Design Project: Grid-Tied Electricity Storage You are tasked with developing concept design options for an electrical energy storage system serving a health-care facility, on the outskirts of Belfast

ENE706 Electricity Storage and Electricity Networks
Coursework Assignment 2024-25
Version 2.0 – 18 February 2025

Design Project: Grid-Tied Electricity Storage
You are tasked with developing concept design options for an electrical energy storage system serving a health-care facility, on the outskirts of Belfast, which is aiming to reduce their electricity bills, carbon emissions, and future uncertainties regarding energy costs and supply security. The site has a large flat roof (2000m2) and an adjacent plot of land (2 Hectares) which is mainly used for carparking (approximately half the area).

The site manager has received quotes from renewable energy equipment suppliers suggesting that solar photovoltaics would cost £750/kWp for ground-mounted panels, £950/kWp for roof-mounted panels, and £1300/kWp for solar carports; and that wind turbines would cost between £2500/kW and £4500/kW depending upon size. The site manager contacted several different suppliers but only two responded and none gave any indication of prices for batteries (so you will need to find this out).

The coursework assignment consists of two parts:

Part A (30% of total mark): Use HOMER Grid software to build an electrical energy model of the healthcare facility using the load profile and utility energy bill tariff data provided. Vary the values of model inputs and examine how this affects the suggested cost-optimal electrical energy storage system size.
Part B (70% of total mark): Investigate options for alternative electrical energy storage systems and develop at least two alternative concept design options for the site. Use the HOMER Grid model to compare the whole-life economic viability and environmental benefits of your design options. Consider the possibilities for including emerging innovative technologies which are not currently commercially available.
Further details and instructions for Part A
Use HOMER Grid software to build an electrical energy model of the healthcare facility using the load profile and utility energy bill tariff data provided (files available on Blackboard).

Assume that the renewable energy supply will be provided by 1MWp of solar panels located somewhere on the site (see details on Page 1).

Use the HOMER Grid optimiser to determine a cost-optimal size for an electrical energy storage system. You will need to make various assumptions regarding model inputs such as:

Costs of solar equipment and batteries
Derating factors for the PV plant
Possible future energy tariff changes
Possible future load demand increases
Likelihood of future power outages
Cost of finance to pay for initial capital expenditure (represented by discount rate)
Inflation rates and assumed project lifetime
The main aim of Part A of the assignment is to assess how sensitive your model is to the uncertainties associated with your assumptions about the model inputs. Vary the values of model inputs and examine how this affects the suggested cost-optimal electrical energy storage system size.

You have been given (files available on Blackboard):

Grid electricity consumed at a healthcare facility in Northern Ireland in 2019 “grid import.csv”
The time of use electricity tariff which applied for the year “Tariff G.json”
Deliverables and marks:
A1:HOMER Grid model (*.hgrid file) – 10% of overall module mark

You should send a copy of your HOMER Grid model with its inputs and results corresponding to one of the scenarios discussed in your short report (A2).

A2:Short report (maximum 500 words, *.pdf) – 20% of overall module mark

The report should mainly consist of tables detailing all the scenarios you examined – which input variables you investigated, what ranges of input values you considered, and how these inputs affected the output results of the model. Please identify clearly which scenario corresponds with the submitted HOMER Grid model (A1). Briefly discuss your key findings about which variables, assumptions, and uncertainties have the greatest impact upon the cost-optimal size of the electrical energy storage system.

Submission deadline:
Thursday 20th March 2025

The Blackboard submission dropbox will close at 11:59 am

Further details and instructions for Part B
There are four main tasks for this part of the assignment:

B1. Prepare a draft skeleton structure for your report which should consist of a contents page with main headings and sub-headings together with your initial ideas about tasks B2, B3 and B3 below.

B2. Undertake research by reviewing academic and commercial literature to identify emerging innovative energy storage technologies. Critically analyse the literature to identify key performance indicators quantifying technical benefits, costs, and environmental impacts of the emerging innovative energy storage technologies and compare these to existing established technologies. Consider issues such as levelized cost of storage (£/kWh), cost of power delivery capacity (£/kW), storage duration and charge/discharge rates (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months) round-trip efficiency and standing losses (%), energy density (kWh/m3, kW/m3, kWh/kg, kW/kg), and environmental impacts (materials and land use).

B3. Develop at least two alternative concept design options for the site examined in Part A. You may choose to change the size of the solar array, add wind turbines, and add back-up power sources such as diesel generators (which could potentially run on biofuel). You may also choose to use one of the emerging innovative energy storage technologies (from in B2) by making assumptions about what their future costs might be. Evaluate the whole-life economic viability of each option using your HOMER Grid model. Discuss the technical feasibility and environmental benefits of each option paying particular attention to CO2 emissions.

B4. Decide which option you would recommend for the site and justify why you would make that recommendation. Develop the business case for your chosen solution and examine the viability of the investment under a range of possible scenarios and circumstances. Identify and discuss any additional (current or future) values streams (such as arbitrage and grid support services) which could be monetized or used to support the business case.

Deliverables and marks:

All of the above should be contained within a single report of maximum 2500 words (excluding tables and figures) and maximum 15 pages of A4. The report should be submitted to Blackboard in *.pdf format. Marks will be apportioned as follows:

•Structure and content – 10% of overall module mark

•Introduction, background, and context – 5% of overall module mark

•Electrical energy storage system literature review – 15% of overall module mark

•Technoeconomic evaluation of chosen solution – 20% of overall module mark

•Business case for recommended option – 15% of overall module mark

•Presentation, referencing, use of English – 5% of overall module mark

Submission deadline:
Wednesday 16th April 2025

The Blackboard submission dropbox will close at 11:59 am