Objective 3

Modular Systems Case Studies

Lead

Research Questions:

How can new technologies not currently deployed in renewable-hybrid grids be evaluated for their potential to influence FEW security?

Electrical resistance heaters are commonly employed to dispatch excess electricity produced by intermittent renewable sources. However, other dispatchable loads may impact the FEW nexus in ways that better address a particular community’s needs. For this Objective, we evaluate three different modular FEW-related systems for their potential to serve as dispatchable loads in renewable-hybrid microgrids.

Purpose

The purpose is not only to characterize the function of systems themselves, but also to develop the capacity of MicroFEWs to integrate new technologies into the modelling process.

Actions

  Status
Characterize operation of Lifewater systems with intermittent power, and describe optimal operating conditions as dispatchable loads Completed
Evaluate Lifewater biosolids for potential agricultural use Deferred
Evaluate energy reduction options for UAA water reuse systems through process optimization or integration of multiple systems Completed
Investigate modifications to the UAA water reuse system necessary for operation as dispatchable load Completed
Evaluate function and productivity of CropBox system under the three energy system scenarios Completed
Add performance characterization data to database developed in Objective 2. In Progress

Highlights

A Tale of Two Communities: Adopting and Paying for an In-Home Non-Potable Water Reuse System in Rural Alaska. Lucas C., Johnson B., Snyder E.H., Aggarwal S., Dotson A. ACS ES&T Water 2021 (8), 1807-1815. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.1c00113

Novel Wind Resource Assessment and Demand Flexibility Analysis for Community Resilience: A Remote Microgrid Case Study. Her, C., Sambor, D.J., Whitney, E., and Wies, Jr., R.W. Renewable Energy, 179, 1472 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.07.099.

Sambor, D.J., Bishop, S.C.M, Dotson, A., Aggarwal, S., and Jacobson, M.Z. Optimizing Demand Response of a Modular Water Reuse System in a Remote Arctic Microgrid. Submitted: Journal of Cleaner Production (2021).

Abstract presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2020: Assessment of River Hydrokinetic Energy Technologies for Isolated Remote Alaska Communities - Impacts on Micro-Scale Food, Energy, and Water System Infrastructure Loads.

Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2020: Energy consumption for domestic water treatment and distribution in remote Alaskan communities.

Western Canada’s first off-grid food production facility to provide fresh produce to Yukon community all year-round: Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) testing options for sustainable food security in south-west Yukon. 2020.

Tool for Optimizing Solar and Battery Storage for Container Farming in a Remote Arctic Microgrid. Daniel J. Sambor, Michelle Wilber, Erin Whitney, Mark Z. Jacobson.  Energies 2020, 13(19).  https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195143