Fakultät 09 / Cologne Institute for Renewable Energy
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Intelligent use of energy is one of the keys to success for an energy revolution. To meet this challenge, smart meters are suitable tools because INTELLIGENT use of energy means not only to use efficiency technology, but also to determine load shifting potentials and use them accordingly. Especially farms with high power consumption are becoming increasingly concerned about reducing energy costs due to rising energy prices and need a systematic analysis of their operational energy flow. To find solutions for farms, the NaRoTec e.V., the TH Köln, and the Machinery Ring Höxter-Warburg have joined forces with partners and launched the project "Intelligent Energy in Agriculture", which is funded by the state of NRW. The aim of the project is to be able to give individual advice recommendations for energy optimization of agricultural holdings. This will be achieved inter alia through an operational energy audit and current measurements in different operating ranges. To achieve this, smart meters were installed in selected energy-intensive dairy and pig farms. As part of the project, the installed smart meter information about the consumption of various plants and their components were analyzed, regularities and adaptability in loading history identified, and the energy efficiency of the equipment and systems used verified (especially pumps, ventilators, feeding systems). Then recommendations were formulated to shift electricity-intensive processes to times with low electricity costs and high intrinsic power production. The resulting findings will be used as the basis for intelligent energy management in the further course of the project. Overall, efficiency streamlining measures in the field of ventilation and lighting systems, flexible dry feeding systems by decoupling power purchase and consumption, as well as energy savings and related CO2 savings were determined.
The rising worldwide energy demand leads to the depletion of fossil fuels reserves and at the same time, it increases the environmental impact caused by emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
Utilization of fossil fuels causes not only climate change impacts such as global warming, but also many other environmental problems such as water and soil contamination that pose potential risks to human and animal health.
Furthermore, increasing population growth leads to increased food demand and consumption. This upward trend creates competition between food and bioenergy markets. Hence, the so‐called “food or fuel” discussion is back.
Challenges to counteract deciding between food and fuel that focus on the need to produce sustainable energy, while protecting environment, are the keys to replacing fossil fuels and lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. For this purpose, a completely new strategy with a proper sustainable system to supplying world’s energy demand must be found.
Anaerobic Digestion of spent grains: Potential use in small-scale Biogas Digesters in Jos, Nigeria
(2014)
In order to ascertain biogas yield potential and applicability of spent grains (SG)1 in small-scale biogas production, laboratory batch fermentation was performed with various masses of dry and wet SG using sewage sludge (SS)2 and digested maize silage (DMs) 3 as inoculums. Different volumes of biogas and CH4 were measured with higher volumes observed for batch fermentation with DMs in com-parison to those produced by SS. Results from the study reveals minimum biogas yield of 118.10 L/kg
VS and maximum yields of 769.46 L/kg VS, which are indicative of the possible use of SG for domestic biogas production in Jos, Nigeria. The study established the fact that the use of both dry and wet SG results in the yield of a useful amount of biogas having 40 - 60 % CH4 content depending on the inoculum and amount of volatile solids present. Using the parameters of dry matter and volatile solids contents analysed for SG and DMs, it was estimated that a reactor volume of 6.47 m3 would be capable of meeting the daily cooking needs of rural households in Jos, Nigeria.
The goal of the ComProSol project is the mobilization of currently unused biogenic contingents such as residual and waste material for bioenergy feedstocks. Another budding option is the reactivation of fallow land to grow energy crops and short rotation coppice for energy recovery.
In the course of Germany’s bioeconomy program, which will switch the economy from a petro-based to a bio-based society, the prioritized utilization of bio-based resources should always be the hierarchically most valuable. Food and forage production are given preference over material recycling and extracting raw materials. Another driver is the growing consciousness of environmental issues and nature conservation which limits the available cultivatable area by law. As a result, there is a supply bottleneck of economically competitive feedstock for bioenergy. In this context, the interdisciplinary project is based on the systematic interconnection of applications to create utilization cascades.
Methodical corrective measures of ComProSol focus on influencing fuel properties by preconditioning through substrate and additive compound blending, sieving and compacting, and integrating process optimization. Collaboration with other subprojects that deal with bio- or thermal-chemical conversion will provide additional impetus for developing utilization applications.
The initial work package of ComProSol, which recently started, defines the scope by dint of a regional potential feedstock cadaster in order to specify the further roadmap.
In this study the link between renewable energies and employment in Senegal is analyzed.
The Sustainable Livelihood Approach is used to understand the investigated situation in a holistic view. To successfully implement renewable energies in Senegal and to have a significant impact on the employment market, the governmental framework and the technical education has to improve, to match the needs of the labor market.
Rural communities do not have all the assets to lift themselves out of poverty and disadvantages by the usage of renewable energy. Solar irrigation, off-grid systems and solar devices impact the level of education and the labor force in rural areas in Senegal.
Moreover, access to a reliable energy source improves people’s livelihood in terms
of health, education, income and employment.
The resulting employment effect of adding 20 MW with the solar power plant Senergy 2 can be estimated with 28.686 created jobs (0,54 % of total employment).
Upcoming power projects offer employment opportunities for graduates of the master study renewable energies. Furthermore, the demand of specialized engineers and
technicians in the distribution and project planning sector will rise.
The annual yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems is highly dependent on the albedo of the underlying soil. There are currently no published data about the albedo of red soil in western Africa. In this study, the impact of the albedo of red soil in Ghana on the energy yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems is analysed. A bifacial photovoltaic simulation model is created by combining the optical view factor matrix with an electrical output simulation. For an exact simulation, the albedo of red soil at three different locations in Ghana is measured for the first time. The average albedo of every red soil is clearly determined, as well as the measurement span including instrumentation uncertainty; values between 0.175 and 0.335 were measured. Considering these data, a state-of-the-art bifacial photovoltaic system with an average of 19.8% efficient modules in northern Ghana can achieve an annual energy yield of 508.8 kWh/m2 and a bifacial gain of up to 18.3% in comparison with monofacial photovoltaic panels. To summarise, red soil in two out of three locations in Ghana shows higher albedo values than most natural ground surfaces and therefore positively impacts the annual yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems.
Positive Impact of Red Soil on Albedo and the Annual Yield of Bifacial Photovoltaic Systems in Ghana
(2023)
The annual yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems is highly dependent on the albedo of the underlying soil. There are currently no published data about the albedo of red soil in western Africa. In this study, the impact of the albedo of red soil in Ghana on the energy yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems is analysed. A bifacial photovoltaic simulation model is created by combining the optical view factor matrix with an electrical output simulation. For an exact simulation, the albedo of red soil at three different locations in Ghana is measured for the first time. The average albedo of every red soil is clearly determined, as well as the measurement span including instrumentation uncertainty; values between 0.175 and 0.335 were measured. Considering these data, a state-of-the-art bifacial photovoltaic system with an average of 19.8% efficient modules in northern Ghana can achieve an annual energy yield of 508.8 kWh/m2 and a bifacial gain of up to 18.3% in comparison with monofacial photovoltaic panels. To summarise, red soil in two out of three locations in Ghana shows higher albedo values than most natural ground surfaces and therefore positively impacts the annual yield of bifacial photovoltaic systems.
A bifacial Photovoltaic (PV) simulation model is created by combining the optical View Factor matrix with electrical output simulation in python to analyse the energy density of bifacial systems. A discretization of the rear side of the bifacial modules allows a further investigation of mismatching and losses due to inhomogeneous radiation distribution. The model is validated, showing a deviation of -1.25 % to previous simulation models and giving hourly resolvedoutput data with a higher accuracy than existing software for bifacial PV systems.
Im Rahmen des Technologie-Screenings wurden smarte Technologien für den Einsatz in mittelständischen Unternehmen (vorzugsweise KMU) im Zeitraum von 2017-2020 in einem kontinuierlichen Monitoringprozess betrachtet. Dadurch konnte mit dem Screening ein umfassender Überblick über die Angebotsseite und den Markt smarter Technologien geschaffen werden. Ebenso wurden potenzielle Technologien für den Einsatz im Anwendungstest des Forschungsprojekts VISE-U identifiziert. Insgesamt umfasst das Technologie-Screening sechs spezifische Technologie-Kategorien, denen wiederum einzelne Systeme auf Herstellerebene zugeordnet wurden. So konnten in Summe 20 Systeme unterschiedlicher Hersteller hinsichtlich des Aufbaus sowie der Funktionsweise samt Technologie-Steckbrief beschrieben werden. Die Steckbriefe zeigen dazu die technische Beschreibung, Komponenten sowie Schnittstellen der Systeme auf und referenzieren auf weiterführende Informationen auf den Webseiten der Hersteller.
Das interdisziplinäre Forschungsprojekt “Smarte Technologien für Unternehmen” untersuchte im Zeitraum von Juli 2017 bis Dezember 2020 Anwendungs- und Akzeptanzprobleme zum Einsatz smarter Technologien in KMU und entwickelte darauf aufbauend Lösungsansätze zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz sowie zum Energie- und Lastmanagement. Dazu wurden smarte Technologien zunächst im Zuge eines Screenings identifiziert, kategorisiert und bewertet. In den qualitativen und quantitativen Nutzeranalysen wurden Unternehmer*innen in den Fokus der Analyse gestellt, um den Wissensstand sowie Chancen und Barrieren zum Einsatz smarter Technologien in KMU darzulegen. Mit der Durchführung transdisziplinärer Anwendungstests wurde ein zentraler Lösungsansatz entwickelt: Die Effizienzanalyse von KMU mittels mobiler Messtechnik und Visualisierungstools als potenzielle Strategie zur Reduktion von Energieverbräuchen.
Die Ergebnisse dieses anwendungsorientierten Forschungsprojektes zeigen die Anwendungs- und Akzeptanzprobleme zum Einsatz smarter Technologien in KMU auf und geben Handlungsoptionen zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz mit Hilfe ausgewählter smarter Produkte und Tools.