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Assessment of small-scale wind turbines for domestic use in different situations
This thesis will focus on the potential of wind energy systems installed at residential premises in particular locations from three different countries that are climatically diverse and economically viable for achieving self-sufficient electricity production. The three selected locations are in Lebanon, Turkey and Germany. At each location different simulations were tested using HOMER Pro software starting from wind turbines to combining them with grid that could aid in case of shortage of electricity generated by the turbine and adding batteries for energy storage. The most cost-efficient configuration is determined by simulation and optimization. The outcomes demonstrate that the whole system has been successfully implemented and it fulfilled its purpose of providing electricity for the average household with an LCOE of $0.07334/kWh, -$0.01705/kWh, and $0.2044/kWh at each of Oldenburg, Foça and Hamat respectively. The wind turbine yearly total production was the maximum in Germany with 10657 kWh, Turkey came second not far from Germany with 10223 kWh while Lebanon had the lowest production with 7527 kWh. Lebanon's NPC of the system was most expensive with $22381.13 while Turkey had the least expensive one with $-14200.34 and Germany in between with $13638.7 for the system. Economically, some systems were meant to witness failure due to the high rates of inflation in some of the countries. This shows that not only climate potential could affect the success and failure of system, but other parameters could also have huge effect on whether it is feasible or not to implement such systems.
The economic assessment of renewable technologies integration
A case study was conducted to compare renewable energy technologies with natural gas generators in terms of emissions and costs. The case study included a comparative analysis of natural gas generators, renowned for their cost-effective energy generation, and a Wind-solar hybrid system. The load that was used in the hybrid renewable energy system and the engine system running on natural gas was the same value of 62,500 kW. In the case of using solar panels as the only source of energy, the initial cost was the highest. In the case of using the wind turbine as the only source of energy in the system, the initial cost was lower than the system that works on solar panels, but it was also high. The case in which the system was operated using the wind turbine and solar panels as an energy source was the best case for the system, the initial cost was the lowest compared to wind and solar with no emissions produced. In the case of natural gas generators, the cost was low compared to the hybrid power system, and the operating cost was also low, but the harmful emissions were high. The findings show that integrating renewables into the grid presents the most beneficial alternative for decreasing emissions and minimizing overall costs, compared to the scenario where renewable energy sources are used separately.
Small-scale biogas plant enhancement and operation upgrade using life cycle assessment
Our current work aims to study ways to improve the operation of the biogas production facility BEEO GAZ, located in Istanbul Technical University, green campus, in order to maximize its energy production and reduce its environmental impact. To do this, we opted to use the LCA method to compare three scenarios. In addition to the existing scenario 1, including anaerobic digestion and cogeneration, scenario 2 proposes the incineration of the biogas residue, and scenario 3 suggests, in addition to incineration, a microalgae culture to produce biomass that will feed the anaerobic digester. In the first phase, we carried out a literature review to build knowledge on the themes related to our study. In the second phase, we proceeded to each scenario's inventory flows of the various elementary processes. In the third phase, we evaluated the impacts based on the impact categories best suited to our study and used, as a modeling tool, SimaPro software, relevant and recognized in LCA analysis. The modeling results were analyzed by impact category. The conclusions showed that the biogas plant operation, according to scenario 3, is the best alternative to increase energy production and reduce environmental impact. Indeed, the results show that scenario 3 allows an increase in energy production of 15% and a significant reduction in environmental impacts, in particular by avoiding the emission into the atmosphere of a quantity of around 92 tons of CO2eq / year and consequently the significant reduction of the effects on climate change.