Marc Mueller-Stoffels, PhD

Isolated Diesel Grids

Renewable Integration
 Hybrid-Diesel Power
Generation
Diesel-only cost: between 0.35
and 1+ $/kWh
Wind in rural AK
Average $10,700/kW
Large, commercial wind farms:
< $3000/kW
PV in rural AK
We dont really know the cost yet
Target: $5000/kW makes it
commercially viable in many
places (@ avoided fuel cost)
Note
Diesel generators: (relatively) low
initial investment, but then
RE sources: high initial
investment, but then
Customer Requirements
Rural AK sees large 100
5

variability in demand 90
4

Mostly high winter 80

Time spent at or above given load level [%]

3

loads

%
70
2
But, in some places, 60
1
industry drives high
50
summer demand 0
800 900 1000 1100 1200
kW
40
Power has to be of
decent quality
30

20
Outages are always
Full record
unacceptable
10
April 2013
J anuary 2013
0
Especially at 50 below 500 600 700 800 900
Load level [kW]
1000 1100 1200 1300
Diesel Powerhouse
Generally:
Provides prime power (forms the grid, i.e., one diesel is
always on)
Provides electricity AND heat
Diesels have sweet spot, outside this, efficiency suffers
Usually pretty well dialed-in
100+ years of operation
Cost break-down
Fuel cost
Cost of operation
Investment
Integration of RE Basic
Rules
Operational envelope of diesel generators
Never under-load diesels (20 to 40%)
Do not risk overload (>110%) [keep spinning
reserve]
Sudden large load swings should be avoided
Without control of RE resource
Only small amounts of RE power can be
allowed
Example: distributed PV can quickly become
detrimental
Hybrid-Grid Control:
Source Management
Curtail RE source to remain in
operational envelope
Spinning reserve:
Largest sudden load rise, or amount of
RE on grid, which ever is bigger
p [kW] 300

200
r

100

200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
p [kW]
l

0.8

0.6
l

0.4
p /p
r

0.2

0
200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
p [kW]
l
Hybrid-Grid Control:
Load Management
Loads that are controlled by the
utility do not require spinning reserve
Examples: Pumps, electric heaters,
cooling equipment
Allows operation with less or smaller
diesel generators
Maximizes RE power use
 300
pr [kW] 200

100
200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
pl [kW]

1.5
pr/pl

0.5

200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
pl [kW]

1.5
<pr/pl>

0.5

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Pd [kW]
Diesel-off -- Game Changer?

Affordable Energy Storage

< 0.10 $/kWh
Need to replace diesel by power-
electronics as prime mover
Diesel-off mode
Additional 30% fuel savings
Reduced O&M cost
Permanent diesel-off cheaper diesel
packages
And the value of RE power?
Displaced Fuel
Not a linear function, but direct savings
Reduced O&M on diesels
Small maintenance can be scheduled
based on gallons of fuel used
Hedging
Volatile fossil fuel prices are a direct risk
RE power can hedge against variation
(usually fixed cost)
Marc Mueller-Stoffels, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Alaska Center for Energy and Power
University of Alaska Fairbanks
mmuellerstoffels@alaska.edu

Questions?