A Carbon Reduction and Waste Heat Utilization Strategy for Generators in Scalable PV—Diesel Generator Campus Microgrids

The increased unavailability of electricity from the National Utility in South Africa, coupled with the extreme conditions of rural areas and general lack of infrastructure, leads to the setup of unique microgrids to utilize the conditions available. One such unique microgrid, a scalable photovoltaic (PV)-Diesel generator microgrid, is situated in the Phuthaditjhaba district on the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa campus in South Africa. Waste heat and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered inherent by-products of campus hybrid PV—Diesel generator microgrids with high utilization opportunities for both heat exchange and carbon offsets. This paper presents confirmation that available waste heat from a typical rural campus microgrid can be stored through the use of a rock bed thermal energy storage (TES) system. It was identified that, through the temperature profile of the stored waste heat, thermal energy can be utilized through deferable (time-independent) and non-deferable (time-dependent) strategies. Both utilization strategies are dependent on the type of application or applications chosen through demand-side management. Carbon emission reduction takes place through the reduction of diesel consumption due to the utilization of waste heat for applications previously served by diesel generators. Design novelties are presented using the concept of rock bed TES within a microgrid setup.