March 2008 Update
Projects: SNHU Office for Sustainability
Roy
Morrison, Director
New:
- Electric Vehicle: Photovoltaic Charging Station and
Grid Tied Power Control
New all electric
and electric hybrid cars with lithium-ion batteries can allow development of a variety of potentially revolutionary grid tied
vehicle applications. The lithium ion batteries are capable of 10,000 or more charge/discharge cycles, making possible the
use of these batteries to both power the car and supply excess power into the electric grid.
During the
day while you work, the car will be charged by an electric grid tied parking lot photovoltaic (PV) system. The parking lot
PV system, if not charging the car, will feed power into the grid. If the grid needs peak power, the car batteries can also
feed available excess power from the lithium ion batteries into the grid. We will use our real time computer control system
to detect grid needs based on price and provide available battery power to the grid or grid power to car. At night, the car
will be charged at home by cheap off peak power, and be available to provide surplus or emergency power into the grid when
needed.
An electric
vehicle fleet could provide both a substantial portion of grid power, as well as serving to balance loads supplied by wind
farms and PV and solar thermal plants. The sun is out only the day time. The wind doesn’t blow all the time. Millions
of grid tied electric vehicles, combined with widespread distributed generation can substantially obviate the need for conventional
power plants needed and in conjunction with wind and solar systems, and reduce the need for renewable storage systems such
as compressed air.
Vehicle types
could include electric cars with lithium ion batteries, electric gas hybrids with lithium-ion batteries and both types of
cars with ultra capacitors to provide large amounts of power to car and/or grid quickly.
We are developing
a project to test a parking lot grid tied photovoltaic charging station for electric vehicles combined with computer control
and monitoring. We will be seeking utility and government partners for this project.
Current Projects:
2. Geothermal Heat Pump and/or Cogen Conversion of Electric Dorms
Working with
Public Service Co, Bob Vachon, SNHU Director of Facilities, has obtained metered electric data for one of the electric dorms.
This has allowed the Office for Sustainability to estimate building loads needed to be supplied by a ground source heat pump
and/or small cogeneration installation. (e.g. 50-100 kw/building). In the spring/summer we will explore drilling options to
determine heat pump/conversion costs.
Depending
on the water resource available, we will design a geothermal heat pump system to replace electric heating in lower campus
electric dorms. Project will attempt to use an innovative design for the generation of electricity from return water loop
from buildings to the wells, thus minimizing electric pumping energy. Project will be financed by third party based on the
stream of savings.
3. Geothermal Heat Pump Resource
We will drill, in the spring, shallow exploratory wells in the gravel
near the Merrimack River.
If sufficient water resources are found they could provide resources for buildings on north side of campus or beyond. Drill
sites were identified in the fall working with hydrogeologists. Bob Vachon, SNHU Director of Facilities, working with engineers
and surveyors has determined boundaries of SNHU property and obtained approval of Town of Hooksett
for potential road crossings to bring water to campus buildings.
Office for
Sustainability interns have helped identify potential plant resources for gasification or combustion from field on SNHU property
near river we have identified as part of this exploration.
4. New Academic Building
and Dining Common: Sustainability Design Changes
Working with
Bob Vachon, Director of Facilities and building contractors we have been working on identifying low-cost modification of proposed
building design for sustainability that will lower building energy use and make possible use of low temperature heat from
a variety of renewable sources. We have proposed modifications such as pipe chase entry for cogeneration, oversized heating
ducts and coils to allow use of low temperature heat, heat reclaim from air conditioning desuperheat for hot water use.
5. New Academic Building
and Dining Common: Cogeneration
We are designing
a proposed cogeneration system that will initially supply heat and base-load electricity to the new buildings from natural
gas fired engines located in a structure in the vicinity of central receiving. The design is being optimized to include possibilities
of water storage to maximize heat reclaim possibilities and potential use of ground source heat pump. The engines will be
capable to use wood gas in the future.
We will also
present finance opportunities including financing based on stream of savings and third party ownership of system and sale
of heat and electricity to SNHU.
6. Wood Gasification Cogeneration
We are investigating the use of a wood gasification system from New Zealand to be manufactured in the U.S that will gasify recycled waste wood.
The wood gas would power the cogeneration units being designed for new Academic building and new Dining Common.
The wood
gasification system would use a briquetter to produce fuel for the gasifier from
sawdust or recycled paper or corn. SNHU would be able to sell a renewable energy hedge based on sale of electricity from the
device and RECs to help finance the project.
7. Real Time Price Control of Electric Devices
We
will test an internet or satellite pager based device we have designed that will use real time five-minute price signals from
ISO-NE to control electricity device operation and use. This will include optimizing operation of any SNHU cogeneration system.
Such a real time control device, if widely employed, can affect the New England electric
system state, reduce electric prices, and help mitigate environmental effects. This can be a hallmark of the development of
a smart, sustainable electric utility grid
8.
Smart Cool Air Conditioning Optimization
We will test and monitor the operation of so-called Smart Cool
controller to optimize air conditioning operation and report on its performance in controlling A/C units in a selected campus
building.
9. Biodiesel Production from Kitchen Grease
Office for Sustainability
interns are exploring use of kitchen grease to produce biodiesel. Working with a number of stakeholders, a system is being
considered to collect grease form participating institutions, transport grease to the City of Keene to a planned biodiesel production facility. The biodiesel would be returned and used
either for oil burners or fuel for on-campus vehicles.
10. Intervention at NH Public Utility Commission to Present a Rate Design
Supporting Sustainability
We have presented an outline of our proposal
to redesign distribution utility rates to allow utilities to make sufficient income from supporting efficiency, distributed
generation, cogeneration, and renewable resources. We will present further models of this market based system for a smart
sustainable grid in operation.
Sustainability SNHU Sustainbility Workshops
