Digitalization as a driver for supporting PV deployment and cost reduction

Digitalization is providing advantages to all sectors around the world and it can be of relevance also for the photovoltaic (PV) sector. As an example, the current value chain of the European PV sector is often characterized by analogue and fragmented processes that should be overcame to support greater PV deployment. The adoption of a more open and collaborative digital-based approach characterized by data-sharing among different stakeholders and more integrated information thread from the design till O&M can provide direct benefits in optimizing the PV process, increasing performances, and reducing of costs. Therefore, a novel PV Information Management (PIM) approach has been drawn within the European H2020 project “SuperPV”. In accordance with PIM objectives, a workflow for seamlessly transferring data along main PV work-stages has been developed, as well as new digital features to specifically address collaborative approach in the PV sector such as: (i) advanced functionalities introduced in the existing BIMSolar® software for improving the simultaneous design, performance simulation and cost assessment of medium and large PV systems, (ii) a proof-of-concept for aggregating all relevant information into a Digital Twin platform aimed at setting the ground for post-construction management and lifecycle assessment of the whole PV system.

A Framework for Simultaneous Design of Wind Turbines and Cable Layout in Offshore Wind

An optimization framework for simultaneous design of wind turbines (WTs) and cable layout for collection systemof offshore wind farms (OWFs) is presented in this paper. The typical approach used in both research and practical design is sequential, with an initial annual energy production (AEP) maximization, followed then by the collection system design. The sequential approach is robust and effective, however it fails to exploit the synergies between optimization blocks. Intuitively,one of the strongest trade-offs is between the WTs and cable layout, as they generally compete, i.e. spreading out WTs mitigates wake losses for larger AEP, but also results in longer submarine cables in the collection system and higher costs. The proposedo ptimization framework implements a gradient-free optimization algorithm to smartly move the WTs within the project area subject to minimum distance constraint, while a fast heuristic algorithm is called in every function evaluation in order to calculate a cost estimation of the cable layout. In a final stage, a refined cable layout design is obtained by iteratively solving amixed integer linear program (MILP), modelling all typical engineering constraints of this particular problem. A comprehensive performance analysis of the cost estimation from the fast heuristic algorithm with respect to the exact model is carried out.The applicability of the method is illustrated through a large-scale real-world case study. Results shows that: (i) the quality of the cable layout estimation is strongly dependent on the separation between WTs, where dense WTs layouts present better performance parameters in terms of error, correlation and computing time, and (ii) the proposed simultaneous design approach provides up to 6% of improvement on the quality of fully feasible wind farm designs, and broadly, a statistically significant enhancement is ensured in spite of the stochasticity of the optimization algorithm.

Designing Immortal Products: A Lifecycle Scenario-Based Approach

Immortal products are updated and upgraded to go from application to application and, in so doing, to extend their life as long as possible. Designing such products is the key to a sustainable society from the circular economy perspective. It is a new way of designing that must be supported by engineering tools to be deployed in companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) included. The implementation of circular loops and the associated industrial systems are very dependent on the contexts and life scenarios of the products. Thus, depending on the products to be re-circulated, the processes controlled, and the actors involved, the requirements to be reported at design level are very diverse. This paper proposes a new design method based on lifecycle scenarios to be analyzed and designed. Supported by classical engineering tools that has been adapted for circular economy (CE) context, the lifecycle model enables simultaneous design of businesses, products and services and the evaluation of their environmental values. Three industrial design cases showing the application of engineering tools for implementation of CE lifecycle scenarios are presented.