Date of Award

Fall 2021

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering

Keywords

Hybrid renewable energy systems, Vertical-axis continuous adjustment, Net present cost

Supervisor

R. Carriveau

Supervisor

D. S-K. Ting

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Electricity is assumed as a significant driving force in people's lives, ensuring comfort and boosting the quality of life. However, some remote communities have the least access to the national grid due to the far distance to the province's s industrial and electrical sector. The lack of grid connection has led to antiquated methods of power production, which increases reliance on carbon-based fuels and pollutes the atmosphere. This study focuses on the techno-econo-environmental aspects of introducing hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) in three energy-poor islands in Eastern Canada. the proposed HRES have been simulated based on real-time field data of solar irradiation, wind speed, ambient temperature, and load demand during 8760 hours in a year. Chapter II examines Pelee Island's reliable and economical hybrid energy solutions by comparing conventional and state-of-the-art storage technologies, namely 1kWh Lead Acid, 1kWh Li-Ion, 100kWh Li-Ion, and Scenario IV: 2.5 kWh PowerSafe SBS (SBS). The optimization results indicate that 152 kW PV module, 200 kW DG, 190 kW CNV, when integrated with 853 1kWh Li-Ion batteries, have the lowest NPC. Fuel price and irradiance of Lead Acid -based systems have a greater impact on renewable fraction but have a lower effect on LCOE. Chapter III evaluates the ability of grid-connected renewable energy solutions to implement four different PV tracking technologies controlled by two energy management strategies(CC and LF). The assumed sun-tracking PV modules contain horizontal-axis monthly adjustment (HMA), horizontal-axis continuous adjustment (HCA), Vertical-Axis continuous adjustment (VCA), and Dual-axis-tracker (DAT). The results indicate that a CC-controlled system equipped with a vertical-axis PV tracker has the optimal solution. The LF-controlled system with a similar tracker has a higher net present cost (NPC), cost of energy (COE), and renewable fraction by ~$0.02M, ~$0.002/kWh, and 7.6%, respectively. In Chapter IV, techno-economic feasibility evaluation of simultaneous hydrogen and electricity production is discussed in three energy-poor islands in Canada: Pelee, Saint Pierre, and Wolfe Island, all located in separate directions in Eastern Canada. The optimal sizing for the electric load of 50 residential households and hydrogen for 50 fuel cell electric cars will be conducted in each location. The results show that the impact of load value in minimizing NPC is higher than the expected inflation rate. Paying attention to these research findings highly depends on the location and techno-economic data of the energy generation systems.

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