Individual Technical Portfolio Components - Term Paper Example

Site Analysis Student Name Instructor College Course Name Abstract The decision to build a new power plant depends on the availability of enough solar as in the Mt. Kent, however any decision regarding the establishment or upgrade of a power plant must take into consideration: date which is objective, interests of investors, an assessment of risks vs. opportunities and the long-term effects of the. The number one deterrent in establishing new power plants goes back to high initial investment costs. In order to make building new plants more attractive, many improvements have been made in the field to reduce investment costs. The construction costs of new plants have been reduced by the initiation of standardized designs and multiple plants on a single location. While advanced countries have found effective ways to reduce power plant start-up costs, other less developed countries are still lagging behind and will continue to do so as long as the market remains deregulated. The future of energy needs to turn away from finding ways to make the production of solar energy and fossil fuel energy cheaper and towards establishing ways to mainstream alternative energy production. Table of Contents Site Analysis 1 Site Analysis 1 Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Statistical Analysis 4 Site Suitability 7 The Electrical Engineering for Mt. Kent 9 Analysis and design of facilities and structures 10 Civil and Structural Factors for Mt. Kent 16 Mechanical Factors of Mt. Kent 16 Conclusion 18 References 19 Introduction Since global warming results primary from the huge carbon emissions due to the extensive use of fossil fuels, humans may eventually prevent further environmental degradation. Indeed, it appears that solar energy is not only efficient but perhaps the cleanest among energy sources. But then, solar energy could also pose other problems which are yet discovered. It is important to still investigate whether or not solar energy is worthy of the possible expenditure entailed by installation and use. The growing concerns on environmental degradation push for harnessing energy sources. Statistical Analysis From the graph above, gills is the best site since it has little pollution for rainfall and dust. If we were to consider three best options they will be Giles, Mt Grey and Angepena homesteads since they have less rainfall pollution and ranking grades. This means that if an investment in power generation was to undertaken those three options was to be given an opportunity. However, Mt. Kent will selected as area energy sufficient and supplement light and power electrical grid with economically feasible, environmentally friendly, reliable, and cost effective sources of energy. It is known that solar energy is so efficient; its production is inconsistent due to seasonal changes of solar strength. Usable days is based on cloud cover data An average of each season has been determined to calculated usable days. Chi-square Goodness of Fit analysis of usable days performed correctly and excellent interpretation Step 1: The null and alternate hypothesis H0 = there is no site preference for the solar plant H1 : there is site preference Step 2: The Significance level, α Selecting 95% significance level, i.e. α = 0.05 Step 3: The value of the Test Statistic Coonabarabran Island Bend Giles Mount Kent Alectown Alice Springs Angepena Homestead Mount Grey Autumn 3.593 4.451 2.626 3.626 2.835 3.033 2.582 2.923 Winter 3.440 4.802 1.231 3.527 3.692 1.110 2.747 4.110 Spring 3.099 4.187 2.308 3.121 2.912 2.626 2.692 3.209 Summer 4.143 3.879 4.022 4.648 3.560 3.857 2.890 2.593 observed 3.569 4.330 2.547 3.731 3.250 2.657 2.728 3.209 expected 4.000 4.000 3.000 4.000 3.000 3.000 3.000 3.000 ((O-E)2)/E 0.047 0.027 0.068 0.018 0.021 0.039 0.025 0.015 CHITEST 0.260 The calculated goodness –of-fit- statistics for usable days is 0.26, this means that there is a site preference since the goodness-of fit statistics Step 5: Decision (If χ2 cal≤ χ2 critical, reject; otherwise do not reject) we reject; χ2 cal≤ χ2 critical at selected significance level (0.05) Step 6: The result of the hypothesis test As per the hypothesis test, it has been found that there is site preferences for investment in solar power plant. Cloud cover rankings assigned and included in graphical summary with excellent written justification of choice of final 3 ‘best’ sites The graph above shows the cloud cover of the sites under analysis . Cloudy days also affect the amount of exposure a site will receive, each site affected differently depending on which region of Australia it is located and appropriately weighted. The best sites are Giles, Alice Springs and Angepena homesteads Site Suitability Site suitability is important in an attempt to generate power that will be used by the area. A bad site sight location will be very costly and will generate less power. A good site will generate high power thus reducing the cost of output for client. The aim of this analysis is to provide information on a site which will be used in generation of power in a cost effective power. The analysis will also provide information on the legal and physical availability of the area so it can accommodate the project. The chosen site will be analysed based on environmental factors, amount of rainfall, annual site rainfall, the cloud of the area and site location and topography. The aim of the factors mentioned above is to cover most critical factors that have a bearing on the outcome of the project. The project will provide clean and renewable solar energy. It should also have the ability to maximise the use of solar under varying conditions. In the process of site selection various steps have been followed and have explained in this report. At the end of the report it will be recommended for solar production. Mt. Kent has been selected because of its, altitude, open space and accessability. For this reason it is proposed that the site should have PV solar station with single access tracking and access tracking respectively to gather the most sun with the least trouble. The method of energy storage has been chosen to be through batteries which provide little to no loss in energy, but the charge converter has an efficiency of roughly 95 percent. The power will be transformed to HVDC through a transformer which has an efficiency rating of 5 precent. Altitude – Mt Kent has an altitude of 683m which is ideal for solar harvesting to generate power. Rainfall –Mt Kent has limited rainfall pollution as shown in the graph. The retrieval and analysis of the rainfall from the site showed that there is inadequate rainfall except for summer periods when there is high rains which means that production will be low however the stored power will be useful during this period. Site practicality - The site is graded on its overall practicality for the purpose of the proposed design. Apart from obvious factors as previously stated areas such as material transportation costing, construction feasibility, workers accommodation, ongoing maintenance and accessibility are also taken into account. Solar exposure –solar exposure is a critical element in solar energy production. Without solar, production of power will have no meaning and any exposure usually depend on in availability of cloud in the area. In this analysis solar exposure will be calculated and given weight which will assist in ranking the sites. Most of the radiation that is reflected by clouds is visible or infrared light leaving only a majority of the ultraviolet and the remaining visible light to get through to power the solar farm. The effects of the cloud coverage can be severe depending on the thickness of the clouds as the more clouds there are, the more light will be absorbed Governance/ Legislation: - In fact, that there are a number of large public authorities funds that are willing to invest their money in organizations that can show their credentials, in the environmental context. Site Location & Topography- Topography accounts for a larger percentage of the weighting because if the site is located on a hill such as Mt. Kent the site requires a lot more factors to consider resulting in greater costing. Locations favouring flat ground and that are generally easily accessible will be given a higher grading, isolated site will be graded lower as it is harder to provided accessibility and long term maintenance. Errors in the measurement of topographic data can be minimized by quality control of the survey and are generally within acceptable tolerances. However, gross errors do sometimes occur and these need to be eliminated either by quality control procedures at the data input stage or during the model calibration procedure. The Electrical Engineering for Mt. Kent The current electricity system covers a vast area which includes more than 10,000 miles of transmission lines and 23, 0000 volts of electricity. This kind of network can be used to distribute power. Owing to the demands and the nature of consumption, the need for a distribution system has become critical. In fact, any fault in either the equipment or line can result to downtime cost on the customers. However, designing and implementing a distribution network would moderate the failure of the entire system as a result of failure. In addition substation is also critical in the supply because it allows power to be controlled by the department. This will drastically diminish the cost, but also decrease the level of conductor and equipment protection. Thus, should a fault or overload condition occur, downtime increases significantly and higher costs associated with increased damage levels and the need for fuse replacement is typically encountered. Mt. Kent has a cloudy winter, so it will be producing the vast majority of its power during the summer months. storage is less of a concern in Mt. Kent due to the way it will integrate into the system, but is still very much required. Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Cells - The solar energy electricity technologies considered for the project, Solar PV and Solar Thermal. The generation of solar energy depends on photovoltaic cells and heat engines. Contemporary photovoltaic cells have two layers of Mylar that function by creating a potential difference between the two layers. The upper layer has atoms that lack an electron in their orbital while the lower layer has a free electron on its orbital. Kinetic energy from the sun dislodges this electron and transfers it to the upper layer. This creates a potential difference between the layers. The potential difference drives electrons through the system to create a stream of electrical potential difference (Gadler et al, 1978). Active solar techniques uses photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors to harness energy while passive solar techniques use materials with good thermal mass or propensity to disperse light. Another technique of absorbing maximum solar energy is to orient buildings towards sunlight (Fanelli , et al, 1995). Solar energy is used for lighting, cooking, heating water and industrial purposes. Analysis and design of facilities and structures It is also too difficult to distribute solar power all the way to the market; however, it will make the area energy sufficient and supplement metropolis light and power electrical grid with economically feasible, environmentally friendly, reliable, and cost effective sources of energy. It is known that solar energy is so efficient; its production is inconsistent due to seasonal changes of solar strength. Upon connection of new solar generator plant to existing system, the entire transmission system must pass base case loading requirements and first contingency loading requirements at a maximum generator output of 200MW. The maximum energy production of 200 MW which will be distribute using new transmission lines of 138kV with new transformers to the existing substations. It will have voltage set points of 1.05 per unit and a reactive power limits of Mvar. Transmission Line Conductor Specifications- This project explicitly requires the use of aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ASCR) overhead transmission conductors. The conductor type is also explicitly required to be that of cardinal. Cardinal conductor has the following characteristics: Current Rating (A) 1110 GMR at 60 Hz (feet) 0.0403 Resistance (Ohms per conductor per mile) at 75% Current Capacity 0.1128 Outside Diameter (inches) 1.196 Area of Alum. Wire( awg or kcmil 954 Total Alum. Area ( sq mm) 500 Total Cross- Sectional Area (sq mm) 546 Weight (Kg/Km) 1743 Transmission Tower Configuration- All transmission towers installed are required to be identical and symmetrical. The conductor configuration are required to consist of 2 conductor bundles, with 0.6m bundle spacing with a flat 8m horizontal phase spacing, as shown below. d = 0.6m Transmission Line Parameters- Three transmission line impedance parameters require calculation prior to PowerWorld simulation of the proposed lines. The parameters to be calculated are: Series Resistance per distance (R) Series Reactance per distance (X) Shunt Charging (Shunt Admittance) per distance (B) Series Resistance: Series Reactance: Shunt Admittance: R X B Base Case Loading - It is connected in voltage 0.38 kV downstream three voltage transformations 138/69 kV. This will be the peak loading condition and will have a mean loading of 110/22.8 kV transformers above 95 %. Therefore, the 110/22.8 kV transformers are represented and the motor load is connected to the 22.8 kV voltage level. Power Transmission Systems Power transmission over long distances has to be implemented using high voltage supplies, in order to reduce the losses due to conductor resistance and heating. The use of high voltage transmission systems, overcome this problem by requiring less current to transmit the same power requirement. Two high voltage power transmission systems can be used and these are, High Voltage AC and High Voltage DC (HVDC). HVDC Power Transmission System The fundamental process that occurs in an High Voltage DC system is the conversion of electrical current from AC to DC (rectifier) at the transmitting end, and from DC to AC (inverter) at the receiving end. There are three ways of achieving conversion: The substation equipments which assist in power distribution include transformers, surge arrestors, circuit breakers, current limiting reactors, horn-gap switch, disconnect & grounding switch relays and protective devices. A substation should have sufficient capacity to serve some customers. When power leaves the substation id feed to transformers that step down power to consumable level, however the number of transformers that are required per primary feeder is reduced by feeder circuits that are used. This ensures that there is continuity of supply and flexibility in supply of power. Owing to technicalities a successful design for a distribution network would not only taking into account, but also ensuring that various components that are critical in the distribution system are incorporated into the system. The equipment in question looks like outdoor pad-mounted transformer which has fused switch as well as breaker feeding switchboard. While in the secondary line there is low voltage switchboard or switchgear, transformer, primary switch and breaker feeding. It was noted a secondary substation is required in case the customer is supplied from the main system which has a fused switch, switchboard or switchgear and transformer that are installed in ‘close-coupled single assembly’. The main distributed as shown below when consumers are supplied from the secondary system Each secondary system emanates from a transformer which is situated in an area where it can a certain number of consumers and when supplying a customer, the loading capacity of a transformer is considered. Civil and Structural Factors for Mt. Kent The area has good road network to transport equipment and materials, as well as the national grid is lacking in the area. Since Mt. Kent has less rainfall to invest in a solar power plant, will beneficial. It should pointed out that civil construction of major power plant facilities should include temporary facilities as well as roads and parking areas, cooling water systems, foundations and structures for storage room/shed, and cooling towers. Improved transport network makes commuting to and from power plant easier and in the area there are improved to aid movement are road, railways, and city commuter services. Technological advances such as internet and broadband services have led to people being able to work at home and therefore they no longer need to live near the city centre. By this, they avoid the traffic congestions and the cost of driving to work every day. Mechanical Factors of Mt. Kent Demand for electricity is higher in Australia; however this demand is lower during sunlight because of solar exposure which reduces usage of electricity. The demand is high during the morning hours and after seven in the evening. The following shows the graph for demand in Mt. Kent. From the graph above it can be noted that the demand for the power is higher during summer followed by spring and autumn respectively. During the winter the demand is lower. It is noted that in Mt. Kent, the demand for electricity tends to be higher during the day maybe due to the demand for power economic activities. It also be noted that during winter demand for tends to be lower during the day because the inactivity of people due cold weather. The following is solar exposure diagram during a cloudless period in Mt. Kent. From the graph above it can be noted that solar produces a lot of power between 11.30 am to 3.30 pm. This is normal in any part of Australia. The solar produced during the day can be stored in batteries which are within the site and distributed later. This energy will be stored in form of heart and distributed in a form of electricity. Mt. Kent can be used to produce clean and efficient energy for future use. During the peak period, the solar energy can be used, and the replenished during the day. It is interesting to note that the storage method of power generated is photo-voltaic. This requires installations on rooftops or higher grounds to capture sunlight and generate electricity from the sunlight. Conclusion The sun has enormous amount of energy which is available for humans as an alternative energy source. Solar energy has several advantages over fossil fuels. At present, solar energy still comprises a small percentage of the total energy used. But it’s most notable advantages such as being inexhaustible, renewable, cheap and clean, solar energy could be used to fuel industries in the 21st century. Though, it may not become the primary source of energy, it could be one of the important energy sources that could be used to back up the already diminishing supply of fossil fuels. Most importantly, solar energy saves the planet from degradation. References Dickson, M. H., and Fanelli, M. (1995). Geothermal energy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Gadler, S. J., and Adamson, W. W. (1978). Sun power - Facts about Solar energy. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company. Kalogirou, S., 2009. Solar energy engineering: processes and systems. Academic Press. Russ, T., 2009. Site planning and design handbook. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Prof Med/Tech. Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia Pty Limited ,Solar Power Plant Pre-feasibility Stud,2 September 2008. Solar Energy Site Assessment, 2008, http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/files/water/docs/report_tucson_solar_final.pdf, 2011 Sood, V., 2010. HVDC and FACTS Controllers: Applications Of Static Converters In Power Systems. Springer-Verlag. p. 1. Willenbrock, H 1980, Planning, Engineering, and Construction of Electric Power Generation Facilities, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Read More

Cloud cover rankings assigned and included in graphical summary with excellent written justification of choice of final 3 ‘best’ sites The graph above shows the cloud cover of the sites under analysis . Cloudy days also affect the amount of exposure a site will receive, each site affected differently depending on which region of Australia it is located and appropriately weighted. The best sites are Giles, Alice Springs and Angepena homesteads Site Suitability Site suitability is important in an attempt to generate power that will be used by the area.

A bad site sight location will be very costly and will generate less power. A good site will generate high power thus reducing the cost of output for client. The aim of this analysis is to provide information on a site which will be used in generation of power in a cost effective power. The analysis will also provide information on the legal and physical availability of the area so it can accommodate the project. The chosen site will be analysed based on environmental factors, amount of rainfall, annual site rainfall, the cloud of the area and site location and topography.

The aim of the factors mentioned above is to cover most critical factors that have a bearing on the outcome of the project. The project will provide clean and renewable solar energy. It should also have the ability to maximise the use of solar under varying conditions. In the process of site selection various steps have been followed and have explained in this report. At the end of the report it will be recommended for solar production. Mt. Kent has been selected because of its, altitude, open space and accessability.

For this reason it is proposed that the site should have PV solar station with single access tracking and access tracking respectively to gather the most sun with the least trouble. The method of energy storage has been chosen to be through batteries which provide little to no loss in energy, but the charge converter has an efficiency of roughly 95 percent. The power will be transformed to HVDC through a transformer which has an efficiency rating of 5 precent. Altitude – Mt Kent has an altitude of 683m which is ideal for solar harvesting to generate power.

Rainfall –Mt Kent has limited rainfall pollution as shown in the graph. The retrieval and analysis of the rainfall from the site showed that there is inadequate rainfall except for summer periods when there is high rains which means that production will be low however the stored power will be useful during this period. Site practicality - The site is graded on its overall practicality for the purpose of the proposed design. Apart from obvious factors as previously stated areas such as material transportation costing, construction feasibility, workers accommodation, ongoing maintenance and accessibility are also taken into account.

Solar exposure –solar exposure is a critical element in solar energy production. Without solar, production of power will have no meaning and any exposure usually depend on in availability of cloud in the area. In this analysis solar exposure will be calculated and given weight which will assist in ranking the sites. Most of the radiation that is reflected by clouds is visible or infrared light leaving only a majority of the ultraviolet and the remaining visible light to get through to power the solar farm.

The effects of the cloud coverage can be severe depending on the thickness of the clouds as the more clouds there are, the more light will be absorbed Governance/ Legislation: - In fact, that there are a number of large public authorities funds that are willing to invest their money in organizations that can show their credentials, in the environmental context. Site Location & Topography- Topography accounts for a larger percentage of the weighting because if the site is located on a hill such as Mt.

Kent the site requires a lot more factors to consider resulting in greater costing. Locations favouring flat ground and that are generally easily accessible will be given a higher grading, isolated site will be graded lower as it is harder to provided accessibility and long term maintenance.

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