Renewable Energy Sources
The components of Renewable Energy Sources include:
Technical Input Data
Like most technical components, the components of renewable energy sources not only serve to optimize operations, but can also be used as structural optimization components.
For the components Photovoltaic, Solar Collector, Concentrating Solar Collector, and Wind Turbine, the Operation mode must be specified as Controlled or Not controlled (see following figure).
In the case of Not controlled Operation, the system must dissipate all heat or electrical energy generated by the radiation or wind.
A controlled system can reduce its output if the grid cannot absorb the power. It is only possible to specify Operating conditions and Minimum part load in Controlled Operation.
Under the heading Technical Specifications, system-specific parameters and key figures must be specified. In the components Photovoltaic, Solar Collector, and Concentrating Solar Collector, data for the installation of the collector or photovoltaic module must be specified under Position and orientation (see following figure).
To consider degradation (loss of power due to system aging), there are two ways, which are described in the linked article.
Solar Radiation
The solar components Photovoltaic, Solar Collector, and Concentrating Solar Collector obtain the environmental data for the solar radiation calculation from the Solar Radiation component and, if applicable, from the project master data. The solar components must always be connected to a Solar Radiation component.
Wind
The Wind Turbine component obtains the wind speed from the Wind component and, if applicable, from the project master data. Therefore, the component Wind Turbine must always be connected to a component Wind.
CO2
In TOP-Energy, CO2 is not represented by its own material model. The various aspects of the emission and binding of CO2 and the displacement of conventional energy from the grid by renewable energy are taken into account at various points.
Emissions and Their Prevention
The environmental evaluation of CO2 emissions and the displacement of conventional energy from the grid by renewable energy is carried out via the supplier and feed-in components.
The economic evaluation of the certificates for CO2 emission allowances is carried out for the emission of CO2 via the tariff components.
Binding of CO2
The components Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Liquid use carbon dioxide to produce fuels. The consumption (not the emission!) of CO2 by energy-converting technical components is taken into account in these components.
Carbon Dioxide Source
In the Technical input data of the components that bind CO2, select the Carbon dioxide source from the drop-down list under the heading Operating parameters: From another facility or from Own generation. In the case of self-generation, the carbon dioxide is extracted from the air by means of electricity-intensive CO2 extraction. Enter the Electricity demand for CO2 extraction in kWh/kg (see following figure).
Costs and revenues for operating resources
Revenues are generated for the use of carbon dioxide through the sale of CO2 emission certificates (EUA). EUA is short for European Union Allowance. Enter the EUA price for CO2 emission rights in the Economic input data of the energy-converting components under the heading Costs and revenues for operating resources → CO2-revenues (see following figure).
The EUA revenues for CO2 emission rights are reported in the Economic output data of the component (see following figure), as are the other costs and revenues for operating resources (Water, Sewage water, Oxygen), and are taken into account in the economic balance in the Variant analysis and in the Excel export of the Variant comparison as Operating revenues (without energy) or Operating costs (without energy).
Technical Output Data
The Technical output data (see following figure) contain typical operating parameters and, under the heading Irradiance Values, the radiation impinging on the collector surface. The components behave differently: The Photovoltaic system and the Solar Collector can process both direct and diffuse radiation, while the Concentrating Solar Collector can only process Horizontal direct radiation (see the following figures).
Tips for Experts
When modeling, note the elementary components renewables_controlled and renewables_notControlled and the special features of solar radiation components.
