POWBAL: Using Load Shifting to Encourage Behavioral Change Among Residential Energy Users
POWBAL (Power Balancing) is a research project that aims to explore how IoT technologies can drive the clean energy transition in the UK via automated electricity demand management to shift load from peak to off-peak hours. The objective of this project is to gain a thorough understanding of the factors that influence energy users to participate in demand shifting programs and how well they respond to incentives, in addition to analyzing the optimum frequency of demand shifting that will result in sufficient cost savings for the energy user and maximize environmental benefits.
Supervisors:
- Dr Shefali Khanna, Department of Economics and Public Policy
- Dr Mirabelle Muuls, Department of Economics and Public Policy
Pricing Policy to Promote Renewable Energy Investments and Reduce Carbon Emissions in Jordan
Jordan has ambitious plans to transform its energy system into a more sustainable system taking advantage of the country's vast renewable energy potential whilst reducing energy costs. The research project aims at helping Jordan achieve its future sustainability targets and address grid flexibility challenges. To this end, this project will design a price-based demand response program (pricing model) to facilitate the integration of renewables while considering the different sectors' requirements. The project will also provide qualitative evidence to support the price-based program implementation in Jordan.
Supervisors:
- Dr Charalambos Konstantinou, CEMSE Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
- Dr Fei Teng, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Assessing the Impact of Electrolyzers on Grid Operations
Amid rising integration of renewable energy, grid flexibility is paramount. A 'business-as-usual' stance risks supply-demand mismatches leading to renewable curtailment and grid congestion. While grid batteries address short-term flexibility needs, seasonal disparities from weather persist. Storing surplus electricity as Hydrogen via electrolysis in salt caverns offers a cost-effective remedy. The cost benefits of a hydrogen supply chain for the electricity system is evaluated using a Unit Commitment and Economic Dispatch model, analyzing optimal unit engagement and production on an hourly basis. The goal is to elucidate Hydrogen's potential in bolstering grid resilience.
Supervisors:
- Dr Elina Spyrou, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
The Importance of Integrating Demand Side Response Into the Domestic Energy Sector
With the renewable share of electricity generation increasing, the problem of intermittency is increasing. The importance of matching demand and supply is becoming more difficult and more important as we move away from flexible fossil fuels. The issues we face often occur only over short periods when supply is low and demand spikes. If we were able to shift demand to a different period, that spike in demand could be reduced, mitigating the chances of overloading or blackout. This project tests the willingness of consumers to allow their household appliances to be turned off for short periods of time, using WIFI-enabled smart plugs, replicating times when the grid is overloaded.
Supervisors:
- Dr Shefali Khanna, Business School
- Dr Mirabelle Muuls, Business School
The decarbonisation of data centres' electricity consumption: a UK case study
Data centres have become a key part of our digital economy, and their electricity consumption will increase with the evolution of Artificial Intelligence. This thesis is done in collaboration with an infrastructure fund and consists of developing a 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) data centre. It includes a techno-economic analysis and detailed modelization of off-site renewable energy options coupled with on-site energy storage to achieve 24/7 CFE. CFE heatmaps and total cost are used as scoring metrics for evaluating the options. The final objective of this thesis is to design a service allowing DC customers to operate under a higher-grade of 24/7 carbon-neutral matching.
Supervisors:
- Dr Fei Teng, Energy Futures Lab
- Adrien Lebrun, External
- Dharman Sury, External
Digitalization in the Energy Network: Using IoT to Decarbonize Indonesia Remote Area Electricity
In 2020, 86% of the total energy consumption in Indonesia came from fossil fuels, mainly coal for the electricity sector. The Indonesian government has started to put effort into decarbonizing the electricity sector. However, remote areas still face challenges such as expensive microgrids with high carbon diesel generators. Digitalization, specifically the Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the potential solutions to increase efficiency and reduce microgrid costs. The aims of this research project are to create an IoT model for microgrid system in Sebira island, Indonesia and to assess the economic impacts of implementing IoT in the microgrid system for the local government.
Supervisors:
- Dr Aidan Rhodes, Energy Futures Lab
Role and value of EV fast charging stations in distribution expansion planning under uncertainty
The requirement for increasing system flexibility is a crucial aspect of decarbonising today's power grid. One way to achieve this is by introducing various energy storage technologies. With the increase in electric vehicles (EVs), the technology is considered a promising future energy storage system, especially considering 95% of its lifetime is not in use. However, many problems still need to be solved, such as EV's allocation. This research proposes several quantitative optimisation models for different scenarios using Pyomo and Gurobi solvers, and analysis is performed based on the outcomes.
Supervisors:
- Professor Goran Strbac, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Dr Spyros Giannelos, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Stefan Borozan, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering