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I. INTRODUCTION
Energy microgrids are a key to future smart grids,
integrating modular energy sources, such as solar, wind,
thermal generators and fuel cells, with energy storage devices
FIGURE I MICROGRID SIMULATED IN HOMER PRO SOFTWARE
and both critical and non-critical loads to form low-voltage
distribution systems [1]. A. Microgrid components
The system can be seen as a controllable component of the The specification of the components that integrate the pilot
distributed network capable of supplying its own local load application is presented in Table I. An energy storage system
even in case of the disconnection from the upstream network was dimensioned to supply priority loads during power
[2]. interruptions for up to half an hour (considering 100% of
The first part of this article proposes the use of Monte Carlo priority loads consuming energy) and the whole system is
methodology for estimating the load profile of microgrids with going to be connected to the local electrical network.
load shedding. Later, an approach for quantifying energy
TABLE I MICROGRID EQUIPMENT
interruption costs is proposed. Finally, a concept proof of
regulatory and tariff propositions is presented, as well as a Equipment Installation local Total installed power
methodology to share the microgrid costs between microgrid Photovoltaic modules Residences 20.4 kW
participants. To validate the proposals, simulations were Photovoltaic modules Social club 24.96 kW
performed using Homer Pro software, considering the realistic Photovoltaic modules Concierge 2.04 kW
model of a pilot application that is being implemented in a Central battery Common area 111 kWh / 250 kW
Brazilian residential condominium (Alphaville). This pilot Wind turbine Social club 7.0 kW
application groups ten residential consumer units, Diesel generator Concierge 20 kW
condominium essential services such as surveillance, security
and lighting and energy sources, and is located in Eusebio,
Fortaleza Cear, Brazil.
B. Interruption cost ANEEL (National Agency of Electric Energy) for the
In Brazilian economic scenario, microgrids are not easily microgrid location, as shown in Table III.
feasible unless an interruption cost is specified. The main TABLE III FREQUENCY AND DURATION LIMITS FOR ENERGY INTERRUPTIONS
reasons for infeasibility are, among others:
DIC (hours) FIC (number of interruptions)
Capital costs for microgrid implementation are Annual Quart.. Monthly Annual Quart.. Monthly
very high; 20.77 10.38 5.19 13.20 6.60 3.30
There are not governmental direct incentives for
implementing microgrids;
Most of the players in the energy sector are not C. Load profile estimation
allowed to provide ancillary services. Load profiles were estimated based on Monte Carlo
As explained in Table II, microgrid value is the result of the methodology, known as the propagation of distribution method
addition of revenues and avoided costs, discounting project and [4]. This method was used because the microgrid hasnt been
operational costs. Therefore, avoided costs become relevant in totally implemented yet, and not enough measured data is
order to obtain revenues that justify the project investment. available for modelling load profiles. Thus, the estimated
TABLE II COMPONENTS OF MICROGRID VALUE
profiles were obtained based on the use variability of different
kind of equipment.
Microgrid revenues (MR) Microgrid avoided costs (MAC) The microgrid loads were classified into priority and non-
Sales of energy excess Payment of high demand charges priority load groups. For each group, the load curve was
Government incentives Interruption costs
Ancillary services Generated energy
composed considering different household types with different
Sales of energy with quality Problems related to low energy consume configurations, determined by its usage habits, that
(differential price) quality are dependent on consumers quantity per household type and
Possibility of connecting to another their routines.
Services for participants
voltage level (lower energy tariff) The analysis for the pilot microgrid was made categorizing
Microgrid Value= MAC + MR Project Costs Operational Costs
the loads into different family household types as shown in
For industrial applications, interruption costs can be easily Table IV. For each family type, the number of equipment and
estimated because they represent the value of lost production their usage probability by hour of the day was specified,
plus outage-related costs. These costs include labor costs to according to the familys routine. These usage probabilities
restart production, labor costs to make up production, material distribution were oriented by studies such as [5] and [6]. Some
costs to restart production, damage costs to materials and to the loads, such as refrigerators and freezers, were considered as
physical plant, among others [3]. constant loads during the day. An example of these
Nonetheless, for residential purposes, these costs do not probabilities distribution is showed in Table V.
apply, and the interruption costs estimation becomes TABLE IV - HOUSEHOLD TYPES
sometimes a challenge.
For the pilot application, the energy interruption cost was Household Type Inoccupancy times
assumed to be the opportunity cost for a potential new Single adult 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays
participant, and modeled as the investment that should be done Single Pensioner Adult Occupied all the time
to become part of the microgrid, weighted by the estimated Two adults 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays
number of interruptions. This approach makes sense because
Two adults with children 09:00 to 13:00 on weekdays
several condominium owners were not integrated at first in the
Two pensioners Occupied all the time
microgrid, and they will have to decide between the value of
the choice of a best alternative lost while making a decision. In Two adults at least 1 pensioner Occupied all the time
this case, the best alternative would be saving the investment, Three adults or more 13:00 to 18:00 on weekdays
compared with deciding to become part of the microgrid,
avoiding interruptions. TABLE V USAGE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FOR DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT
The investment is composed by two parts: automation
Time Hob Refrigerator Television Computer
equipment and a share of central storage system that this new
participant will be able to use. The value was diluted in the 05:00 to 6:00 0 1 0,1 0
possible energy interruptions that will be avoided by 06:00 to 7:00 0,2 1 0,3 0
connecting to the microgrid during the whole project lifetime. 07:00 to 8:00 0,6 1 0,5 0,2
Considering the storage capacity, the number of 08:00 to 9:00 0,1 1 0 0
interruption occurrences (within the tolerance limits for the
utility), and the initial investment, the energy interruption cost Along with certain equipment distribution usage such as
can be quantified in R$ per kWh. In the pilot application case, lighting and air conditioner, it is relevant to consider the
this quantity was 117.5 R$/kWh. influence of seasonality. Because of that, usage probabilities
The limit values of duration and frequency of energy were structured considering different weights for each season.
interruptions were based in the yearly limits dictated by Finally, the random number of families usage per hour is
multiplied by the number of equipment/number of families and
the specific consumption of each equipment. The process result III. SIMULATION RESULTS
is the equipment hourly power consumption distribution, for The result calculated by Homer Pro represent the most
each equipment modeled. economical configuration. The hourly behavior of the loads,
The sum of each equipment power consumption gives the the energy storage system and the power sources are
daily consumption per hour of each household type, and the represented in Figure IV. It is simple to observe that renewable
integration of all profiles in a single one results in the generation occurs during off-peak hours, and for this reason, it
electricity consumption load profile for each load type, as is interesting to create incentives that stimulate battery usage
shown in Figure II for the non-priority load type. for shifting generation from off-peak to on-peak hours, taking
advantage of the microgrid control capabilities. One of these
mechanisms, from the utility point-of-view, is presented below.
Peak Off-peak
FOR CF Annual total Economy
Demand Demand