Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 687: Integrated Optimization Design of Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power System Coupled with Solar and Biomass Energy (Energies)

The combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems coupled with solar energy and biomass energy can meet the needs of island or rural decentralized and small-scale integrated energy use, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. This study presents a renewable energy sources integrated combined cooling, heating, and power (RES-CCHP) system, driven by a biogas fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) and photovoltaic (PV) panels, which is different from the traditional natural gas CCHP system. Owing to the solar energy volatility and the constraint of biomass gas production, the traditional optimization design method is no longer applicable. To improve the energetic, economic and environmental performances of the system, an integrated design method with renewable energy capacity, power equipment capacity and key operating parameters as optimization variables is proposed. In addition, a case study of a small farm in Jinan, China, is conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed RES–CCHP system structure and the corresponding optimal operation strategy. The results illustrate that the implementation of the optimal design is energy-efficient, economical and environmentally-friendly. The values of primary energy saving ratio, annual total cost saving rate and carbon emission reduction ratio are 20.94%, 11.73% and 40.79%, respectively. Finally, the influence of the volatility of renewable energy sources on the optimization method is analyzed, which shows that the RES–CCHP system and the method proposed are robust.