutions of Higher Education

Adriano Faria, Bernardo Alvarenga, Gerley Lemos, Ghunter Viajante, José Luis Domingos and Enes Marra
Additional contact information
Adriano Faria: ENEL Distribution Goiás, Goiânia 74805-180, Brazil
Bernardo Alvarenga: Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Goiânia 74605-010, Brazil
Gerley Lemos: Graduate Program in Sustainable Process Technology Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goiás (IFG), Goiânia 74055-110, Brazil
Ghunter Viajante: Graduate Program in Sustainable Process Technology Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goiás (IFG), Goiânia 74055-110, Brazil
José Luis Domingos: Graduate Program in Sustainable Process Technology Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goiás (IFG), Goiânia 74055-110, Brazil
Enes Marra: Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Goiânia 74605-010, Brazil

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: This study focused on developing a sustainability project carried out in 11 Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Goiás (IFG) campuses wherein energy efficiency and distributed generation actions were developed. Energy consumption was optimized by retrofitting the lighting system, installing a photovoltaic (PV) generation system, quantifying the building efficiency, energy monitoring, training, and qualification, and focusing on the efficient use of electric energy. We first present the Brazilian legislation that regulates the Research and Development Program in the electric energy sector. Then, we describe the case study that was applied to the educational institution. In the lighting system, 18,377 inefficient lamps were replaced by lamps with more efficient technology, with an energy saving of 867.9 MWh/year and a peak demand reduction of 309.6 kW. The proposed generation system aimed to install 3076 PV modules on the roofs of selected campus buildings, totaling 1 MWp of installed power with an average annual power generation of 1736.9 MWh/year. The total project investment was USD 1,348,768.50 and the overall cost–benefit ratio of the project was 0.68, which will result in annual savings of approximately USD 197,321.85. This corresponded to a 58% reduction in energy bills. The project proposed in this work was considered technically and economically viable within the scope of the Brazilian Energy Efficiency Program.

Keywords: sustainability; energy efficiency; distributed generation; photovoltaic systems; renewable source (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/3/1217/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/3/1217/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:3:p:1217-:d:743962

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().