André Pina

Polygeneration Energy Container: Designing and Testing Energy Services for Remote Developing Communities

Nearly one and a half billion people in the world do not have access to electricity, and even when energy resources are available, millions of people are unable to pay for them. As so, the access to modern affordable and renewable-based energy services in developing countries is essential to achieve a sustainable development by reducing poverty and improving the living conditions (health, security, etc.). In this paper, we analyze how rural electrification efforts can benefit from the implementation of microgrid systems. Following a systematic methodology, we estimate a demand that can evolve through time and design a system that copes with the demand increase. Then, we test the operation of such a facility using a pilot installation, the polygeneration energy container (PEC), an experimental setup that mimics the deployment of a hybrid microgrid system. The development of the experiment has allowed us to test design issues and solve operation and maintenance challenges associated with autonomous electricity production systems. The results demonstrated that it is possible to design systems that are robust and flexible to operate under different conditions.

Introduction of electric vehicles in an island as a driver to increase renewable energy penetration

The energy problem in autonomous systems, such as islands, promotes the use of renewable forms of energy. The transportation sector, which is a significant part of the energy equation, could allow major breakthroughs by using electric vehicles that can be used for energy storage and sustainable mobility. Current technologies can already be used in smaller islands, such as Flores, where mobility needs are small and a large penetration of renewable energy exists. This work analyzes electric vehicles as alternatives to regular vehicles, but also as a way of building base load demand that can support the increase of renewable energy penetration.

Economic modeling of a seawater pumped-storage system in the context of São Miguel

The energy situation in remote islands is becoming critical with high fuel import costs preventing the islands from developing at a faster pace. Sao Miguel is an island located in the middle of the Atlantic with extensive renewable resources whose utilization is limited by low base load levels and lack of storage facilities. Using an economic optimization model, this work suggests using a seawater pumped-storage system to increase the penetration of renewable energy in the system. Several scenarios are analyzed and compare to determine the sensitivity of the solution and determine if it is a good option.

Assessing the impact of electricity interconnections to achieve the EU targets for CO 2 emissions reduction

The low interconnection capacities between EU countries has been identified as one of the main issues with the development of an electricity system relying mainly on renewable energy sources. This research work explores the impacts of investing in new interconnection capacity through the application of a TIMES model of Europe considering 18 regions. The modeling approach considers a temporal resolution able to account for the electricity supply and demand dynamics, which exist within and across the different regions. Four different scenarios of increasing interconnection capacities were considered. The results show that high interconnection capacities enable the European countries to better utilize their potential for onshore wind energy, which is cheaper than wind offshore and solar energy. Reductions of up to 10% on the investment in new generation capacity, fixed costs and operation costs, can be achieved, when compared to a business as usual scenario.