Renewable energies, and among them solar photovoltaics, are becoming more important in the last years due to the lack of fossil fuels and the environmental impact of them. PV installed capacity is increasing over and over in some countries and the prices of the installation are decreasing while the prices of the electricity are predicted to increase. Electricity use in buildings account for an important part of all electricity use in the world. This two facts make the PV installation in the rooftops of buildings a good opportunity to reduce the purchase of electricity from the grid.   The aim of the thesis is to analyze the profitability and the environmental impact (when using a hot water accumulator) of a PV system with different storage systems placed in the rooftop of two dwellings located in Gävle (Sweden). The storage systems can be either batteries or hot water accumulators. The purpose of the storage system is to increase the self-consumption rate of the PV system and to save the highest amount of money possible. It is also studied the difference of installing PbA and Li-ion batteries, and the reliability of the data used in the simulation of the alternative systems with the help of the software PVsyst.   Results show that the profitability of the proposed three alternative PV systems with storage is not higher than the PV system without storage. The reason for this has been found in the low prices of electricity and DH nowadays. Moreover, the impact of decreasing the heating demand from DH network does not benefit the environment, because the electricity has to be produced in power plants that produce more pollutants. It can be said also that the data obtained in PVsyst has been determined reliable and that the difference between the two types of batteries is not conclusive.   It can be concluded that if the cost of the PV systems or the batteries would decrease, the profitability will be higher. Furthermore, the increase in the price of electricity, DH or governmental subsidies would improve the results.

MBA Professional Report / The purpose of this MBA Project is to review existing policy of the Federal Energy Management Program under the purview of National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL) for Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs). This project will assess the ability for the Department of Defense to incorporate emerging technologies in alternative energy to supplement or replace existing power sources for DoD installations within the current Energy Savings Performance Contract policy. To do this the project will review previous and existing Energy Savings Performance Contracts. Further, this project will conduct a cost-benefit analysis of conventional power versus emerging photovoltaic energy for the Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. The project will also analyze energy demands based on a new force alignment at Fort Bliss in accordance with the recent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) findings. The project will review current Energy Performance Contract Policy and recommend changes to allow for the use of emerging alternative energy technologies.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to investigate different outcomes of the usage of photovoltaic (PV) power for electric vehicle (EV) charging adjacent to workplaces. In the investigated case, EV charging stations are assumed to be connected to photovoltaic systems as well as the electricity grid. The model used to simulate different scenarios is based on a goal of achieving constant power exchange with the grid by adjusting EV charging to a solar irradiance forecast. The model is implemented in MATLAB. This enables multiple simulations for varying input parameters. Data on solar irradiance are used to simulate the expected PV power generation. Data on driving distances are used to simulate hourly electricity demands of the EVs at the charging stations. A sensitivity analysis, based on PV irradiance that deviates from the forecast, is carried out. The results show what power the grid needs to have installed capacity for if no PV power system is installed. Furthermore, appropriate PV power installation sizes are suggested. The suggestions depend on whether the aim is to achieve 100 percent self-consumption of PV generated power or full PV power coverage of charging demands. For different scenarios, PV power installations appropriate for reducing peak powers on the grid are suggested. The sensitivity analysis highlights deviations caused by interference in solar irradiance.

According to the International Energy Agency 2016 statistics, Ethiopia is among the lowest countries in annual electricity consumption, 70 KWh/capita. Rural areas hold more than 80% of the country’s population and less than 30% of them have been electrified. Most of the population (the rural areas) still predominantly depend on traditional biomass energy sources for cooking and heating, and household lights are provided mainly by kerosene and biomass including this study area, Tadacha Rarasa, which consist of 4100 households with 6 members, totally 24,600 people[1, 2]. The feasibility study of hybrid system consisting of small Hydro, PV, Wind and Battery is carried out using HOMER as a tool for optimization and sensitivity analysis. TURBNPRO software also assists for the optimization of the small hydropower which is suggested to utilize the 2.2 m3/s ecological flow of the Genale 3 multipurpose hydropower plant’s reservoir. The wind speed and solar radiation data of the site is collected from NASA. Then, the wind speed, solar radiation, electric load and hydro data is input to HOMER in their respective appropriate format for simulation and analysis of the proposed hybrid system.  Electric loads of the community is estimated bearing in mind the irrigation, fishery and other opportunities which will arise after the multipurpose project completion in addition to basic household demands. The daily average estimated residential consumption by each family is 9.118 kWh and the daily average total energy consumption per person is 1.872 kWh.   After optimization and sensitivity analysis using HOMER, several different feasible configurations of Hydro, PV, Wind and Battery hybrid system has been displayed with a range of 0.049 to 0.067 $/kWh cost of energy. The optimum configuration becomes Hydro/PV/Battery hybrid system with 0.049 $/kWh levelized COE which is closer to the national energy tariff, 0.032 USD/kWh. The optimum Hydro/PV/Battery hybrid system generates annually 18,647,372 kWh with 0.18% capacity shortage and 0.15% unmet load. The hydropower supports the base load and the PV supplies for the peak load demand in the daytime which shares 19% of the total electric production.

In this work a spectrum splitting micro-scale concentrating PV system is evaluated to increase the conversion efficiency of flat panel PV systems. In this approach, the dispersed spectrum splitting concentration systems is scaled down to a small size and structured in an array. The spectrum splitting configuration allows the use of separate single bandgap PV cells that increase spectral overlap with the incident solar spectrum. This results in an overall increase in the spectral conversion efficiency of the resulting system. In addition other benefits of the micro-scale PV system are retained such reduced PV cell material requirements, more versatile interconnect configurations, and lower heat rejection requirements that can lead to a lower cost system. The system proposed in this work consists of two cascaded off-axis holograms in combination with a micro lens array, and three types of PV cells. An aspherical lens design is made to minimize the dispersion so that higher concentration ratios can be achieved for a three-junction system. An analysis methodology is also developed to determine the optical efficiency of the resulting system, the characteristics of the dispersed spectrum, and the overall system conversion efficiency for a combination of three types of PV cells.

Most of the world’s electricity is being generated through conventional sources of energy like coal and nuclear. People are realizing the dire effect of using these fuels, and the amount of CO2 being released into the environment. Therefore, in recent year there has been a shift in emphasis towards cleaner ways of generating electricity. One such recent trend is solar photovoltaics (PV), which has seen rapid growth over the years. This ever-increasing trend of adopting PV system allows consumers to be producers or “Prosumers”. Due to the irregular production capability of solar PV, the need for an energy storage system like a battery bank is on the rise as well. This report evaluates how solar PV can be used in combination with a battery bank to supply the annual electricity demand for a household with little to no support from the grid. The building is assumed to be located in Bangalore, India. The energy demand for the household is estimated based on the requirements of a basic Indian house standard. The size and configuration of each component have been done with regards to the total load demand. Furthermore, the cost of the whole system is estimated in order to evaluate the feasibility of the grid-tied system from an economic perspective. The results show that a PV system consisting of four 270W solar panels, a battery bank of eight150Ah lead-acid batteries and a 48V 4kW inverter is required to meet the annual energy demand of the house. The results show that from a technical standpoint, the above-mentioned technology is feasible. The results from the economic evaluation show that the localized cost of energy(LCOE) for the system is ₹6.01/kWh or € 0.078/kWh or 0.84SEK/kWh and the payback time for the given system is 16.19 years. On the bright side, there are new technological advancements in the PV field every day, which could mean that an energy system of this type can be an achievable and practical alternative. Most of the world’s electricity is being generated through conventional sources of energy like coal and nuclear. People are realizing the dire effect of using these fuels, and the amount of CO2 being released into the environment. Therefore, in recent year there has been a shift in emphasis towards cleaner ways of generating electricity. One such recent trend is solar photovoltaics (PV), which has seen rapid growth over the years. This ever-increasing trend of adopting PV system allows consumers to be producers or “Prosumers”. Due to the irregular production capability of solar PV, the need for an energy storage system like a battery bank is on the rise as well. This report evaluates how solar PV can be used in combination with a battery bank to supply the annual electricity demand for a household with little to no support from the grid. The building is assumed to be located in Bangalore, India. The energy demand for the household is estimated based on the requirements of a basic Indian house standard. The size and configuration of each component have been done with regards to the total load demand. Furthermore, the cost of the whole system is estimated in order to evaluate the feasibility of the grid-tied system from an economic perspective. The results show that a PV system consisting of four 270W solar panels, a battery bank of eight 150Ah lead-acid batteries and a 48V 4kW inverter is required to meet the annual energy demand of the house. The results show that from a technical standpoint, the above-mentioned technology is feasible. The results from the economic evaluation show that the localized cost of energy (LCOE) for the system is ₹6.01/kWh or € 0.078/kWh or 0.84SEK/kWh and the payback time for the given system is 16.19 years. On the bright side, there are new technological advancements in the PV field every day, which could mean that an energy system of this type can be an achievable and practical alternative.

The goal of this study is to evaluate Swedish photovoltaic systems regarding energy production from two different years and compare the gathered data with results from a model simulating optimal conditions. This is done to investigate how the energy production differs between each year, why there are differences, and also to evaluate the simulation tools compared to the real production data. A good way to measure performance is to calculate the specific yield, that is the energy produced per unit of installed power (kWh/kWp). In order to complete this study, a literature study was made to investigate reasons for potential variations in PV system yield. Besides that, the production data from 2373 PV systems in Sweden were collected from different databases, and the data were sorted and compiled in order to calculate specific yield (kWh/kWp). The total number of PV systems after sorting was 828 for the 2017-2018 data and 1380 systems for the 2018 data. Data from real PV system production was compared with calculations performed in two simulation tools, PVGIS and PVsyst. Differences in calculation methods were investigated for performance evaluations between the two programs, and also for comparison with the real plant data. The results showed that the average specific yield for Sweden as a whole, to be 798 kWh/kWp for 2017. For 2018 with the results where 890 kWh/kWp when looking at the exact same plants as for 2017. This is an increase of 11,5%. For the simulation tools the results where 974 kWh/kWp for PVGIS, and 978 for PVsyst for an optimized system. Larger variations in specific yield occurs between every of the 21 counties in Sweden. The solar irradiations show significant correlations to the variations of the 2017 and 2018 specific yield data. Differences between the production data from the two years and the simulation tools wereinvestigated further. Reasons for this was discussed to be because of orientations of the panels and shading of the panels. Real PV systemsdiffer in orientation and the amount of shadowing from the simulated calculations.

In order to fulfil the goals set by EU and in the Swedish energy agreement an increased share of renewable electricity production, like wind and solar power, is necessary. Due to current legislations photovoltaic (PV) installations are usually limited to the 255 kWp energy taxation rule, or to fit the consumption profile of the building. There is also an uncertainty regarding subsidies from a long-term perspective. Three main questions are examined in this report: Firstly, whether or not a larger PV installation is more beneficial compared to a smaller one regarding LCOE, payback time and IRR. Secondly, if and how a larger PV installation can be optimized using virtual storage. Thirdly, how the virtual storage solution compares to a conventional storage method with a lithium-ion battery. Throughout the project, larger installations have proven more profitable by taking advantage of cost efficiencies. By increasing the size of the installation from 120 kWp to 314 kWp for the investigated pilot project, the LCOE is reduced from 0,938 to 0,767 SEK/kWh, payback time is reduced from 17 to 12 years, and IRR is increased from 8,1 to 10,8 %. To maintain the advantage of the largest installation in the current market, it is necessary to integrate and optimize the storage so that all produced electricity is self-consumed. Some buildings have the possibility to create a virtual storage through using existing possibilities within the facility. Virtual storage is still an unexplored area but has risen in interest since focus on energy efficiency has increased. The project includes a virtual storage solution where the refrigeration system in a grocery store is paired with a water tank to provide more storage capacity. To optimize the use of the virtual storage, it is necessary to maximize the use of the available capacity. Three main applications have been identified as optimization alternatives for the project and those are: 1) storing excess electrical energy from over-production, 2) load shifting from hours with high electricity prices, 3) providing demand response for the primary regulation market (FCR-N, FCR-D). By utilizing the storage capacity, the PV investment can improve with regards to the studied economic measures. When utilizing the most profitable options, 1) and 3), for a 314 kWp PV installation the payback time is reduced from 12 to 10 years and the IRR is increased from 10,8 % to 11,73 %. Compared with a conventional lithium-ion battery (Tesla Powerwall), the virtual storage solution is competitive with respect to initial cost and environmental impact. However, for electrical aspects the battery significantly outperforms the virtual storage with an efficiency of 90 % of the battery and 54 % of the virtual storage and an energy density of 0,108 kWh/kg for the battery and 0,0035 kWh/kg for the virtual storage.

The world is entering the future where integration of renewable energy sources within the power grid will play an important role when facing the challenge of reducing global warming. The intermittent generation characteristics associate with renewable energy sources can be handled by the implementation of microgrids. A Microgrid is a group of energy source (e.g. wind, solar etc) that are located in the same local area that can operate independently in the event of electricity outage and can also be connected to the national grid in case of energy demand exceeds than the energy produced in the same local area. The implementation of microgrid in an electrical distribution system must be well planned to avoid problems. The EU has set high goals to reduce the non-renewable energy sources by 2030. EU has started some local energy systems (microgrids) and Simris is a part of it. This study is about a microgrid project at Simris in the south-east of Sweden. The village of Simris has 140 households supplied by a wind turbine of rated power 500kW and a solar power plant of 440 kW rated power. This project is run by E. ON within the framework and collaboration of Interflux, in which several network operators within the EU participate to investigate flexibility options in local energy systems.  The aim of this study is to find different scenarios in which the Simris microgrid can be run in islanded-mode. Four different scenarios were investigated, and simulation was done in MATLab. After simulation the results were discussed in the “Analysis and Results” section and the size of the wind turbine, the solar park (PV)and the battery were suggested for each of the scenarios. A short calculation was also included between the installation cost of the suggested wind turbine and the needed battery size. The cost of battery is much higher than the cost of wind turbine, so its beneficial for the economy of the microgrid to have a wind turbine of 1000 kW rated power and battery size 35 MWh rather than using the same old wind turbine of 469 kW rated power and upgrade the battery to 462 MWh.

Submitted by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-06-30T17:30:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_JULIANA_LOPES_HORSTMANN_COMPLETO.pdf: 1711527 bytes, checksum: 7681ac709a014d574046b6207b8a9728 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-06-30T17:30:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_JULIANA_LOPES_HORSTMANN_COMPLETO.pdf: 1711527 bytes, checksum: 7681ac709a014d574046b6207b8a9728 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-30T17:30:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_JULIANA_LOPES_HORSTMANN_COMPLETO.pdf: 1711527 bytes, checksum: 7681ac709a014d574046b6207b8a9728 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-31 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / The plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can increase agricultural productivity by promoting growth through production of plant hormones, facilitating the uptake of nutrients and chemicals on the soil, as well as inhibiting plant stress factors. Streptomyces spp. (Stm) are bacteria with great biotechnological potential, because in addition to its growth promotion and plant defense induction, they are also known as great producers of secondary metabolites, including antibiotics and phenazines. Soybean [Glycine max (L) Merrill] is one of the main legume crop grown around the world and Brazil is the second largest producer. Its production is affected by many diseases, among which bacterial pustule caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag). The objective of this project was to evaluate isolates of Streptomyces spp. obtained from the rhizosphere of Fabaceae plants regarding characteristics of PGPR, as well as the modulation capacity of soybean defenses in response to the phytopathogen Xag. Eleven isolates of Streptomyces spp. were screened for PGPR traits by siderophores production, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and phenazines. For a taxonomic identification and growth evaluation of soybean plants, three isolates were selected for their biochemical characteristics. The growth promoting assay was performed in greenhouse using bacterized seeds with the selected isolate and sterile distilled water was use for the control. Length, fresh and dry weight from shoot and root at 15, 30 and 45 days of cultivation were the evaluated parameters. For evaluation of the induction capacity of defense mechanisms of soybean plants, the isolate that obtained the best performance in the growth promotion test was selected. Seeds of soybeans, from sensitive cultivars and resistant to Xag, were bacterized with the selected Stm isolate and grown under greenhouse conditions. The plants were challenged with Xag 15 days after emergence. The treatments consisted of (a) plants treated with sterile distilled water (absolute control); (b) plants bacterized with Stm CLV45 (Stm45); (c) water-treated and Xag challenged plants; and (d) plants bacterized with StmCLV45 and challenged with Xag (Stm45+Xag). The enzymatic responses related to the defense pathways were evaluated biochemically, by analyzing the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and by the production of phenolic compounds at times 0, 24, 48, 72 and 144 hours post infection (hpi) of Xag. The expression of the genes related to the defense in Xag challenged soybean plants was determined by the relative expression of the genes PAL, JAZ, ERF5 and PR1 by qPCR at times 0, 12, 24 and 48 hpi. The results of the biochemical analysis indicated the isolates CLV42, CLV44 and CLV46 as the major producers of siderophores and CLV41, CLV45 and CLV46 isolates with higher ACC deaminase activity. All isolates were able to produce IAA, highlighting the isolate CLV45, which produced 398.53 ?g AIA g-1 cell. Phenazine pyocyanin (PYO) was also detected in all isolates, but the same did not occur for the 1-carboxylic acid phenazine (PCA), only produced by CLV41, CLV43 and CLV45. The isolates CLV42, CLV44 and CLV45 were selected for their PGPR characteristics for the growth promotion trial of greenhouse soybean plants and taxonomically characterized as species of the genus Streptomyces. None of the isolates evaluated in the trial caused a growth deficit in soybean plants. The CLV45 isolate significantly promoted the growth of soybean shoots in 36.63%, corroborated by the highest dry mass, 17.97%, in relation to the control group, being selected for soybean defense pathways induction. Expression of PAL gene was moderately enhanced in susceptible Stm45+Xag plants at 12 hpi, followed by increase of PAL enzyme activity from 48 to 144 hpi, although corresponding accumulation of phenolic compounds was not recorded. In the resistant cultivar, the highlighted expression of PAL in Stm45+Xag plants resulted in high activity of this enzyme. Enhanced expression of ERF5 and decrease on JAZ gene at 12 hpi in Stm45+Xag plants from both cultivars suggested that ET and JA play a concert role on induced systemic defense by Streptomyces sp. CLV45 against Xag in soybean. / As rizobact?rias promotoras de crescimento de plantas (PGPR) podem aumentar a produtividade agr?cola, atuando atrav?s da promo??o de crescimento vegetal por meio de fitorm?nios reguladores de crescimento, facilitando a capta??o de nutrientes e de compostos qu?micos no solo, bem como inibindo fatores de estresse vegetal. Bact?rias do g?nero Streptomyces spp. (Stm) apresentam grande potencial biotecnol?gico, pois al?m de promoverem o crescimento e a indu??o de defesa vegetal, tamb?m s?o conhecidas pela grande produ??o de metab?litos secund?rios, incluindo antibi?ticos e fenazinas. A soja [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] ? uma das principais leguminosas cultivadas no mundo, sendo o Brasil o segundo maior produtor. Sua produ??o ? afetada por in?meras doen?as, como a P?stula bacteriana causada pelo fitopat?geno Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag). O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar 11 isolados de Streptomyces spp. oriundos da rizosfera de plantas de Fabaceae quanto ?s caracter?sticas de PGPR, bem como, ? capacidade de modula??o das vias de defesa de plantas de soja em resposta ? fitobact?ria patog?nica Xag. Os isolados foram avaliados quanto ?s caracter?sticas de PGPR pela produ??o de sider?foros, de ?cido indolac?tico (AIA), da enzima 1-aminociclopropano-1-?cido carbox?lico (ACC) desaminase e de fenazinas. Para a identifica??o taxon?mica e a avalia??o da promo??o de crescimento de plantas de soja foram selecionados tr?s isolados com caracter?sticas de PGPR. O ensaio de promo??o de crescimento ocorreu em casa de vegeta??o por meio da microbioliza??o das sementes pelos isolados selecionados e o controle com ?gua destilada est?ril. Os par?metros avaliados foram: comprimento, massa fresca e seca, de parte a?rea e raiz, aos 15, 30 e 45 dias de cultivo. Para a avalia??o da capacidade de indu??o dos mecanismos de defesa de plantas de soja, foi selecionado o isolado que obteve o melhor desempenho no ensaio de promo??o de crescimento. Sementes de soja, de cultivar sens?vel e resistente ? Xag, foram microbiolizadas com o isolado de Stm selecionado e cultivadas em casa de vegeta??o. As plantas obtidas foram desafiadas com Xag, 15 dias ap?s a sua emerg?ncia. Os tratamentos consistiram de (a) sementes tratadas com ?gua destilada est?ril (controle absoluto); (b) sementes microbiolizadas com StmCLV45 (Stm45); (c) sementes tratadas com ?gua destilada est?ril e plantas desafiadas com Xag (Xag); e (d) sementes microbiolizadas StmCLV45 e plantas desafiadas com Xag (Stm45+Xag). As respostas enzim?ticas relacionadas ?s vias de defesa foram avaliadas bioquimicamente, pela an?lise da atividade da fenilalanina am?nia liase (PAL) e pela produ??o dos compostos fen?licos, nos tempos 0, 24, 48, 72 e 144 horas p?s inocula??o (hpi) da Xag. A express?o dos genes relacionados ? defesa das plantas de soja desafiadas com Xag foi determinada pela express?o relativa de JAZ, ERF5, PAL e PR1 por qPCR, nos tempos 0, 12, 24 e 48 hpi. Os resultados da an?lise bioqu?mica indicaram os isolados CLV42, CLV44 e CLV46 como maiores produtores de sider?foros e os isolados CLV41, CLV45 e CLV46 com maior atividade de ACC desaminase. Todos os isolados foram capazes de produzir AIA, com destaque para o isolado CLV45, que produziu 398,53 ?g AIA g-1 de c?lulas. A fenazina piocianina (PYO) tamb?m foi detectada em todos os isolados, entretanto o mesmo n?o ocorreu para a fenazina 1-?cido carbox?lico (PCA), somente produzida por CLV41, CLV43 e CLV45. Os isolados CLV42, CLV44 e CLV45 foram selecionados por suas caracter?sticas de PGPR para o ensaio de promo??o do crescimento de plantas de soja em casa de vegeta??o e caracterizados taxonomicamente como esp?cies do g?nero Streptomyces. Nenhum dos isolados avaliados no ensaio causou d?ficit de crescimento em plantas de soja. O isolado CLV45 promoveu significativamente o crescimento de parte a?rea de plantas soja, em 36,63%, corroborado pela maior massa seca, 17,97%, em rela??o ao grupo controle, sendo selecionado para avalia??o nas vias de defesa da soja. A express?o do gene PAL foi moderadamente aumentada em plantas suscet?veis Stm45+Xag em 12 hpi, seguido por aumento da atividade da enzima PAL de 48 a 144 hpi, embora o ac?mulo correspondente de compostos fen?licos n?o tenha sido registrado. Na cultivar resistente, a express?o de PAL em plantas Stm45+Xag resultou em alta atividade desta enzima. A express?o aumentada de ERF5 e a diminui??o de express?o do gene JAZ em 12 hpi em plantas Stm45+Xag de ambas as cultivares sugeriram que etileno e ?cido jasm?nico desempenharam fun??o na defesa sist?mica induzida por Streptomyces sp. CLV45 contra Xag em plantas de soja.