Dynamic Modelling of a solar-based power system for off-grid horticultural projects

Master thesis (2019)

Authors

K. Keshav Krishna Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Contributors

A.H.M. Smets Photovoltaic Materials and Devices - EEMCS (supervisor 1)
Adriano Desideri (supervisor 2)
Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
Copyright: © 2019 Keshav Krishna
Modelling Solar Horticulture
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Published Date

23-09-2019

Language

English

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Abstract

With the rise of population, the world energy demands are increasing. This implies a greater pressure on the horticulture industry to increase its production, thus requiring a high energy intensive setup. Thus, sustainable energy sources will play a crucial part in the transition towards sustainability and reducing the carbon emissions in the horticulture sector.

The Solar PoweRed Horticulture Unit (SPRHOUT) is the first product of SOLHO to
cover the energy requirements of horticultural projects completely off the grid.In this thesis, the original results related to the steady-state and dynamic modelling of the Solar Powered Horticultural Off-Grid UniT (SPRHOUT) developed by SOLHO are outlined. A techno-economic case study is performed for a location in Greece, where SPRHOUT system is compared with a system consisting of PV + gas burner. The preliminary analysis shows that the CAPEX and OPEX of SPRHOUT for a 5 Ha greenhouse is lower as compared to PV + gas burner system mostly due to the cost of batteries.
The second part of the result involved developing a dynamic model based on the
object-oriented programming language, Modelica. The control strategy for the model was analysed for a test case of 1 kW electric load for a location in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with the simulations showing satisfactory performance of the SPRHOUT system.

An economic analysis based on net present value and payback time was also
performed for a scaled up facility having an electrical load of 50 kW. The results compared the NPV with respect to the electric grid prices and an optimum value for the solar field sizing was found for which the NPV was highest. A parametric analysis was also performed for the NPV versus the gas prices which displayed a need for subsidies in the form of carbon tax for which the project is competitive with the current gas prices.