REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FOREST PLANT PRODUCTION - DESIGN OF A STAND-ALONE PV-HYBRID SYSTEM FOR POWERING AN INNOVATIVE FORESTRY INCUBATOR

摘要

Nowadays, the high demand of forestry products imposes a high pressure on the ecosystems and can derive in biodiversity lost and other ecological problems. Planted forests can contribute to more sustainable practices and help addressing other problems of global concern such as climate change, erosion and desertification. Large scale production of seedling is required to offset the high harvesting rates; however these intensive methods often have a negative impact on the environment. Funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the ZEPHYR project consortium is developing innovative and cost-friendly technologies for the pre-cultivation of forestry species. These will be integrated into a functional and transportable system for pre-cultivation of seedlings, with zero-impact on the environment and not affected by outdoor conditions. To achieve this, the incubator will be powered mainly by solar energy. This work aims to present the efforts made to design and optimize the solar photovoltaic (PV) system which will be mounted on the roof of the unit. Especially developed devices such as LED growth lamps and wireless sensors will be used to reduce energy consumption and monitor the cultivation process. A load profile study was conducted and the growth protocols were adapted to perform most of the tasks during daytime to use the energy from the PV panels directly. A battery bank will be designed to provide at least one day of autonomy in central European latitudes. Moreover, the power system will also be capable of connecting to the electricity grid or use a diesel generator as a backup.