Feasibility study of integrating hybrid renewable energy systems into a multi-unit residential building (MURB): A case-study in Montreal metropolitan area

Abstract

In a context of dense urbanization, hybrid renewable energy systems HRES could be a convenient alternative to the conventional form of electricity generation and its respective grid enhancement. Solar and wind power are the most accessible form of energy resources with complementarity capability. Wind and solar energy systems seem to be the most appropriate amongst renewable energy sources for urban districts. Because of the stochastic nature of wind and solar resources which causes less efficiency of the system, a combined system employing both technologies will complement shortcomings. This Thesis investigates the energy yield assessment and financial feasibility of two proposed grid-connected hybrid solar photovoltaic and wind energy systems for a multi-unit residential building (MURB) in Montreal, Canada. This research is conducted using RETScreen energy management analysis tool, with external climate data from NASA and NRCan being incorporated into the software for enhanced accuracy. This meteorological information includes wind speed, wind direction, amount of solar irradiance and air temperature at hourly intervals. The model is configured for maximum annual energy production. Two system configurations with varying ratios of solar PV and wind power capacity of 90kW and 100kW have been proposed as well as a reference scenario. The energy system is sized according to the space constraints of the building, consumption demand, and financial considerations. The wind turbine and photovoltaic panel units have been selected from a pool of commercially available products that offered the highest output power at the lowest investment cost. Product weight and dimensions, as well as logistics, were also studied. The feasibility of producing energy and cost savings from HRES are evaluated for all Canadian provinces and adjacent states regarding the energy output and price if the system was relocated in those regions. The financial savings were calculated assuming the electricity generated by the system was consumed rather than purchased from the grid. Amongst two scenarios that were investigated, the system with the lowest cost ($0.145 per kWh) produced over 30-years of life span was considered to be the most feasible in Montreal. Both proposed systems covered more than a third of the building's energy needs over the course of the year. In July, the system with more wind capacity met more than 75% of the load demand and produced 3.85% more annual energy than the other system. Results from equally sized wind/PV reference scenario indicates that wind power is likely to generate more energy than solar PV in the Montreal area. However the photovoltaic system seem to be more favorable for this case-study considering other factors. The system configuration with more hybrid renewable energy produced 151 MWh of energy per year for the assessed site. In the end, the sufficiency of wind and solar power resources is validated, but the feasibility of a building-integrated wind/PV hybrid energy system is largely depends on the cost of electricity of the area.

Date	4 May 2023
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Ricardo Izquierdo (Supervisor)