Alternative Energy Supplement Design Dec07-04 Client: Mary Elizabeth and Colin Chinery Advisors: Professor John W. Lamont and Professor Ralph Patterson III Team Members: Matthew Kelly (Team Leader) Aaron Kulow Daniel Rathe (Communications Director) Joshua Riley

Problem Statement Reduce client’s energy bill Current Energy Costs to Client –$0.1024/kWh for first 1100 kWh/month $ for additional kWh –Natural Gas $0.1697/Therm Use alternative energy systems –Wind –Solar Projections –Energy use –Energy production –Future building plans(from Professor Patterson) Determine mode of operation for alternative energy system Economic analysis program to compare different systems

Concept Sketch

System Block Diagram

Project Requirements Recommend system Compare different systems Life Cycle, Cost, Production, Maintenance, Warranty, Contractor Select mode of operation for the system Stand Alone Independent of the grid Always meets full load Store energy Primary Connected to grid Provides more than half of consumed energy Secondary Connected to grid Provides less than half of consumed energy No Change

System Requirements 60 Hz 120 Volts kWhrs per Month Automatic Protection from back-feeding to grid during an outage(if primary/backup) Package deal All installation work done by one General Contractor May have sub-contactors All system components must be compatible Available for installation in Iowa

Geothermal System Types of geothermal systems Installation contractors in area Information to obtain from installation contractors Financial incentives offered by utility companies

Operating Environment West of Ames, IA -30 to 120 degrees F Snow, high wind, ice Unobstructed pasture area available north of acreage Unavailability of flowing stream or pond

System Testing Track financial savings Actual power output Proper installation –Grounding –Automatic disconnect from utility if power is lost –Structural stability –Starting and stopping of turbine Monitoring of system performance

Economic Analysis Block Diagram

Economic Analysis Functional Requirements Final cost/savings of system Have 5 step/percent changes in usage Have gradient for cost increase of energy Incorporate time-value of money Financing options/incentives/tax breaks Calculate break even year

Monthly Energy Output x =

Program Inputs System and tower Rate structure Energy consumption Future increases in energy consumption Inflation Loan information Default inputs to Chinery data

Program Outputs

Program Testing Vertical wind speed profile –Compare with Iowa Energy Center Wind speed probability distribution –Weibull shape and scale parameters –Compare with Rayleigh distribution Monthly energy output—Compare with manufacturer’s estimated output Verify economic analysis results by independent calculations User interface testing Sanity checking for valid user inputs

Deliverables Economic Analysis Program –Excel financial spreadsheet –User Manual Recommended System Vendor list Manufacturer spec sheet

TotalEstimated HoursActual Hours% Complete Budgeted Costs of Work Scheduled Problem Definition %$525 Technology Selection %$5,664 End Product Design %$1,080 Project Reporting %$2,579 Overall $9,848 Earned Value Analysis

Total Budgeted Costs of Work Performed Actual Costs of Work Performed Cost Performance Index Schedule Performance Problem Definition $525$97554%100% Technology Selection $5,098$1,433356%90% End Product Design $1,058$1,68563%98% Project Reporting $2,579$2,060125%100% Overall$9,260$6,153151%94% Earned Value Analysis

Conclusions A working economic analysis program has been created in Excel Recommendations –No alternative energy system for power Future Work –Inclusion of insurance costs –Addition of systems –Inclusion of hybrid system –Pursue grants