Renewable Energy Microgrid Integration for Remote, Off-grid Cabins in Nunavut
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Abstract
This project will investigate the energy-resilience and diesel consumption reduction for Arctic homes and shelters through integration of renewable energy conversion technologies and the sympathetic reduction of community energy demands focused on the IQ principles of qanuqtuurniq (being innovative and resourceful) and avatittinnik kamatsiarniq (respect and care for the land, animals, and the environment).
Demand reduction measures will investigate feasible advanced building design configurations and operational strategies to inform new solutions towards Net Zero Best Practice which are applicable to the extreme climatic conditions experienced and the cultural way of life of the Mumavut population. The implementation of these practices will serve to improve the indoor environmental comfort conditions experienced while reducing both the extreme seasonal energy demands and resulting plant capacity needed to service the Communities during the extremes of seasonal climate variations to be experienced. Applicable low/ zero carbon energy supply strategies will be investigated which meets the extremities of the energy demands. This will consist of hybrid renewable energy supply solutions where seasonal operational factors will be developed in order to account for the variation in practical energy yields across the seasons. This is to ensure demand-supply matching is maintained across the different energy outputs when operating under the influence of seasonal climate effects (snow, ice, freezing temperatures) and resulting fluctuations in the renewable resource (wind, solar, hydrokinetic, etc.). In addressing the energy yields to be expected from seasonal influences in performance of the renewable energy technologies, A Capacity Balance Ratio will be developed which informs the mix of technology type i.e. wind, solar and micro-mini hydro kinetic supply systems with capacity rating of these in order to minimise energy buffering/ storage requirements. The socio-economic benefits to be attained by the adopting communities through embedding indigenous installation and maintenance capabilities and capacities within the communities will be demonstrated while community upskilling and engagement will be enacted through local enterprise engagement and bi-lateral 'village hall' interactions.
Demand reduction measures will investigate feasible advanced building design configurations and operational strategies to inform new solutions towards Net Zero Best Practice which are applicable to the extreme climatic conditions experienced and the cultural way of life of the Mumavut population. The implementation of these practices will serve to improve the indoor environmental comfort conditions experienced while reducing both the extreme seasonal energy demands and resulting plant capacity needed to service the Communities during the extremes of seasonal climate variations to be experienced. Applicable low/ zero carbon energy supply strategies will be investigated which meets the extremities of the energy demands. This will consist of hybrid renewable energy supply solutions where seasonal operational factors will be developed in order to account for the variation in practical energy yields across the seasons. This is to ensure demand-supply matching is maintained across the different energy outputs when operating under the influence of seasonal climate effects (snow, ice, freezing temperatures) and resulting fluctuations in the renewable resource (wind, solar, hydrokinetic, etc.). In addressing the energy yields to be expected from seasonal influences in performance of the renewable energy technologies, A Capacity Balance Ratio will be developed which informs the mix of technology type i.e. wind, solar and micro-mini hydro kinetic supply systems with capacity rating of these in order to minimise energy buffering/ storage requirements. The socio-economic benefits to be attained by the adopting communities through embedding indigenous installation and maintenance capabilities and capacities within the communities will be demonstrated while community upskilling and engagement will be enacted through local enterprise engagement and bi-lateral 'village hall' interactions.
Publications
Baril D
(2024)
Air-based BIPV/T for Low-arctic Applications
Kirby K
(2024)
Identification of the best method for detecting surface water in Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite imagery
in Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment
Kirby K
(2024)
Accuracy of Surface Water Maps Derived from Radar Satellite Imagery Compared to Multispectral Satellite Imagery
in Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing
| Description | Identification of potential river location for feasible hydrokinetic resource extraction in Inuit Nunangat. Field observation of candidate locations and selection of case study site (Sylvia Grinnell River) confirmed high potential. Flow characterization for potential hydrokinetic renewable energy on the Sylvia Grinnell River. Field data collection in two different seasonal flow conditions. Field observation of the river in four different seasonal flow conditions. Hydrodynamic modelling of hydrokinetic energy in SG River to understand theoretical resource availability over a typical year, and to provide simulated river velocity for U of Strathclyde energy analysis of hydrokinetic turbines. An experimental building integrated photovoltaic/thermal collector prototype was designed, fabricated, and delivered to Concordia University, in Montreal, Canada. Assembly and instrumentation was conducted at Concordia University's Solar Simulator Environmental Chamber lab. Performance testing at -15°C and -25°C using 700W/m2 of irradiance at three air flow rates of 100, 200 and 300 kg/h. Three different hydrokinetic technology types appropriate for community scale deployment have been evaluated for power and energy performance. These included horizontal axis turbines (HAT), cross flow turbines (CFT) and oscillating foil (OF) systems. While the HAT had the highest power output, the CFT gave the best energy performance, whilst the OF device delivered the lowest energy output but has the lowest environmental concerns, especially in relation to migrating fish. Progressive improvements to both the cabins fabric and construction was undertaken to establish the impact on reducing energy demands without impacting on occupant/ user comfort or expectations. Relative to current cabin construction, a major DIY approach to include major insulating and draft-proofing of cabins can reduce energy demands by 60%, whilst adopting 'Passive House' standards on new build cabins can save up to 90% of energy demands. This makes meeting these energy demands from renewables more feasible and attainable. To minimise the need for energy storage and maximise renewable energy benefit, a network connection analysis to the local Baffin Island network, operated Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC), was investigated. This identified renewable generating capacity with a 10kW max limit can be connected to the network, with cabin owners receiving energy credits as opposed to a financial tariff for electricity supplied. The credit is at the same cost as electricity purchased from QEC. All credits accumulated need to be used by the end of the financial year, 31 March, otherwise they are void. Initially, this credit-based approach is potentially a more financially attractive option for homeowners, providing they use all credits. However, it results in potentially limiting renewable energy supply to a maximum of 50% of demand, preventing a net positive RE supply from being attained. Socio-economic evaluation involved the introduction of Nunavut community representatives from NNC and site visits to community energy projects undertaken by communities in rural UK. Although not incurring severity of climate as experienced in Nunavut, the UK socio-economic challenges including de-population, especially with younger people in the community, and loss of culture challenges are similar. The engagement of the Isle of Eigg and the Findhorn communities in the UK provided a route map for attaining significant benefits by the adoption of the REMIROCaN principles. The large home energy reductions result in a significant reduction in 'fuel poverty', a higher comfort level attained in dwellings, development of higher skilled jobs, up-skilling of local labour, retention of younger community members and growth in community population. Community engagement and feedback was attained via workshop, discussion, knowledge sharing and training sessions at Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat, Nunavut Arctic College and wider North American First Nation representatives via workshops at the SevenGen Energy Assembly. These were positively received with participants identifying the positive contributions smaller scale RE systems can have in their communities but there is an important requirement for local ownership of projects with this providing new opportunities to in-community service suppliers and supporting higher quality professional work opportunities and upskilling of local personnel. Data and results of the hydrokinetic resource assessment on the Sylvia Grinnell River were transferred to the Iqaluit Hunters and Trappers Association. Engagement and interaction with the Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat (CCS), enabled wider dissemination of the REMEROCaN activities and the potential translation of these into future local policy frameworks and inform future funding programs under development, especially the next stages of the CCS small scale renewable energy support scheme. MATLAB was used to model the selected wind turbines using their respective power curves and a fraction of polynomials technique which conveniently transforms power curves into user-friendly functions describing the wind turbines' power output for any given wind speed in a single equation. Wind shear and hub-height variations were accounted for by applying appropriate wind shear coefficients. A small investigation was also conducted, assessing the use of static or transient wind shear coefficients, although there only existed enough data from one location to conduct the small case study, it was found that it made little to no difference. The energy yields were analysed with three different temporal resolutions: yearly, monthly, and hourly. Yearly and monthly data were more apt for comparison with energy demand profiles, which were expected to be annual or monthly figures. Hourly energy yields were used to develop hourly probabilities of energy generation throughout the year. This final representation of the data highlights the intra-annual variation of energy generation from hour to hour, as well as seasonal and even slight diurnal trends. Turbine reliability in Arctic conditions: Given its remote location and distance from the UK research team, an interview was conducted with SD Wind Energy, a manufacturer of small-scale wind turbines. The company reported no icing-related performance issues over 25 years of deployment and that a recently refurbished turbine had been returned to the field after 20 years of operation, demonstrating robust long-term performance in remote and harsh environments. The turbines' initial performance evaluation was based on capacity factor, a commonly used metric representing the ratio of average power output to the maximum possible output. However, this severely penalised the smallest of the wind turbines, whose power curve was an advantageous shape for such a criterion. Furthermore, it was determined that a more contextually relevant performance indicator would be the alignment between wind power output and local energy demand. This prompted the development of representative energy demand datasets by merging various region-wide monthly data and community-specific yearly data. Monthly electrical demand profiles were derived from Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) and Statistics Canada datasets, and heating demand was estimated using heating degree days as a proxy. Icing on turbine blades, this study uses literature and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to calculate lift and drag curves for a small turbine hydrodynamic profile. The blade profile (geometry) was then augmented to include ice accumulation at its leading edge. Lift and drag coefficients were then extracted for the base case and augmented CFD models. The calculated lift and drag coefficients will be implemented into a Blade element Momentum Theory (BEMT) code developed at Cardiff. This will inform the impact of icing on turbine blade performance and yearly capacity factors. The implement of the BEMT code is outside the scope of this research. Study results indicate a significant increase in drag and a decrease in lift due to icing, leading to a substantial reduction in turbine efficiency. Further studies incorporating transient simulations, dynamic ice accretion modelling, and advanced turbulence models like DES/LES are recommended to refine the impact assessment and integrate results into Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) models. |
| Exploitation Route | In the implementation of low/ zero carbon community energy initiatives within rural Arctic communities |
| Sectors | Construction Education Energy Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
| Description | Outputs from the REMIROCaN research are being used to provide decision support to inform policy development by the Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat in relation to Cabin Grants Program and provide educational documentation for program development at the Nunavut Arctic College. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2025 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Education,Energy |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic |
| Description | Decision support to the Nunavut Climate Change Secretariat |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | This sharing of the REMIROCaN outputs has informed the enhancement potential to small fragile communities in Nunavut, demonstrating the positive socio-economic impacts and contribution to environmental sustainability and energy security. |
| Description | REMIROCaN Building Energy Analysis |
| Organisation | National Research Council of Canada |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | NRC have provided the thermo-physical technical inputs to the energy and indoor environmental conditions modelling of a test cabin in Nunavut, Arctic Canada. The annual energy environmental performance modelling and assessment has been undertaken by Strathclyde with the model being calibrated from empirical data collected by NRC from the in-field cabin evaluation work they undertook. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As above |
| Impact | A paper reporting this activity is in the process of being produced. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | REMIROCaN Solar Energy |
| Organisation | Concordia University |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This collaborative research is evaluating the development of hybrid photovoltaic facade systems operating in arctic climate conditions to maximise both the electrical and thermal energy yields. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Concordia University are developing the facade component for testing and evaluating this in the climate chamber/ solar simulator. The performance data is be used to calibrate Strathclyde's computation analysis model which is applied to evaluate systems performance in Arctic climatic conditions throughout the year. |
| Impact | One paper has been published and another paper is in development |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | REMIROCaN- Hydrokinetic |
| Organisation | University of Ottawa |
| Country | Canada |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Data outputs provided by colleagues from University of Ottawa were provided to University of Strathclyde partners who completed an energy yield analysis for different types of hydro-kinetic turbine technologies operating operating in the monitored flow conditions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Hydro-kinetic flow resource monitoring and analysis undertaken by colleagues at the University of Ottawa for the Sylvia Grinnell river. Data outputs were provided to University of Strathclyde partners who undertook and energy yield analysis. |
| Impact | Joint published paper at the Pan-American Marine Renewable Energy Conference 2024, plus a second journal paper under development. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | A presentation of the REMIROCaN project at Arctic Science Week 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sharing of initial outputs from the research and the potential impact these have on Arctic communities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Deliver a summary presentation on the REMIROCaN at Arctic Circle Assembly 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sharing of research and new understanding from the REMIROCaN project to interested parties (40- 50) at a workshop arranged by CINUK at the Arctic Circle Assembly 2023 in Iceland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation at Arctic Circle Assembly 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Reporting outputs from the REMIROCaN project and the potential impact of there application in Arctic communities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | REMIROCaN Workshops in Iqaluit, Nunavut 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sharing the outputs and positive societal impacts of implementing REMIROCaN project deliverables in Arctic communities and taking participants to the field test site |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |