Renewable energy and energy storage technologies are expected to promote the goal of net zero-energy buildings. This article presents a new sustainable energy solution using photovoltaic-driven liquid air energ.
What is the PV power consumption of a data center?
During the period from 8:25 to 17:07, the PV power generation is higher than 17.5 MW. Therefore, during this time, the power consumption of the data center can be fully supplied by the PV system, and the excess PV power is used for the charging process of CAES system to compress the air and store the compressed energy.
What is compressed air energy storage (CAES)?
Meanwhile, to suppress the volatility of PV power generation and reduce the operation costs of the data center during peak periods of power grid, a suitable compressed air energy storage (CAES) with five stages of compression and four stages of expansion is proposed. During the day, the extra electricity from PV system is stored in CAES.
Why are concentrated photovoltaics important?
In this context, Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV) play a crucial role in renewable energy generation and carbon emission reduction as a highly efficient and clean power generation technology .
How much power does a PV system use?
For the charging process, the charging power varies with that of PV system, and the maximum charging power is 37.5 MW. Under design conditions, the all-day efficiency of the PV system is 18.37 %. In a day, for the CAES, RTE is 64.88 % and ESD is 5.02 kW·h·m −3.
This system comprises key components such as a Fresnel lens concentrating system, gallium arsenide solar photovoltaic cells, a CPV cell cooling system, and a solar tracking system. Sunlight is focused by the lens system into a spot of the same area as the photovoltaic cells.
What is the efficiency of a PV system?
Under design conditions, the all-day efficiency of the PV system is 18.37 %. In a day, for the CAES, RTE is 64.88 % and ESD is 5.02 kW·h·m −3. The total exergy destruction of the whole system within 24 h can be up to 1581001 kW·h.