DC Microgrid and Renewable Energy Model Development for Improving Sustainability of Electric Power Systems

摘要

As renewable energy becomes more prevalent throughout the electric utility industry there is an increasing interest in recreating the industry with sustainability goals in mind. One goal is to have 100% of power generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy. However, targeting 100% generation creates technical and economic obstacles for the industry. Microgrids may provide solutions to the some of the challenges, but their applications have been limited thus far due to case availability and modeling difficulties in regards to optimizing the systems economically, environmentally, and technically.udThis thesis examines a DC-based microgrid located at a trucking facility in Pittsburgh, PA by creating the system in a microgrid modeling software called HOMER. The simulations were completed to better understand the effect microgrids have on resiliency and sustainability by analyzing the economic, environmental, and technical impacts of the system. This paper also shows how microgrids are currently being investigated by communities and the social benefits that microgrids can provide if deployed optimally.