PV systems are used more and more. Not always is it possible to install them in the optimal direction for maximum energy output over the year. At the Johan Cruijff ArenA the PV panels are placed all around the roof in all possible directions. Panels oriented to the north will have a lower energy gain than those oriented to the south. The 42 panel groups are connected to 8 electricity meters. Of these 8 energy meters monthly kWh produced are available. The first assignment is to calculate the energy gains of the 42 panel groups, and connect these in the correct way with the 8 energy meter readings, so simulated data is in accordance with measured data.Of the year 2017 there are also main electricity meter readings available for every quarter of an hour. A problem with these readings is that only absolute values are given. When electricity is taken of the grid this is a positive reading, but when there is a surplus of solar energy and electricity is delivered to the grid, this is also a positive reading. To see the effect on the electricity demand of future energy measures, and to use the Seev4-City detailed CO2 savings calculation with the electricity mix of the grid, it is necessary to know the real electricity demand of the building.The second assignment is to use the calculations of the first assignment to separate the 15 minute electricity meter readings in that for real building demand and for PV production.This document first gives information for teachers (learning goals, possible activities, time needed, further reading), followed by the assignment for students.
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In this report, the details of an investigation into the e ect of the low induction wind turbines on the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCoE) in a 1GW o shore wind farm is outlined. The 10 MW INNWIND.EU conventional wind turbine and its low induction variant, the 10 MW AVATAR wind turbine, are considered in a variety of 10x10 layout configurations. The Annual Energy Production (AEP) and cost of electrical infrastructure were determined using two in-house ECN software tools, namely FarmFlow and EEFarm II. Combining this information with a generalised cost model, the LCoE from these layouts were determined. The optimum LCoE for the AVATAR wind farm was determined to be 92.15 e/MWh while for the INNWIND.EU wind farm it was 93.85 e/MWh. Although the low induction wind farm o ered a marginally lower LCoE, it should not be considered as definitive due to simple nature of the cost model used. The results do indicate that the AVATAR wind farms require less space to achieve this similar cost performace, with a higher optimal wind farm power density (WFPD) of 3.7 MW/km2 compared to 3 MW/km2 for the INNWIND.EU based wind farm.
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Installing photovoltaic panels (PV) on household rooftops can significantly contribute to mitigating anthropogenic climate change. The mitigation potential will be much higher when households would use PVs in a sustainable way, that is, if they match their electricity demand to their PVs electricity production, as to avoid using electricity from the grid. Whilst some have argued that owning PVs motivate households to use their PV in a sustainable way, others have argued that owning a PV does not result in load shifting, or that PV owners may even use more energy when their PV production is low. This paper addresses this critical issue, by examining to what extent PV owners are likely to shift their electricity demand to reduce the use of electricity from the grid. Extending previous studies, we analyse actual high frequency electricity use from the grid using smart meter data of households with and without PVs. Specifically, we employ generalized additive models to examine whether hourly net electricity use (i.e., the difference between electricity consumed from the grid and supplied back to the grid) of households with PVs is not only lower during times when PV production is high, but also when PV production low, compared to households without PVs. Results indicate that during times when PV production is high, net electricity use of households with PV is negative, suggesting they sent back excess electricity to the power grid. However, we found no difference in net electricity use during times when PV production is low. This suggests that installing PV does not promote sustainable PV use, and that the mitigation potential of PV installment can be enhanced by encouraging sustainable PV use
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Horticulture crops and plants use only a limited part of the solar spectrum for their growth, the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR); even within PAR, different spectral regions have different functionality for plant growth, and so different light spectra are used to influence different properties of the plant, such as leaves, fruiting, longer stems and other plant properties. Artificial lighting, typically with LEDs, has been used to provide these specified spectra per plant, defined by their light recipe. This light is called steering light. While the natural sunlight provides a much more sustainable and abundant form of energy, however, the solar spectrum is not tuned towards specific plant needs. In this project, we capitalize on recent breakthroughs in nanoscience to optimally shape the solar spectrum, and produce a spectrally selective steering light, i.e. convert the energy of the entire solar spectrum into a spectrum most useful for agriculture and plant growth to utilize the sustainable solar energy to its fullest, and save on artificial lighting and electricity. We will take advantage of the developed light recipes and create a sustainable alternative to LED steering light, using nanomaterials to optimally shape the natural sunlight spectrum, while maintaining the increased yields. As a proof of concept, we are targeting the compactness of ornamental plants and seek to steer the plants’ growth to reduce leaf extension and thus be more valuable. To realize this project the Peter Schall group at the UvA leads this effort together with the university spinout, SolarFoil, whose expertise lies in the development of spectral conversion layers for horticulture. Renolit - a plastic manufacturer and Chemtrix, expert in flow synthesis, provide expertise and technical support to scale the foil, while Ludvig-Svensson, a pioneer in greenhouse climate screens, provides the desired light specifications and tests the foil in a controlled setting.
In the course of the “energie transitie” hydrogen is likely to become a very important energy carrier. The production of hydrogen (and oxygen) by water electrolysis using electricity from sun or wind is the only sustainable option. Water electrolysis is a well-developed technique, however the production costs of hydrogen by electrolysis are still more expensive than the conventional (not sustainable) production by steam reforming. One challenge towards the large scale application of water electrolysis is the fabrication of stable and cheap (noble metal free) electrodes. In this project we propose to develop fabrication methods for working electrodes and membrane electrode stack (MEAs) that can be used to implement new (noble metal free) electrocatalysts in water electrolysers.
The growing energy demand and environmental impact of traditional sources highlight the need for sustainable solutions. Hydrogen produced through water electrolysis, is a flexible and clean energy carrier capable of addressing large-electricity storage needs of the renewable but intermittent energy sources. Among various technologies, Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE) stands out for its efficiency and rapid response, making it ideal for grid stabilization. In its core, PEMWEs are composed of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), which consist of a proton-conducting membrane sandwiched between two catalyst-coated electrodes, forming a single PEMWE cell unit. Despite the high efficiency and low emissions, a principal drawback of PEMWE is the capital cost due to high loading of precious metal catalysts and protective coatings. Traditional MEA catalyst coating methods are complex, inefficient, and costly to scale. To circumvent these challenges, VSParticle developed a technology for nanoparticle film production using spark ablation, which generates nanoparticles through high-voltage discharges between electrodes followed by an impaction printing module. However, the absence of liquids poses challenges, such as integrating polymeric solutions (e.g., Nafion®) for uniform, thicker catalyst coatings. Electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) stands out as a promising technique thanks to its strong electric fields used to generate micro- and nanometric droplets with a narrow size distribution. Co-axial EHDA, a variation of this technique, utilizes two concentric needles to spray different fluids simultaneously.The ESPRESSO-NANO project combines co-axial EHDA with spark ablation to improve catalyst uniformity and performance at the nanometer scale by integrating electrosprayed ionomer nanoparticles with dry metal nanoparticles, ensuring better distribution of the catalyst within the nanoporous layer. This novel approach streamlines numerous steps in traditional synthesis and electrocatalyst film production which will address material waste and energy consumption, while simultaneously improve the electrochemical efficiency of PEMWEs, offering a sustainable solution to the global energy crisis.
