Research Summaries

Back Un-Interruptible, Renewable Augmented, Power Circuits

Fiscal Year 2015
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Investigator(s) Gannon, Anthony J.
Sponsor Office of Naval Research (Navy)
Summary Most installed renewable energy (usually wind and photovoltaics) is tied to the grid. While this lowers the cost of energy when the grid ceases to operate access to these installed renewable resources is also lost. Using a microgrid, a hybrid approach can be used that allows access to the renewable power in times of the main grid ceasing operation. In normal operation, a mix of grid and renewable power is used. In backup operation a mix of generator and renewable is used. To allow this mode of operation some form of intermittent electrical storage is needed. This has traditionally been batteries have been used but these are better suited to long term electrical storage and normally have a cycles life measured in thousands. Supercapacitors have lives measured in the millions of cycles. They have the potential to be far better suited to this type of application as they can provide large amounts of power for the relatively short periods of switching between the various power sources.
This arrangement should result in a robust, un-interruptible microgrid that can make use of any installed renewable energy in both regular and backup modes. This integrates the backup and renewable energy systems which at present and usually separate.
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Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal