The utility of energy storage to improve the economics of wind–diesel power plants in Canada

Wind energy systems have been considered for Canada's remote communities in order to reduce their costs and dependence on diesel fuel to generate electricity. Given the high capital costs, low-penetration wind–diesel systems have been typically found not to be economic. High-penetration wind–diesel systems have the benefit of increased economies of scale, and displacing significant amounts of diesel fuel, but have the disadvantage of not being able to capture all of the electricity that is generated when the wind turbines operate at rated capacity.Two representative models of typical remote Canadian communities were created using HOMER, an NREL micro-power simulator to model how a generic energy storage system could help improve the economics of a high-penetration wind–diesel system. Key variables that affect the optimum system are average annual wind speed, cost of diesel fuel, installed cost of storage and a storage systems overall efficiency. At an avoided cost of diesel fuel of 0.30 $Cdn/kWh and current installed costs, wind generators are suitable in remote Canadian communities only when an average annual wind speed of at least 6.0 m/s is present. Wind energy storage systems become viable to consider when average annual wind speeds approach 7.0 m/s, if the installed cost of the storage system is less than 1000 $Cdn/kW and it is capable of achieving at least a 75% overall energy conversion efficiency. In such cases, energy storage system can enable an additional 50% of electricity from wind turbines to be delivered.     

Stakeholders’ perspectives on barriers to remote wind–diesel power plants in Canada

Canada has been experimenting with wind–diesel hybrid systems for its remote communities for over 25 years with limited success. This paper discusses the results of a year-long survey that was distributed to stakeholders in wind–diesel systems in remote Canadian communities. These stakeholders include utilities, wind energy technology manufacturers, project developers, researchers, and governments. The analysis shows that there is a strong agreement that capital and operating costs are the most significant barriers to the implementation of wind–diesel systems and that direct project financial incentives, notably production and capital cost incentives designed to reduce these costs are perceived as the most effective way to encourage development. There is a notable disagreement between utilities and governments on one hand, who are split as to the current technical viability of wind–diesel systems, and manufacturers, developers, and researchers on the other, who overwhelmingly believe that wind–diesel systems are mature enough for remote applications.     

Canadian remote community power generation: How reformer and fuel cell systems compare with diesel generators

More than three quarters of Canadian remote communities rely solely on diesel generators for electricity generation. The diesel dependency of remote communities has inflated local per capita greenhouse gas emissions and resulted in rising and inconsistent electricity prices that have made community viability reliant on government subsidies. As the diesel generators approach the end of their lifespan replacement, technologies must be considered that will help transition Canadian remote communities from diesel to renewables. Replacing diesel generators with steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell systems would allow for more efficient diesel generation and would benefit the future implementation of renewable power. A model was generated in Honeywell's UniSim Design Suite to simulate the performance of a diesel fed steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell system. System operating parameters in the model were optimized to minimize the expected payback period. The system model outputs were compared with expected diesel generator performance for a test case remote community. The test community demonstrated that replacing diesel generators with the proposed steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell system would result in annual net efficiency improvements of 32%. The efficiency improvement could potentially translate to reductions in carbon dioxide equivalents of over 258 kt and 20‐year savings of over $450 million if all diesel‐reliant Canadian remote communities switched to steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell systems. In addition to immediate environmental and economic savings, the improved low load performance of the reformer and fuel cell system would allow for the future integration of renewable energy to create highly efficient diesel‐renewable hybrid power plants.     

Factors influencing success of wind-diesel hybrid systems in remote Alaska communities: Results of an informal survey

In 2008, the Alaska State Legislature created and funded the Renewable Energy Fund (REF) grant program. As a result of this significant increase in available funding, the number of wind-diesel hybrid power systems is growing dramatically in rural Alaska. Development, integration, and operation of complex wind technologies in remote, rural communities are challenging. With multiple communities in Alaska installing and operating these systems, it is important to understand the factors that influence successful completion, operation and long-term maintenance of projects. As of December 2013, over $340 million has been spent constructing wind projects in 30 communities. The majority of these systems was built since 2008 and utilized over $50 million in appropriations from the REF by the Alaska legislature. This report summarizes the findings of an informal survey conducted on the most important characteristics of a successful wind-diesel hybrid power project in small remote rural communities. The survey was done to help guide socioeconomic research in Alaska on community capacity to ensure sustainable projects.     

Development of isolated energy systems based on renewable energy sources and hydrogen storage

For the development of the energy infrastructure of remote isolated consumers, an expedient solution is the creation of a modular hybrid energy system based on renewable energy sources, which will save tens of billions of rubles a year by saving expensive diesel fuel. Taking into account the high wind energy resource in these territories, the use of wind power plants as part of that system is justified. The article discusses the methodology for substantiating the parameters and modes of operation of an autonomous wind-diesel power complex based on the territorial-power classification of power supply systems and a 4-level methodology for optimizing parameters, an example of upgrading an existing diesel power plant in the Arkhangelsk region is given. The existing diesel units with a capacity of 1300 kW were replaced by a modular wind-diesel power system with a high renewable penetration level (58%) with four wind turbines with a capacity of 200 kW and a storage system with a capacity of 65 kWh. This made it possible to achieve a diesel fuel replacement share of 232 000 L per year, which in monetary terms in 2021 prices is 25 million rubles per year. As a promising direction, a variant of the territorial development of the energy sector of the Leshukonsky district of the Arkhangelsk region based on wind energy with the possibility of producing up to 100 tons of “green” hydrogen annually is considered. Various options for reducing harmful emissions in the region were considered, the maximum use of local resources allows saving up to 22 000 tons of CO_2e per year.     

Techno-economic analysis of a potential energy trading link between Patagonia and Japan based on CO2 free hydrogen

With regard to the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011 and Japan's goal to reduce CO₂ emission, the Japanese government strives for an emission free “hydrogen society” in which hydrogen will be the primary energy medium. The import of hydrogen generated by means of CO₂ free wind electricity from overseas can be a promising option for Japan's prospective energy supply. Besides different other factors like specific costs of electrolyzers and hydrogen shipment over long distances, the economically reasonable export of hydrogen based on renewable energy requires low levelized costs of electricity. Within the scope of this study, the underlying idea of a hydrogen supply chain is taken up and revisited by means of a spatially highly resolved wind energy potential analysis and a detailed investigation of the supply chain elements between Patagonia and Japan.Our analysis reveals that approximately 25% of the total land area in Patagonia would be eligible. Approx. 33,000 turbines with a minimum number of 4500 full-load hours with an overall capacity of about 115 GW can be positioned. Taking into consideration the related average number of 4750 full-load hours and an electrolysis efficiency of 0.7, this leads to a potential production of about 11.5 million tons/year of hydrogen. So the wind power potential of Patagonia would theoretically be sufficient for the assumed Japanese hydrogen demand of 8.83 million tons/year. The total hydrogen pretax cost would amount to approx. 4.40 €/kg_H2 at a liquid state at the harbor of Yokohama. Hence, the final specific costs of hydrogen in Japan depend on the expansion of wind power in Patagonia and therefore hydrogen based on wind energy can be cost-competitive to conventional fuels.     

Seamless electricity trade between Canada and US Northeast

We analyze how the wholesale electricity market deregulation could modify exchanges between three Canadian regions (Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick) and two US regions (New York and New England), on the base of their loads and available resources when the regulatory change took place in 1997. We find that the pre-1997 exchanges already made possible fuel cost savings of $397.2 million per year while deregulation adds annual savings of $358.7 million. Canadian regions are the main beneficiaries under the assumption that exports are priced at the marginal costs of the importing regions. Imports from the Canadian regions, although significant, are not large enough to lower the marginal costs of the US regions. Hence electricity deregulation across the border should not significantly decrease prices in the US regions although the latter are becoming more dependent upon imports from Canada. Greenhouse gas emissions increase by 4.3 Mt CO₂ eq. in the wake of the open wholesale electricity market because of the low cost of coal, particularly in Ontario. Environmental concerns and the limited availability of additional hydroelectric power in Canada could change the trade patterns as electricity demand continue to grow.     

Combining spatial modeling and choice experiments for the optimal spatial allocation of wind turbines

Although wind power is currently the most efficient source of renewable energy, the installation of wind turbines (WT) in landscapes often leads to conflicts in the affected communities. We propose that such conflicts can be mitigated by a welfare-optimal spatial allocation of WT in the landscape so that a given energy target is reached at minimum social costs. The energy target is motivated by the fact that wind power production is associated with relatively low CO₂ emissions. Social costs comprise energy production costs as well as external costs caused by harmful impacts on humans and biodiversity. We present a modeling approach that combines spatially explicit ecological–economic modeling and choice experiments to determine the welfare-optimal spatial allocation of WT in West Saxony, Germany. The welfare-optimal sites balance production and external costs. Results indicate that in the welfare-optimal allocation the external costs represent about 14% of the total costs (production costs plus external costs). Optimizing wind power production without consideration of the external costs would lead to a very different allocation of WT that would marginally reduce the production costs but strongly increase the external costs and thus lead to substantial welfare losses.     

The performance of a remote wind–diesel power system

The collection and analysis of 6 months of continuously recorded field data from a small remote wind–diesel power system at a coastal farm site is reported. The power system and the data acquisition unit are described and the performance characteristics of the major components discussed. Analysis of the field data has led to a number of recommendations for possible improvement in component sizing and control strategy. The siting of the turbine is excellent by international standards and the annual wind energy produced is greater than the demand. However, almost a fifth of the wind energy generated has to be dumped due to the short-term oversupply of power and over one-quarter of the total energy supplied still comes from the diesel generator as a result of transient energy deficits. An operational strategy that can deal with this paradox of alternating supply and demand excesses could lead to further operational improvements.     

Global analysis of the techno-economic potential of renewable energy hybrid systems on small islands

Globally, small islands below 100,000 inhabitants represent a large number of diesel based mini-grids. With volatile fossil fuel costs which are most likely to increase in the long-run and competitive renewable energy technologies the introduction of such sustainable power generation system seems a viable and environmental friendly option. Nevertheless the implementation of renewable energies on small islands is quite low based on high transaction costs and missing knowledge according to the market potential.Our work provides a global overview on the small island landscape showing the respective population, economic activity, energy demand, and fuel costs for almost 1800 islands with approximately 20 million inhabitants currently supplied by 15 GW of diesel plants. Based on these parameters a detailed techno-economic assessment of the potential integration of solar PV, wind power, and battery storage into the power supply system was performed for each island. The focus on solar and wind was set due to the lack of data on hydro and geothermal potential for a global island study. It revealed that almost 7.5 GW of photovoltaic and 14 GW of wind power could be economically installed and operated on these islands reducing the GHG-emissions and fuel consumption by approximately 50%. In total numbers more than 20 million tons of GHG emissions can be reduced by avoiding the burning of 7.8 billion liters of diesel per year. Cost savings of around 9 USDct/kWh occur on average by implementing these capacities combined with 5.8 GWh of battery storage. This detailed techno-economic evaluation of renewable energies enables policy makers and investors to facilitate the implementation of clean energy supply systems on small islands. To accelerate the implementation of this enormous potential we give specific policy recommendations such as the introduction of proper regulations.     

Feasibility study of wind-to-hydrogen system for Arctic remote locations – Grimsey island case study

Today a lot of Arctic remote communities rely on electrical energy produced by diesel generators. This type of energy is very expensive as apart from high fuel prices, the transportation costs to the remote location, also need to be added. The goal of this study is to evaluate an application of the wind turbines combined with the hydrogen energy storage system for supporting existing diesel infrastructure on the example of Grimsey island (Iceland). HOMER Energy Microgrid Power Design software is used to perform energy balance simulations and to optimise the size of the system components. The statistical data about electrical energy consumption and wind resources on Grimsey are used as a case study. The results indicate that proposed system infrastructure might be a feasible solution and the payback period of below 4 years was estimated for the optimal system configuration.     

Optimization of diesel engine performances for a hybrid wind–diesel system with compressed air energy storage

Electricity supply in remote areas around the world is mostly guaranteed by diesel generators. This relatively inefficient and expensive method is responsible for 1.2 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in Canada annually. Some low- and high-penetration wind-diesel hybrid systems (WDS) have been experimented in order to reduce the diesel consumption. We explore the re-engineering of current diesel power plants with the introduction of high-penetration wind systems together with compressed air energy storage (CAES). This is a viable alternative to major the overall percentage of renewable energy and reduce the cost of electricity. In this paper, we present the operative principle of this hybrid system, its economic benefits and advantages and we finally propose a numerical model of each of its components. Moreover, we are demonstrating the energy efficiency of the system, particularly in terms of the increase of the engine performance and the reduction of its fuel consumption illustrated and supported by a village in northern Quebec.     

A feasibility study of hybrid wind power systems for remote communities

Global warming, climate change and the recent global financial crisis have emphasised the need for reducing carbon emissions whilst also ensuring economic feasibility. This study addresses this topic by investigating the technical and economic feasibility of replacing diesel power generation with hybrid wind power systems in remote communities. For this purpose, the economic, technical and environmental characteristics of eight different hybrid wind power systems were established and compared in respect to their performance in the isolated community of French Island (Victoria, Australia). The results obtained in this study demonstrated the economic and environmental superiority of the hybrid wind–diesel–battery system over all other systems studied in this project. This system was found to have the lowest net present cost and cost per kWh among the modelled systems. Furthermore, the results clearly indicated that hybrid wind power systems are, in general, a feasible and preferable alternative to diesel power generation on the French Island. The research methodology and procedure that were developed in this project can be used to investigate and identify the most viable hybrid power system for other remote communities based on their specific environmental, social and economic circumstances.     

Rural area power supply in Nigeria: A cost comparison of the photovoltaic, diesel/gasoline generator and grid utility options

A large proportion of the population of Nigeria reside in the rural communities. In this work, the financial costs of providing centralized (photovoltaic) PV generating system of various capacities—to satisfy different load requirements—in a remote village in Nigeria is compared with the cost of grid extension over a distance of 1.8 km. Comparison is also made with the centralised diesel generator power supply option. In addition, the costs of decentralised PV home systems are compared with those of decentralised gasoline generator systems. For all the systems, the initial capital costs and the life cycle costs over a 20-year life cycle are reported. Sensitivity analysis was performed using variations in module costs, diesel fuel prices and grid extension distance. The results suggest that PV has a remarkable potential as a cost-effective option for low-power electrical energy supply to the rural communities in the country.     

Understanding the variability of wind power costs

Wind power has a significant contribution to make in efforts to abate CO₂ emissions from global energy systems. Currently, wind power generation costs are approaching parity with costs attributed to conventional, carbon-based sources of energy but the economic advantage still rests decidedly with conventional sources. Therefore, there is an imperative to ensure that wind power projects are developed in the most economically optimal fashion. For wind power project developers, shaving a few tenths of a cent off of the kilowatts per hour cost of wind power can mean the difference between a commercially viable project and a non-starter. For civic authorities who are responsible for managing municipally supported wind power projects, optimizing the economics of such projects can attenuate stakeholder opposition. This paper attempts to contribute to a better understanding of how to economically optimise wind power projects by conflating research from the fields of energy economics, wind power engineering, aerodynamics, geography and climate science to identify critical factors that influence the economic optimization of wind power projects.     

Subsidised Solar Lighting: The Only Option for 1 Billion People

Remote rural communities in developing countries are at a similar economic stage of development as was the developed world more than 100 years ago when electricity was used for more than 50 years for lighting and radio only. Not until people could afford refrigerators did electricity demand grow. Without direct capital subsidies by governments and cross subsidies by utilities the developed world would not be as developed as it currently is and certainly not those communities outside major cities and towns. Many rural areas in the developed world would be in a similar energy plight to those currently in the developing world! There currently is no technology that can meet a subsidy free energy supply anywhere in remote rural communities. The least cost option to meet the basic energy needs for the remote developing world is a properly designed solar system (systems designed up to an availability level not down to a price). To supply the one billion people without access to electricity would cost about US$112 billion (2005 $) in total subsidies using solar. But this will be less than the US$450 billion (2005) subsidy to meet their basic lighting needs using diesel energy.The user pays principle might work for McDonalds but 20 years working in developing countries has clearly demonstrated that there is something dramatically wrong with the current economic paradigms where basic infrastructure is required. It should not be the Private Sector that funds the development of remote rural lighting, they have demonstrated that they can only deliver too little too late, but the Public sector through their existing utilities with government direct subsidies if another generation is not to be lost to development. To demonstrate the need for a paradigm shift, over the past 20 years I have implemented and installed solar projects worth more than US$100million in many developing countries, but none with their utilities or energy departments. All the projects have been with rural development authorities that recognised the immediate need of their constituents and were not at all fussed by the concept of subsidisation. They actually know what it was like on the ground. Something that many energy authorities and utilities I fear have no idea about.     

Integrating power systems for remote island energy supply: Lessons from Mykines,Faroe Islands

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities facing the installation of a hybrid hydrogen-renewable energy system in a remote island area disconnected from any main power grid. Islands with strong wind energy potential have the potential to become self-sufficient energy generating hubs that may even export electricity or hydrogen. This study has tested whether the combination of wind and hydrogen can replace a diesel generator on one of the Faroe Islands, Mykines. The comparison is based on an evaluation of each power system's costs, efficiency, environmental impact and suitability for the Mykines. The findings from this research can help inform those seeking to design 100% renewable energy systems for remote areas, and in particular islands. Furthermore, our comparison has value for those seeking to optimize the integration of wind turbines with hydrogen energy systems.     

Comparative life-cycle assessment of a small wind turbine for residential off-grid use

As the popularity of renewable energy systems grows, small wind turbines are becoming a common choice for off-grid household power. However, the true benefits of such systems over the traditional internal combustion systems are unclear. This study employs a life-cycle assessment methodology in order to directly compare the environmental impacts, net-energy inputs, and life-cycle cost of two systems: a stand-alone small wind turbine system and a single-home diesel generator system. The primary focus for the investigation is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) including CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O. These emissions are calculated over the life-cycle of the two systems which provide the same amount of energy to a small off-grid home over a twenty-year period. The results show a considerable environmental benefit for small-scale wind power. The wind generator system offered a 93% reduction of GHG emissions when compared to the diesel system. Furthermore, the diesel generator net-energy input was over 200 MW, while the wind system produced an electrical energy output greater than its net-energy input. Economically, the conclusions were less clear. The assumption was made that diesel fuel cost over the next twenty years was based on May 2008 prices, increasing only in proportion to inflation. As such, the net-present cost of the wind turbine system was 14% greater than the diesel system. However, a larger model wind turbine would likely benefit from the effects of the ‘economy of scale,’ producing superior results both economically and environmentally.     

Life Cycle Analysis of wind–fuel cell integrated system

After ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, Canada’s Kyoto greenhouse gas (GHG) emission target is 571 Mt of CO₂ equivalent emitted per year by 2010; however, if current emission trends continue, a figure of 809 Mt is projected by 2010 (Cote C. Basic of clean development mechanism—joint implementation and overview of CDM project cycle, 2003 regional workshop on CDM-JI, February 2003, Halifax). This underscores the need for additional reduction of 240 Mt. The Federal Government Action Plan 2000 aims to reduce this gap from 240 to 65 Mt (Cote C. Basic of clean development mechanism—joint implementation and overview of CDM project cycle, 2003 regional workshop on CDM-JI, February 2003, Halifax). In order to accomplish this goal, renewable energy use in all sectors will be required, and this type of energy is particularly applicable in power generation. Traditional power generation is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after industrial and transportation sectors (Environment Canada. Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–1998. Final submission to the UNFCCC Secretariat, 2002 [Available from: http://www.ec.gc.ca/climate/resources_reportes-e.html]. Although wind energy, solar power and other forms of renewable energy are non-GHG emitting in their operation, there are GHG emissions in their different stages of life cycle (i.e. material extraction, manufacturing, construction and transportation, etc.). These emissions must be accounted for in order to assess accurately their capacity to reduce GHG emission and meet Kyoto targets. The current trend in electricity generation is towards integrated energy systems. One such proposed system is the wind–fuel cell integrated system for remote communities. This paper presents a detailed Life Cycle Analysis of the wind–fuel cell integrated system for application in Newfoundland and Labrador.The study confirms that wind–fuel integrated system is a zero emission system while in operation. There are significant emissions of GHGs during the production of the various components (wind turbine, fuel cell and electrolyzer). However, the global warming potential (GWP) of wind-integrated system is far lower (at least by two orders of magnitude) than the conventional diesel system, presently used in remote communities.     

The feasibility of renewable energies at an off-grid community in Canada

Three renewable energy technologies (RETs) were analyzed for their feasibility for a small off-grid research facility dependent on diesel for power and propane for heat. Presently, the electrical load for this facility is 115 kW but a demand side management (DSM) energy audit revealed that 15–20% reduction was possible. Downsizing RETs and diesel engines by 15 kW to 100 kW reduces capital costs by $27 000 for biomass, $49 500 for wind and $136 500 for solar.The RET Screen International 4.0^® model compared the economical and environmental costs of generating 100 kW of electricity for three RETs compared to the current diesel engine (0 cost) and a replacement ($160/kW) diesel equipment. At all costs from $0.80 to $2.00/l, biomass combined heat and power (CHP) was the most competitive. At $0.80 per liter, biomass’ payback period was 4.1 years with a capital cost of $1800/kW compared to wind's 6.1 years due to its higher initial cost of $3300/kW and solar's 13.5 years due to its high initial cost of $9100/kW. A biomass system would reduce annual energy costs by $63 729 per year, and mitigate GHG emissions by over 98% to 10 t CO₂ from 507 t CO₂. Diesel price increases to $1.20 or $2.00/l will decrease the payback period in years dramatically to 1.8 and 0.9 for CHP, 3.6 and 1.8 for wind, and 6.7 and 3.2 years for solar, respectively.