Improving the Utilization Factor of Islanded Renewable Energy Systems
Abstract
Although all energy produced by grid-tied renewable energy systems can be delivered to the grid for consumption by a wide user base, energy delivered by an islanded renewable energy system is limited by the time varying consumption of those served. A set of metrics is proposed to better evaluate this impact on the economic value of the system. This impact can be very significant in developing countries. Smart systems can reduce energy consumption during periods of high demand through load shedding, but this technology is expensive and unproven in the context of a developing country. Smart systems typically do not add loads during periods of low demand, partly due to the incremental cost of electrical energy from non-renewables. A prioritized dump load control scheme is proposed that strategically diverts excess energy in a 100% renewable energy system to a set of loads useful to the community, first to satisfy the needs of the most valuable use, then to the next most valuable use, etc. A low cost architecture including hardware and software is introduced as a means to implement this scheme, appropriate in the context of developing communities so their economies can more rapidly evolve.