SOLARE
Sustainability Laboratory for the study of Renewable Energy
The SOLARE Project The aim of the SOLARE (working title only) project is to form a distributed centre of excellence in the area of sustainable and renewable energy. Industrial, domestic and transportation uses of energy are mainly dependent on fossil fuels. As such they are major sources of atmospheric carbon and hence human-induced global warning. Fossil energy sources also have limited lives. The Solare project aims to investigate the part that solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources can play in satisfying the energy needs of the region in a sustainable and environmentally non-harmful way, to raise awareness, and contribute to education insustainability issues.
The Solare project will consist of a number of phases, the central task being a research investigation. This may be followed by two supplementary tasks, namely a Visitor and Demonstrator Centre and a European Masters course.
Phase 1 - Research Project : The research phase will focus on the development of energy-optimised off-grid and grid-supplemented power systems using renewables for domestic use. The system will use a combination of energy sources, including wind and photo-voltaic power in conjunction with a micro-generation system, for example a fuel cell or efficient diesel generator, and a power storage sub-system such as a battery pack. When available, sun or wind energy would be used to generate electricity to be accumulated in the battery pack. When the battery pack is discharged, and if insufficient wind and sun energy are available to permit an adequate level of battery charging, the diesel / stirling cycle engine / fuel cell generation system will be started. The diagram below illustrates the concept.
There is a complex problem to be solved relating to the control of the system component blocks so as to ensure optimum energy efficiency, and at the same time, adequate availability of power for the users needs.
There are also interesting questions to be answered about whether it is best in terms of energy efficiency to invert the battery output to 240V, or whether a lower voltage should be adopted as a standard for systems like this (e.g. 48V, DC or AC), particularly if lighting using high-brightness LEDs is to be used.
There is an possible extension to the project that involves integrating a hot-water solar panel with the system, and incorporating the use of engine waste heat for water heating.
Phase 2 - Visitor Centre : A visitor education centre will be created which will contain a number of examples of sustainable energy technology, for example, a solar-thermal panel, a solar-photovoltaic panel, one or more examples of wind-turbine (horizontal axis and vertical axis Savonius rotor). Concrete information will be made available on the energy gained from these devices under actual operating conditions, and the financial benefits.
Phase 3 - Euro Masters Course : The knowledge gained during the project will be channelled into a European master's degree in Sustainable Energy. This will utilise the broad range of skills and expertise available across the Euro-Region to better educate Masters-level students in ways of tackling climate change related problems through better use of energy.
Note : Phases 2 and 3 will be undertaken subject to the availability of funding and support.
Interreg IV
The Solare project could form the basis of an Interreg IV project application, if suitable partners were available.
Project Brief
A one-page project outline as a PDF document is available here ...