| KEYWORD |
Inertial Energy Storage
Thesis in external company
keywords ENERGY STORAGE, RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
Reference persons STEFANO CARABELLI
External reference persons Ing. Enrico Rava (Elettorava S.p.A.)
Thesis type THEORETICAL/EXPERIMENTAL
Description Renewable energy sources already play a relevant and increasing role in the energy production in developed, developing and even underdeveloped countries.
Electric energy distribution is no longer a game between few production sites and many consumers to be managed by regulating the generation of the formers to compensate for the load of the latters.
The intrinsic efficiency of local use of energy from renewable sources together with its back-up capability is the next step of the green (r)evolution.
Renewable energy sources are highly discontinuous, by nature. Small solar, wind and, to some extent, hydro sources are prone to natural phenomena like clouds, gulls and rain which are discontinuous by definition. Moreover being the position of micro and mini renewable energy sources mostly linked to private houses or small business existing locations, the choice is forced to be less than optimal from the energy production point of view.
With the increase of micro- and mini-size renewable energy sources the grid will be definitely stressed without the presence of any yielding element, i.e. energy storage mean, to accomodate the power fluctuations between distribuited offering and demand.
Moreover off-grid or remote-from-grid locations as well as energy self-usage need substantial load levelling and frequency regulation within the admissible limit values of appliances together with energy storage capability.
Low maintenance, long life, low environmental impact stationary batteries
Energy storage for renewable energy production does not need the high energy density of the batteries used in mobile devices or electric vehicles, i.e. it may be more bulky without causing a major problem. On the other hand it requires the same lifespan of the energy generators, e.g. photovoltaic panels or eolic generators, and the capabilities to absorb power peaks, i.e. it must have a good power density.
Flywheels are a well known solution to store energy. Together with magnetic bearings and sealed vacuum case to eliminate any friction, they turn out to be well suited for stationary applications, both alone or in combination with other technologies.
Moreover flywheels are basically made of iron and copper, whose lifecycle carbon footprint is well known and totally recyclable at their end of life.
Required skills Automatic Control, Electrical Machines, Rotordynamics
Deadline 30/06/2013
PROPONI LA TUA CANDIDATURA