Multi-Criteria Analysis, Evaluation and Modeling of Future Scenario for the Energy Generation Sector — A Case Study

Abstract

Renewable energy continues to attract much interest due to the depletion of fossil fuels and unsettled political disputes. This study aims to evaluate the current status of energy generation on the campus of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Furthermore, it looks for ways for the TU/e to improve sustainability by finding and proposing alternative solutions. Therefore, a broad scope of various renewable energy sources (RES) has been investigated. From many aspects, the analysis of RES proves that biomass is the most appropriate source of renewable energy for the TU/e campus. Thus, the capability of harvestable biomass fuel in energy generation throughout a year has been investigated for this project, and it has been concluded that solid biomass waste from the campus can provide 1314 MWh heat load annually. In order to achieve as much energy from biomass as possible, a combined heat and power unit (CHP), in order to produce both heat and electricity for new student houses on the campus, has been modeled. Finally, the project results show that a small-scale CHP cycle is capable of producing 366 MWh electricity, as well as 772 MWh heat, annually.