Final Project

The goal of this project has been achieved! To optimize Union’s microgrid, I used MATLAB linear programming optimization and found a low-carbon, least-cost energy mix that realistically and reliably meets Union’s peak day demand. The functional decomposition below describes my project’s work flow:

The energy mix is diverse, made up of solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, geothermal power, and lithium ion battery storage in addition to the cogeneration plant on campus now. Land constraints for system sizes were included, as well as a battery control scheme. Here is the system make up and final cost:

Here is what it looks like, on Union’s peak day (February 15th, 2019) under worst case conditions (solar and wind power output scaled down by 20% to mimic a cloudy and slow wind speed day):

This energy mix was tested in the Simulink model and produced satisfactory results. The source provided a small amount of power, 30-390 Watts, which is negligible and attributed to the solar panels outputting that much less than specified in MATLAB. Future work includes improving the model to be more complex and detailed to represent Union’s microgrid, as well as get the source power to exactly zero to prove that supply does in fact meet demand.

Here is my poster summarizing my project: 499poster

Here is a presentation I gave about my project: 499 Presentation

Here is my final report: Caitlin 499 Report

Below are the .m files you can edit and explore in MATLAB! Please email me at mcmahonc@union.edu to obtain the input data file and Simulink model to use with these (they can’t upload to this website).

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