INNOVATION PROJECT

Problem Statement

All of us have probably experienced real world problems like escalating energy bills, power outages, harsher climate, increasing air-pollution, population explosion, scarcer resources, etc. A major contributor to these issues is our heavy dependence on fossil fuels. We all know that producing and burning fossil fuels creates air pollution that harms our health and generates toxic emissions that drive climate change. From the electricity that lights our homes to the cars we drive to work, modern life was built on fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Access to reliable energy services is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for well-being and human development.

Top Project Ideas

We realized that we needed to focus on renewable energy sources and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. A few of the ideas at the top of our list in no particular order were:

· Algae solar panels that generate green energy while cleaning the air

· Exploring biomass fuels for transportation and electricity generation

. Solar panels on windmills to power the windmills in the absence of wind

. A strawberry tree in neighborhoods that can serve as public solar chargers in city spots

. Devices that control the speed of wind turbines to reduce bird kills

· A neighborhood microgrid powered by Solar energy

What better way to learn about solar elergy than through a solar experiment!

Brainstorming for project ideas

A field trip to the WE Energies Power Plant. We drew our project inspiration from here.

Project Selection Methodology

We reviewed our top ideas and the team voted on what they felt had the greatest impact on the environment. We finalized on the neighborhood microgrid solution recognizing that this would have the largest impact on our environment by reducing dependency on fossil fuels and the aging grid infrastructure.

Planning Steps

1. To get a better understanding of how solar panels work and the cost-benefits of a solar-powered home, it only made sense that we reach out to a Solar PV installer in our area. With the help of our coach, we were able to get a homeowner solar proposal. Using the proposal, we could calculate the energy needs of a model community consisting of 36 houses that were split into 3 electricity usage profiles.

2. We contacted Andy T. Ehlert, Solar Development Project Manager at Alliant Energy who gave us a lot of insight into how Alliant Energy leverages solar farms in rural communities. That helped us think of creative ways that we could install Solar PV panels in our model community

3. In designing our solution, we researched a lot of existing microgrid solutions. We realized that there is no one good solution and that’s when we analyzed the design flaws of the existing solutions, leveraged the good features from all of them and practically designed our solution from scratch. Armed with this new knowledge, we could come up with a future state design for our community leveraging multiple key components in our design, namely

a. A centralized Battery back-up system with bi-directional energy flow

b. A Microgrid Management System (MMS) that serves 2 essential functions:

Calculate each member participant’s monthly share using historical and current usage & a weather forecast interface to know when to conserve energy for anticipated power outages.

4. With our proposed design in hand, we had to get our design validated by an expert. So, we contacted Peter Asmus, Senior Adviser, Microgrid Strategy & Thought leadership for UAF.

Through him, we learnt that

a. Midwest energy prices are much lower compared to the Northeast and the coastal area. Coastal areas are susceptible to power outages due to hurricanes, extreme cold and wildfires. Our Microgrid ROI solution is immediately achievable in those areas.

b. ‘Over The Fence’ Regulation prevents homeowners from sharing excess power with neighbors. Energy companies have restrictions in place and must be involved in the discussion from the initial stages.

At our Sectionals, we were asked about the hurdles that we faced along the way, especially about working with Power Companies and that brings us to the all-important section .....

Challenges

The net metering reimbursement rates are quite less for Wisconsin at a fourth of the cost of energy from WI utility companies.
Utility company rules and regulations that prohibit the sharing of energy with neighbors due to the ‘Over the Fence’ Law.
Outdated Interconnection standards that extend the time it takes for households that want to generate their own solar energy to legally install Solar PV and connect to the grid.
‘Focus on Energy’ incentives that are available for homes and businesses greatly vary state by state. Out of the 50 States, Wisconsin ranks at #25 and much can be done to improve building codes and appliance standards to move us forward.
Increasing the percentage of renewable energy that Wisconsin’s utilities are mandated to produce via the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Wisconsin is one of the States that has expired RPS goals.

Our Team recognizes that a public-private partnership is required between the policy makers, the Utility companies and us, the customers.

To this effort, we are lobbying our proposal with our local legislators and Senators. This is a work in progress. Please come back for future updates.

Prototype

We wanted to build something that represented our overall project design... something that when demonstrated, kids and adults alike, could comprehend our vision of what the final product should be. The kids and coaches put their creative minds to work and in our minds, the end result is nothing short of spectacular!

Please watch the video below to understand what our design is about..