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IN DEGREE PROJECT TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS
, STOCKHOLM SWEDEN 2016
TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS FEASIBILITY STUDY TO PORTABLE POLYGENERATION SYSTEM FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
HAIKUO LIU
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYSCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Master of Science Thesis
KTH School of Industrial Engineering and Management
Energy Technology EGI_2016-046 MSC EKV1145
Division of Heat and Power Technology
SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM
Techno-economic analysis and
business feasibility study to portable
polygeneration system for
construction industry
Haikuo Liu
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Master of Science Thesis
EGI_2016-046 MSC EKV1145
Techno-economic analysis and business
feasibility study to portable polygeneration
system for construction industry
Haikuo Liu
Approved
2016-08-22
Examiner
Anders Malmquist
Supervisor
Anders Malmquist
Aapo Sääsk
Commissioner
Contact person
Abstract
Polygeneration technology is to utilize a single plant to offer multiple energy products, and the multiple
processes are integrated into one system. In comparison with the single-product technology, polygeneration
improves the system efficiency significantly since it has multiple outputs, and reduces the relevant capital
and production cost accordingly.
In this thesis, a polygeneration system was designed specifically for a project in construction industry and
the business feasibility of the system was analyzed. The status quo and problems of present temporary power
system were introduced and the idea of using polygeneration system as the substitute was described. A
substation project in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia was utilized as the reference to design the polygeneration system
and to analyze the system’s technical and business feasibility. After the study of energy demand, 12 scenarios
were proposed based on the available energy sources and commercialized technologies in the market.
RETScreen 4 software was used to simulate proposed scenarios and relevant techno-economic discussion
and analysis of the results were made.
Based on “RETScreen 4” software’s simulation results, one optimized scenario was selected for the
polygeneration system design and business feasibility analysis. A polygeneration system with two
polygeneration sets were designed to meet energy demand of the reference project in this thesis. Considered
the technical and economic information of the designed system, a business feasibility analysis of the
polygeneration system for the construction industry was studied. As the last part of the thesis, a summary
of business plan was made to the designed system based on the results of market research and business
feasibility study.
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Sammanfattning
Polygenereringsteknik är att utnyttja en enda anläggning för att erbjuda flera energitjänster där multipla
processer är integrerade i ett gemensamt system. I jämförelse med separata tekniklösningar, förbättrar
polygenerering systemets effektivitet avsevärt eftersom flera tjänster produceras och kapital- och
produktionskostnadernadärmed minskar.
I denna avhandling har ett polygenereringssystem utformats speciellt för ett projekt i byggbranschen och
lämpligheten hos systemet har analyserats. Status quo och problem med nuvarande tillfälliga kraftsystemet
togs med i analysen och idén att använda polygenereringssystemet som substitut har beskrivits. Ett
ställverksprojekt i Al Kharj, Saudi Arabien användes som referens för att utforma polygenereringssystemet
och för att analysera systemets tekniska och affärsmässiga genomförbarhet. Efter studier av efterfrågan på
energi, har 12 scenarier föreslagits baserat på tillgängliga energikällor och kommersialiserade teknologier på
marknaden.
“RETScreen 4” programvaran användes för att simulera föreslagna scenarier och en teknisk-ekonomisk
diskussion och analys av resultaten gjordes. Baserat på RETScreen 4 programvarans simuleringsresultat, har
ett optimalt scenario valts för design av ett polygenereringsystem och en affärsgenomförbarhetsstudie har
utförts. Ett polygenereringssystem med två uppsättningar av polygenerernde subsystem har utformats för
att möta efterfrågan på energi hos referensprojektet i denna avhandling. Med hänsyn taget till de tekniska
och ekonomiska uppgifterna i det utformade systemet, har realiseringen av polygenereringssystemet för
byggindustrin studerats. Den sista delen av avhandlingen utgör en sammanfattning av affärsplanen för det
utformade systemet baserat på resultaten av marknadsundersökningar och en affärsförstudie.
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Acknowledgement
The author would like to give the sincere gratitude to Professor Anders Malmquist (KTH) and Mr. Aapo
Sääsk (Scarab Development AB) for the supervision to this thesis. The thesis’ preparation and production
also benefited from polygeneration research activities from “KIC Innoenergy”, “Renewable Energy
Programme”, and “STandUP for energy projects”.
The author would like to thank Al Kharj project team, Saudi Arabia Energy and Infrastructure Company
(EICO) and Mrs. Qixan Yang
The author would like to extend his gratitude to Professor Manuel Rubio (UCLV, Santa Clara, Cuba) and
Dr. Alaa Kullab (KTH) for their valuable help and guidance.
The author also would like to extend his gratitude to Scarab Development AB for its helps and feedbacks
on the AGMD technologies.
Haikuo Liu
Stockholm, August 2016
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Nomenclature
Notations and Abbreviations that are used in this Master thesis are listed as below.
Notations
Symbol Description
mS/cm milli-Siemens per centimeter (conductivity)
$ US dollar
Abbreviations
AC Air Conditioner
AGMD Air Gap Membrane Distillation
AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
AM Air Mass
APAC Asian and Pacific Coasts
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate
CHP Combined Heat and Power
COP Coefficient of Performance
CPV Concentration Photovoltaics
CPV/T Concentrating Photovoltaic Thermal System
CSP Concentrating Solar Power
CXM Customer Experience Management
DCMD Direct Contact Membrane Distillation
Dia. Diameter
EES Electrical Energy Storage
EICO Energy and Infrastructure Company
ENR Engineering News-Record
GDP Gross Domestic Product
Genset Generator Set
HCPV High Concentration Photovoltaics
ICE Internal Combustion Engine
IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency
LHV Low Heating Value
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LNG Liquefied Natural Gas
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
MD Membrane Distillation
MEA Middle East and Africa
MJSC Multijunction Solar Cells
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MVP Minimum Viable Product
N/A Not Applicable
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ORC Organic Rankie Cycle
PEFC Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
PH Potential of Hydrogen
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene
Polyset Polygeneration Set
PV Photovoltaics
R&D Research and Development
RO Reverse Osmosis
SGMD Sweep Gas Membrane Distillation
SLFC Swim Lane Flowchart
SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
STS Solar Thermal System
S.W.O.T Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat
Temp. Temperature
TDS Total Dissolved Solids
TOC Total Organic Carbon
US United States
VMD Vacuum Membrane Distillation
WHO World Health Organization
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Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Sammanfattning ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Nomenclature ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
List of figures ............................................................................................................................................................... 10
List of tables ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................................12
1.2 Objective ....................................................................................................................................................13
1.3 Delimitations ..............................................................................................................................................13
1.4 Methodology ..............................................................................................................................................13
1.4.1 Polygeneration system design ........................................................................................................14
1.4.2 Market survey and interviews .........................................................................................................14
1.4.3 Business feasibility study and business plan ................................................................................14
2 Problem identification ....................................................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Diesel genset in construction industry ...................................................................................................15
2.2 Challenges and obstacles ..........................................................................................................................15
3 Energy demands on construction site ............................................................................................................. 16
3.1 Energy demands on construction site ...................................................................................................16
3.2 Energy demands of the project in Saudi Arabia ..................................................................................16
4 Available sources on project S site .................................................................................................................. 20
4.1 Solar and wind ...........................................................................................................................................20
4.2 Biomass .......................................................................................................................................................20
4.3 Water ...........................................................................................................................................................20
5 Portable polygeneration system proposal ....................................................................................................... 21
5.1 Initial polygeneration system for project S ...........................................................................................21
5.2 Polygeneration set generation proposal .................................................................................................22
5.3 Polygeneration set design overall proposal ...........................................................................................22
6 Technologies study ............................................................................................................................................ 24
6.1 Software introduction – RETScreen 4 ..................................................................................................24
6.2 Solar .............................................................................................................................................................25
6.2.1 Solar Photovoltaics ..........................................................................................................................25
6.2.2 Solar Thermal Energy .....................................................................................................................28
6.3 Wind ............................................................................................................................................................30
6.4 Biomass .......................................................................................................................................................30
6.5 Micro Combined Heat and Power technologies ..................................................................................30
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6.5.1 Reciprocating engines ......................................................................................................................31
6.5.2 Microturbine .....................................................................................................................................32
6.6 Water purification .....................................................................................................................................33
6.6.1 Reverse Osmosis technology .........................................................................................................34
6.6.2 Membrane Distillation technology ................................................................................................35
6.7 Storage technologies and devices ...........................................................................................................37
6.7.1 Electrical energy storage system ....................................................................................................37
6.7.2 Heat storage system .........................................................................................................................39
6.7.3 Gas storage and gas cylinder ..........................................................................................................39
6.8 Technologies selection and explanation ................................................................................................40
7 Scenarios proposing and system modeling .................................................................................................... 41
7.1 Available energy generation technologies .............................................................................................41
7.2 Scenarios proposal and modeling ...........................................................................................................42
7.2.1 Proposal I system modeling ...........................................................................................................42
7.2.2 Proposal II system modeling .........................................................................................................44
7.2.3 Proposal limitations and considerations .......................................................................................45
8 Scenarios analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 46
8.1 RETScreen analysis ...................................................................................................................................46
8.2 Techno-economic analysis .......................................................................................................................46
9 Polygeneration system design ........................................................................................................................... 49
9.1 Technical design and sizing .....................................................................................................................49
9.1.1 Energy demand ................................................................................................................................49
9.1.2 The system balance and update .....................................................................................................49
9.1.3 The system operation and balance ................................................................................................50
9.1.4 The backup system ..........................................................................................................................50
9.2 System overall design ................................................................................................................................51
9.3 Technical figures .......................................................................................................................................52
9.3.1 Power system ....................................................................................................................................52
9.3.2 Thermal system ................................................................................................................................53
9.3.3 Cooling system .................................................................................................................................53
9.3.4 Water system .....................................................................................................................................54
9.4 Polygeneration set performance .............................................................................................................54
10 Sustainability of polygeneration set ................................................................................................................. 57
10.1 Sustainable development ..........................................................................................................................57
10.2 Environmental protection .......................................................................................................................57
10.3 Economic development ...........................................................................................................................58
10.4 Social development ...................................................................................................................................58
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11 Business feasibility study ................................................................................................................................... 59
11.1 Analysis of idea ..........................................................................................................................................59
11.2 Minimum Viable Product ........................................................................................................................59
11.3 Business model canvas .............................................................................................................................60
11.4 Customer Experience Management .......................................................................................................61
11.5 Swim Lane Flow Chart .............................................................................................................................62
11.6 Demand forecasting and product ...........................................................................................................63
11.6.1 Past data.............................................................................................................................................63
11.6.2 Analogy ..............................................................................................................................................64
11.6.3 The Product ......................................................................................................................................64
11.6.4 Services and product extensions ....................................................................................................64
11.7 Marketing plan ...........................................................................................................................................65
11.7.1 Target customer ...............................................................................................................................65
11.7.2 Selling proposition ...........................................................................................................................65
11.7.3 Pricing and positioning strategy .....................................................................................................65
11.7.4 Marketing strategy ............................................................................................................................66
11.8 Sales forecasting ........................................................................................................................................66
12 Business plan ....................................................................................................................................................... 67
12.1 The business ...............................................................................................................................................67
12.2 The market .................................................................................................................................................67
12.3 The finances ...............................................................................................................................................67
12.4 The future ...................................................................................................................................................67
13 Conclusions and future work ........................................................................................................................... 68
13.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................68
13.2 Future work ................................................................................................................................................68
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 69
Appendix I Air temperature in Al Kharj ................................................................................................................. 75
Appendix II Project S power demand ..................................................................................................................... 76
Appendix III Proposal calculations .......................................................................................................................... 78
LNG cylinder volume calculation: .......................................................................................................................80
Battery quantity calculation: ..................................................................................................................................80
Solar thermal calculation: ......................................................................................................................................80
CPV/T power calculation: ....................................................................................................................................80
Appendix IV Proposal Scenarios cost information ............................................................................................... 81
Appendix V Polygeneration system technical drawing ......................................................................................... 84
Appendix VI Designed polysets analysis ................................................................................................................. 85
Appendix VII Market research ................................................................................................................................. 87
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List of figures
Figure 1. Project implementation flowchart .....................................................................................................13
Figure 2. Project S location ..................................................................................................................................16
Figure 3. Project S site layout ..............................................................................................................................17
Figure 4. Project S daily power demand by month in workdays ...................................................................19
Figure 5. Polygeneration overall technical proposal ........................................................................................21
Figure 6. Container size .......................................................................................................................................23
Figure 7. RETScreen 4 standard analysis procedure ......................................................................................24
Figure 8. Campus and office area layout ...........................................................................................................25
Figure 9. a) HCPV application with passive cooling system; b) HCPV application with active cooling
system .................................................................................................................................................................27
Figure 10. Two solar heating systems .................................................................................................................28
Figure 11. Possible configurations for solar-driven cooling systems .............................................................29
Figure 12. Collector efficiency curve against temperature difference ............................................................29
Figure 13. Gas genset CHP configuration .........................................................................................................31
Figure 14. Microturbine system configuration ..................................................................................................32
Figure 15. RO system working principle and system configuration ..............................................................34
Figure 16. Commercial groundwater purification system configuration .......................................................34
Figure 17. MD system configurations ..................................................................................................................35
Figure 18. Scarab AGMD system test layout at Sweden .................................................................................36
Figure 19. LNG cylinder on trucks .....................................................................................................................40
Figure 20. Working principle of polyset ..............................................................................................................41
Figure 21. Proposal I polyset system configuration ...........................................................................................42
Figure 22. Solar panels comparison ......................................................................................................................42
Figure 23. Polyset system configuration A in proposal II ................................................................................44
Figure 24. Polyset system configuration B (left) and C (right) in proposal II ...............................................44
Figure 25. Electric demand curve in scenario 2.5 ..............................................................................................47
Figure 26. Scenario 2.5 system configuration .....................................................................................................48
Figure 27. System load characteristic graph ........................................................................................................49
Figure 28. Project S energy demand graph ..........................................................................................................49
Figure 29. Polyset configuration on construction site .......................................................................................51
Figure 30. Polysets configuration for transportation .........................................................................................51
Figure 31. Polyset system cost structure ..............................................................................................................54
Figure 32. Usage time of temporary electrical generation system on construction project site .................55
Figure 33. Venn diagram of sustainable development .....................................................................................57
Figure 34. Polyset system business model canvas ..............................................................................................60
Figure 35. Polyset system swim lane flow chart .................................................................................................62
Figure 36. The past decade’s international contractor revenue (in $ billions) ...............................................63
Figure 37. Generator sales market by region, 2020 ..........................................................................................63
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List of tables
Table 1. Project S energy demands ...................................................................................................................18
Table 2. Project S site wind and solar data ......................................................................................................20
Table 3. Different energy demands on project S ............................................................................................22
Table 4. Proposed polyset ..................................................................................................................................22
Table 5. The size of the container ....................................................................................................................23
Table 6. Available roof area for solar PV panels ............................................................................................25
Table 7. The parameters of first-generation solar panels (Yingli Solar) ......................................................26
Table 8. The parameters of thin-film solar panels (Hanergy and First Solar) ............................................26
Table 9. Technical parameters of one commercial HCPV product ............................................................28
Table 10. The parameters of solar collectors (Viesmann Company) .............................................................30
Table 11. Technical features of small-scale CHP devices ..............................................................................31
Table 12. Gas genset CHP system co-generation power technical features .................................................32
Table 13. The parameters of reciprocating engines CHP (Chaoran and SenerTec companies) ...............32
Table 14. The parameters of microturbine CHP (Ansaldo Energia and Capstone Mircroturbine) .........33
Table 15. Project S site groundwater chemicals composition .......................................................................33
Table 16. Commercial groundwater purification system technical parameters ...........................................35
Table 17. Commercial MD systems (solar-MD system) .................................................................................36
Table 18. AGMD module technical parameters ..............................................................................................37
Table 19. Simulation results, scaled-up performance ......................................................................................37
Table 20. Technical and economical characteristics of four batteries storage technologies ......................38
Table 21. Commercial solar battery banks parameters ....................................................................................38
Table 22. Commercial hot water storage tanks’ parameters ...........................................................................39
Table 23. LNG storage cylinder parameters ......................................................................................................40
Table 24. Possible electricity and heat generation combinations ...................................................................41
Table 25. Proposal I scenarios breakdown table ...............................................................................................43
Table 26. Proposal II breakdown table ..............................................................................................................45
Table 27. Proposal I scenarios analysis results ..................................................................................................46
Table 28. Proposal II scenarios analysis results ................................................................................................46
Table 29. Technical analysis of polyset system .................................................................................................50
Table 30. Power system technical figures and specifications ..........................................................................52
Table 31. Thermal system technical figures and specifications ......................................................................53
Table 32. Cooling system technical figures and specifications .......................................................................53
Table 33. Water system technical figures and specifications ...........................................................................54
Table 34. Economic analysis of designed polyset system ................................................................................55
Table 35. Economic analysis of buying new diesel gensets scenario .............................................................55
Table 36. Polyset system customer experience map .........................................................................................61
Table 37. Polyset system product information (without gas cylinders) .........................................................64
Table 38. Polyset system price for Project S ......................................................................................................65
Table 39. Polyset rental price for Project S ........................................................................................................65
Table 40. 2015 average temperature in Al Kharj City .....................................................................................75
Table 41. Project S daily power demand in workdays ......................................................................................76
Table 42. Project S daily power demand in weekend .......................................................................................76
Table 43. Proposal I scenarios specifications ....................................................................................................78
Table 44. Proposal II scenarios specifications ..................................................................................................78
Table 45. Base case annual operation cost breakdown list ..............................................................................81
Table 46. Proposal I scenarios cost breakdown list ..........................................................................................81
Table 47. Proposal II scenarios cost breakdown list ........................................................................................82
Table 48. Analysis of designed polysets .............................................................................................................85
Table 49. Cost of the designed polyset system ..................................................................................................86
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1 Introduction
This chapter describes the background, objectives, limitations and the methodology used in the presented
project.
1.1 Background
Construction industry is one of the world’s biggest industries. In 2011, the global construction contributed
$7.2 trillion to the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and it is expected to grow to $12 trillion
(13.2% of world GDP) in 2020 due to the growth in China, India and the United States (US) [1]. The global
construction market is expected to outpace the world GDP in next decade as emerging markets (such as
Asian market) continue to grow and industrialize rapidly and the US is recovering from the global financial
crisis [2].
As the main driver of world GDP growth in the past decade, China has already begun to slow down and
will cede its leading position as a fast-grow emerging market to India in the near future, and that will thrive
the growth of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations as well [2]. China is willing to
increase the overseas investment of real assets and infrastructure and export construction services, and
construction products into new emerging markets over the coming decade [2]. To enhance and facilitate the
overseas investment, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was established in January 2016 in China
to support the development of infrastructure in Asia-pacific region based on China’s significant construction,
engineering and manufacturing capacity [3]. In 2013, the economic development framework of "Silk Road
Economic Belt" was initiated by China government to build the infrastructural networks in project-covered
regions, which are South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, North Africa and Europe [4].
Portable power Generator Set (Genset) is a necessity to the construction industry. The construction project
sites are often in the places where electricity and power are insufficient. Under these situations, the portable
power units are required to maintain the project running without disruption and to meet the project
deadlines. When the construction project is underway, the power demand is endless and a stable and steady
power supply is as complex as the project itself [5]. Given that said, a portable genset and engine on
construction site for temporary or prime power supply is irreplaceable despite project location, remote area
or downtown in the city, where available power networks maybe proved insufficient.
According to Google AdWords, there were around 800,000 monthly Google searches in 2015 in US relating
on construction site power, and that means the construction contractors are seeking solutions to power
their operation and construction sites [6]. For temporary power supply on construction site, diesel genset is
main choice for the downtime on-site with power supply. On the other hand, for prime power demand in
the project, diesel genset is an effective way to give continuous power. Not to mention that diesel or gas
genset is the dominating choice to bring power to the off-gird construction sites [6].
Besides electricity, cooling, heating and water are essential energy demands to the construction industry.
Normally all these energy demands are fulfilled by electrical appliances in most construction sites, especially
these off-grid construction sites. Given this situation, diesel gensets are utilized as the only choice to all
energy demands and that brings problems of noise, environmental impact, and low conversion ratio from
electricity to other services, high fuel cost and project cost, and so on.
Polygeneration technology is to utilize a single plant to offer multiple energy products, and the multiple
processes are integrated into one system [7]. In comparison with single-product technology, polygeneration
improves the system efficiency significantly since it has multiple outputs, and the relevant capital and
production cost can be reduced accordingly [8]. The economic risks of polygeneration process is more
controllable and adjustable due to its output diversity, and the polygeneration system is probably more
profitable compared to single-product system according to its optimization of portfolios [7].
With the development of renewable energy technologies, price decrease trend of system components and
the demand shifting, renewable energy market continued to grow in the past decade [6]. Nowadays,
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renewable energy technologies are becoming more and more efficient and affordable, especially in terms of
solar, wind, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, and biomass. Usually, there are available
renewable energy sources on or around the construction site, such as solar, wind, biomass and small hydro.
Considered the low-cost of renewable energy components in the market, to design a portable polygeneration
system set will be feasible to offer energy to construction sites and solve or mitigate the problems of diesel
genset.
In this thesis, a polygeneration system integrated with available and commercialized renewable energy
technologies/sources was designed to substitute diesel genset on construction site. One substation project
in Saudi Arabia was selected to study the feasibility of polygeneration system designed, since the author
worked in this project and the information of energy demand is available and accessible.
1.2 Objective
The objective of this thesis project is to design a portable Polygeneration Set (Polyset) to meet energy
demands (electricity, heat, cooling and drinking water) in construction industry, and to conduct a business
feasibility study and a business plan to the polygeneration system in specified countries and region.
1.3 Delimitations
In this thesis, only commercialized and available power/energy products in the market were considered for
the polygeneration system design. The average number of workers on project site was utilized to estimate
energy demand; the number of on-site staff was assumed a constant against the fact that the number varies
in different project stages. The control system of the polygeneration system was not discussed in this thesis.
The business feasibility study and business plan were made based on the system designed for the project in
Saudi Arabia, where water/drinking-water is precious and expensive; the results of the techno-economic
analysis to projects in other countries may be different and infeasible.
1.4 Methodology
The flowchart below (see figure 1) illustrates the steps for the project implementation.
Figure 1. Project implementation flowchart
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1.4.1 Polygeneration system design
The project implementation flowchart (see figure 1) clearly shows that problems of existing power supply
system were identified and analyzed first, and then the literature review of construction projects and energy
demands on-site was studied. Based on the literature review of RETScreen 4 software and various energy
technologies, an initial polygeneration system was proposed to meet the identified problems. Several
scenarios derived from the proposed polygeneration system were proposed to meet energy demands. In
order to evaluate and compare the technical and economic performance of the different scenarios, the
corresponding polygeneration scenarios were simulated and analyzed in RETScreen 4. The final
polygeneration system was designed based on scenario with the best performance in the simulation.
1.4.2 Market survey and interviews
A market survey and interview in parallel to the technical design of the polygeneration system was organized
and implemented. Based on problems and the initial technical proposals, a market survey of power supply
system to construction site was organized, and interviews to China contractors were conducted. Through
the market survey and interviews, the customer needs for the energy on construction site and the expectation
for the new energy generation system were summarized and analyzed, and the technical design and business
plan were oriented by the demand and expectations from the market research.
1.4.3 Business feasibility study and business plan
Taken consideration of market information and the designed polygeneration system, business feasibility of
polygeneration to the construction industry was studied. In the business feasibility study, the product and
idea were studied; then several tools “Minimum Viable Product (MVP)”, “Business canvas”, “Customer
Experience Management (CXM)”, “Swim lane” were utilized; as the last step, the demand forecasting of the
product was made. In line with all the information studied and collected, a summary of the business plan to
the designed product (polyset) was made.
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2 Problem identification
This chapter describes diesel genset and its challenges & obstacles on construction site
2.1 Diesel genset in construction industry
Traditionally, contractors connect the construction internal electrical bus to the nearby power grid, or use
gas or diesel genset for power supply if there is no grid or the site is off-grid [6].
Compared to gasoline and natural gas gensets, diesel genset is the cheapest electrical generation
system/machine to meet the power need at the best running cost [9]. Diesel genset was introduced to the
market in 19th century and is widely used across the world [10]. Diesel genset is powering the no-grid
connection area and it is playing a very important role as a backup power system to communities, hotels,
factories, and business and so on when power blackout happens. Diesel genset converts chemical energy of
diesel to kinetic energy and electricity and it is accessible to almost all kind of application sites due to its
mobility and portability [9].
Generally, the size of diesel genset for construction site is from 100 kW to 750 kW [11] (it depends on the
size of the project). Diesel genset is applied to power the campus, construction machinery, lighting and
electrical appliances in the on-site office. Based on the characteristics of the construction project, diesel
genset is the power to all the project energy demands in the early stage of the project because there is no
grid connection or no grid connection permission.
For the electrical power generation projects in the rural area, normally there is no centralized electricity
generation plant or electricity grid there. Under this situation, diesel genset is the only choice for the whole
project until the project is finished and the power plant is synchronized to the power grid. The electrical
power transmission and distribution projects have the same problems as power generation projects have.
2.2 Challenges and obstacles
Diesel genset has been used in the construction industry for decades; it plays a very important role in
maintaining the uninterrupted power in the construction industry. However, problems of diesel genset have
raised due to the requirements from sustainable development in construction industry. Followings are the
most distinguished challenges and obstacles of diesel genset.
Both contractors and owners are looking for sustainable ways for the construction process, and
their preference to the power supply system is changing rapidly [6].
A backup diesel genset is always needed to prevent from the outages. Extra fuel tank and
powerhouse are required for diesel genset. All of these supporting components and facilities
increase the cost of the construction project.
The continuous and uninterrupted fuel to run the genset requires frequent fuel transportation to
the site and that increases the project cost.
Diesel genset emits an amount of polluted smoke during operation. The polluted emission is
comparable higher than other fuel genset, as diesel is a fossil fuel [6] [9].
The sound of running diesel genset is very high [9], which influences the surrounding inhabitants.
In general, there are noise ordinances setup in urban area or national jurisdictions to appease
residents and industry [6].
Diesel genset is not easy to start in extreme climate, especially when the weather is cold [9]. It
requires routine maintenance to keep diesel genset running normally [12].
The inefficient way of using one product (electricity) to offer multiple energy services (heating and
cooling) on site increases the size of diesel genset and its running cost.
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3 Energy demands on construction site
This chapter describes energy demands on construction site and the information of energy demands of one
construction project in Saudi Arabia.
3.1 Energy demands on construction site
Energy consumption exists in every phase of project life in construction industry [13]. On construction site,
energy and power is consumed for construction tools, on-site lighting, construction machinery, campus,
offices, heating, various mechanical and electrical appliances and other facilities [14].
Large-scale construction projects may need different types of site facilities to conduct different activities,
and the site area normally can be divided into four areas: site office area, storage area, campus area and
workshops area [15]. Based on the different functions of the site facilities, energy demands vary. Site office
and warehouse requires electricity, drinking-water, domestic water, cooling or heating (or both); workshops
needs electricity and water to carry on the project; campus needs electricity, drinking-water, domestic water,
cooling or heating (or both) and gas to facilitate the on-site staff’s life.
In this thesis, the demand of domestic water and water for construction purpose (civil works, cooling, etc.)
was not discussed, because normally a water plant/processing center is needed to fulfill this huge water
demand.
3.2 Energy demands of the project in Saudi Arabia
A power substation project (hereafter-called project S later) in Saudi Arabia was chosen as the base case
project to design the polygeneration system in this thesis. Project S is a power substation project with a 24-
month project duration. It is at a distance of around 70 km southeast of Riyadh (capital of Saudi Arabia)
and around 10 km north of city “Al-Kharj” (see figure 2). The owner of project S is Saudi Arabia government
and the general contractor is a Chinese company.
Figure 2. Project S location
Project Site
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There are four main site facilities in project S: campus area, office area, storage area and workshop site (see
figure 2). Campus area is 500 meters far from the office; workshop site and storage area are next to the
office area.
Figure 3. Project S site layout
Project S locates in the rural deserts area and there was no grid connection during the construction though
there is a 220 kV power grid line on the north of the project site. Four rental diesel gensets powered the
construction site during the construction period: one 100-kW diesel genset for campus, two 250-kW diesel
gensets (one as standby genset) for office and storage area and one 100-kW genset for workshop site. The
250-kW diesel genset was connected to workshop site bus to prevent the outages. There were two severe
problems of these gensets: 1. the genset for campus was not sufficient to power the campus, causing voltage
drop (in this situation, AC could not work normally) and blackout sometimes; 2. Gensets for campus and
construction site are old machines, and it took a lot of energy and money to keep them running continuously.
The working time of project S is 7:00 -12:00 and 14:00 to 19:00 from Saturday to Thursday, and Friday is
the weekend. Through the project life, the staff number on site varies in line with the different phase of the
project. To make a simple model, it is evaluated that 200 workers are working in project S site everyday (50
are based in office and 150 are based on site) and 150 workers are living in the campus.
The electricity drove all electrical demands in project S, and the electrical Air Conditioner (AC) met the
demand of cooling and heating for the office and campus. Electrical heater heated the domestic hot water
on campus. Water (drinking-water, domestic water and water for construction) and gas were bought from
the local market. Drinking-water consumption in the office was 2.9 liter/person/day, and the water
consumption on workshop site was 5 liters/person/day [16].
Campus
Office
Workshop site:
Substation
500 m
Storage
area
-18-
Table 1 below describes energy demands on construction site on a daily base.
Table 1. Energy demands of project S
Sections Energy demands Power Working time in workdays
Working time in the weekend
Office
Lighting 1.68 kW 7:00-19:00 Not Applicable
(N/A)
Office AC cooling 53.46 kW 7:00-12:00 14:00-17:00
N/A Office AC heating 48.60 kW
Potable water 145 liter/day 7:00-19:00 N/A
Electrical appliances (PC, printer, etc.) 6.5 kW 7:00-19:00 N/A
Campus
Lighting 2.5 kW 6:00-7:00 12:00-14:00 19:00-24:00
8:00-24:00
Dormitory AC cooling 67.32 kW 12:00-14:00 20:00-7:00
24 hours per day Dormitory AC heating 61.20 kW
Potable water 750 liter/day 12:00-14:00 19:00-7:00
435 liter/day
Domestic hot water 18 kW 6:00-7:00 12:00-14:00 19:00-24:00
6:00-7:00 12:00-14:00 19:00-24:00
Electrical appliances (PC, printer, etc.) 12.8 kW 12:00-14:00 19:00-24:00
8:00-24:00
Gas (cylinder bottle gas) for kitchen 3600 liters/day 4:00-6:00 10:00-12:00 17:00-19:00
4:00-6:00 10:00-12:00 17:00-19:00
Kitchen AC cooling 5.94 kW 24 hours per day 24 hours per day
Construction site
Electricity 100 kW 7:00-12:00 14:00-19:00
N/A
Lighting 5 kW 20:00-7:00 20:00-7:00
Electrical AC was the dominant electricity consuming system as it was utilized for space cooling and heating.
There was no electricity metering system on project S, as only diesel gensets were running to provide
electricity. Therefore, there was no exact information/data of electricity consumption in project S. To
calculate and evaluate the power demand, the operation mode of AC was designed as following:
Cooling mode – T>26 °C;
Heating mode – T<18 °C;
AC Off mode – 18 °C ≤T≤26 °C.
When the surrounding temperature is higher than 26 °C, AC system works to providing the cooling; when
the surrounding temperature is lower than 18 °C, AC system works like a heater to warm the space; when
the temperature is comfortable (18 °C ≤T≤26 °C), AC system does not work. As electrical AC was
controlled manually on construction site, human feeling to the surrounding temperatures and the delayed
reactions may influence the accuracy of power demand.
In line with the AC operation mode and the 2015 average temperature in Al Kharj city (see Appendix I),
the daily power demand of the project S was calculated and estimated and it is described in tables 41 and 42
(see Appendix II).
The daily power demand information in workdays of two months (February and August) are selected to
show the demand changes in cold time (From December to February) and hot time (from March to
November) respectively. February curve represents demand curve in cold time and August curve represents
the demand in hot time.
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The daily power demand in the weekend is less than the demand in workdays. As the curves indicates in
figure 4, compared to the energy demand in cold time, project needs more electricity in hot time. The power
demand peaks in the working time (around 10 hours) and it drops significantly in the leisure time.
Figure 4. Project S daily power demand by month in workdays
The daily power demand of each month in hot time is very similar, and the same to the daily power demand
in cold time. Details of power demand of each month can be found in Tables 41 and 42 in Appendix II.
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
160.00
180.00
Feb Aug
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4 Available sources on project S site
This chapter describes the available sources on project S site.
4.1 Solar and wind
Achieved from RETScreen 4, the highest recorded wind speed and daily radiation on project S site is 4.8
m/s in June and 7.89 kWh/m2/d in June. The annual average values for wind speed and daily radiation are
4.1 m/s and 5.81 kWh/m2/d.
Table 2 describes the available wind and solar energy resources on project S site.
Table 2. Project S site wind and solar data
Month Air
temperature Daily solar radiation -
horizontal Wind speed
°C kWh/m²/d m/s
January 15.1 3.81 3.8
February 17.4 4.69 4.1
March 21.7 5.37 4.1
April 27.5 6.18 3.7
May 32.7 7.17 4.1
June 34.8 7.89 4.8
July 36.2 7.59 4.7
August 35.9 7.20 4.6
September 33.0 6.47 4.1
October 28.2 5.50 3.6
November 22.5 4.25 3.7
December 17.2 3.51 3.8
Annual 26.9 5.81 4.1
4.2 Biomass
There were average 200 people living and working on the project site, so the food waste can be a source of
the biomass. The other source is the natural gas from the nearby town, but that may bring problems of the
storage of the gas. Safety is also an issue if the biogas or natural gas is utilized as one of the sources to
produce heat or power.
4.3 Water
There are several water-processing plants close to the project site; therefore, the underground water source
is available and sufficient in this area though it is surrounded by desert. The underground water can be the
source of water for the domestic water and drinking water on construction site of project S.
Arsenic is one of the most serious inorganic contaminants in ground water on site of project S, so water
purification system is in need. Ground water pre-treatments (sand filter and softener filter) are also required
to filter ground water prior to entering the water purification system. More details of ground water
treatments are introduced and studies in “water purification” part in this thesis.
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5 Portable polygeneration system proposal
This chapter describes the initial idea of polygeneration for project S and introduces possible and available
technologies in the market.
5.1 Initial polygeneration system for project S
Based on energy demands and problems, an integrated polygeneration system was proposed to meet energy
demands, and to mitigate and solve the problems of diesel genset. A polygeneration system should meet
energy demands of drinking-water, electricity, lighting, heat, gas and cooling for project S. Figure 3 below
illustrates the overall initial technical proposal for project S. It integrates all possible available renewable
energy technologies on the construction site.
Figure 5. Polygeneration overall technical proposal
In the overall proposal, all possible and available solutions were included (see figure 5). Categorized by
energy demands, following technologies were studied in this thesis.
The electricity generation: solar cell, wind turbine, MicroCHP and Concentration Photovoltaics
(CPV)
The heat generation: solar thermal, Concentrating Photovoltaic Thermal System (CPV/T),
MicroCHP and electrical appliances (heater and electrical AC)
The cooling generation: heat driven chiller and electrical appliance (electrical AC)
The gas generation: digester and the local market
Drinking-water generation: Membrane Distillation (MD) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) technologies
Energy storage: heat storage, gas storage, battery and hydrogen
-22-
5.2 Polygeneration set generation proposal
Derived from table 1, different energy demands are listed in table 3 below for project S.
Table 3. Different energy demands on project S
Cold Time (February) daily demand Hot Time (August) daily demand
Energy Service Daily demand Weekend Daily demand Weekend
Electricity (kWh) 1,268 305 1,268 305
Heating (kWh) 670 695 0 0
Cooling (kWh) 143 143 1,727 1,758
Water (liter/day) 895 435 895 435
Gas (liter/day) 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600
Total (kWh) 2,080 1,142 2,994 2,063
Considered the power demand (see tables 41 and 42) and energy demands table 3, two initial polyset were
proposed based on daily demand (daily demand is bigger than weekend demand).
Type I: polyset with 100 kW electrical power output and RO water purification system
Type II: polyset with 50 kW electrical power output and 100 kW thermal power output with MD
water purification system.
Table 4 below describes two proposed polyset types.
Table 4. Proposed polyset
Polyset Energy demands
Generation unit Design parameter
Type I
Electricity Photovoltaics (PV)/Wind Turbine/Gas Turbine or Generator
Electrical power output 100 kW
Heating Electrical AC
Cooling Electrical AC
Water Reserve Osmosis
Gas Market/Digester
Type II
Electricity PV/Wind turbine/MicroCHP
Electrical power output 50 kW and thermal output 100kW
Heating MicroCHP/Solar Thermal/CPV/T
Cooling Absorption Chiller
Water Membrane Distillation
Gas Market/Digester
- In type I, Gas turbine or generator is only used to generate electricity
Complied with proposed polyset technical figures, it is estimated to utilize three type I polysets or two type
II sets to satisfy energy demands of project S. The peak power demand of the project S is almost 180 kW
(see figure 4) and the electricity generation size of the MicroCHP/Gas turbine/generator was proposed to
be around 50 kW.
5.3 Polygeneration set design overall proposal
Taken consideration of project S energy demands, possible sources and renewable energy technologies,
polygeneration system with type I or type II polysets were proposed to meet energy demands. According
to project S site layout, the polygeneration system would be installed between the campus are and office
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(500 meters distance), which means the transmission cable and the transmission losses shall be considered
in the design.
Type I polyset was designed simply as a diesel genset to meet energy demand. Type II polyset was proposed
to use electricity to meet the electrical power demand and to use hot water (around 90 °C) to drive the heat
demand and cooling demand (by hot water –driven absorption chiller).
A polyset was designed as the generation set by integrated all polygeneration system components to a
container. Three kinds of containers were selected for the design: 20 feet, 40 feet and 40 feet high cube dry
freight container (see figure 6).
Figure 6. Container size [17]
All the polygeneration system components will be designed in compliance with the size of the container
(see table 5). To make the polyset system convenient and mobile, all energy generation units were designed
to pack into the container and that means all energy generation unit’s size is subject to the size of the
container.
Table 5. The size of the container [17]
20 ft 40 ft 40 ft High Cube
Interior Dimensions
Width 2,350 mm 2,350 mm 2,350 mm
Length 5,896 mm 12,035 mm 12,035 mm
Height 2,385 mm 2,385 mm 2,697 mm
Door opening
Width 2,340 mm 2,339 mm 2,340 mm
Height 2,274 mm 2,274 mm 2,579 mm
Weight
Tare weight 2,150 kg 3,700 kg 3,800 kg
Payload 24,850 kg 32,500 kg 30,200 kg
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6 Technologies study
This chapter introduces the project feasibility analysis software “RETScreen 4” and describes the available
technologies on project S site.
6.1 Software introduction – RETScreen 4
RETScreen is a registered trademark of Natural Resources Canada, © 1997-2013. RETScreen 4 is an Excel-
based clean energy project management software tool for energy efficiency, renewable energy and
cogeneration project feasibility analysis [18] and it can analyze the technical and financial feasibility of
potential clean projects in a quick and economical way to support the decision-making [19].
RETScreen 4 has the capabilities to analyze financially viable clean power project, heating and cooling
technologies and energy efficiency measurement projects, and its climate data center covers the entire
surface of the planet [18].
Figure 7. RETScreen 4 standard analysis procedure [20]
For the standard project analysis, five standard analysis steps (see figure 7) describe the analysis procedure
to use RETScreen 4. Following content describes the five-step analysis of RETScreen 4.
To start, the project setting and site conditions are input to the software
As the first step, the energy model of the project is built in the software
Second step, the project cost is analyzed
Third step, emission and its components are calculated and analyzed
Forth step, the financial performance of the project is analyzed in the software
Final step, sensitivity of key system components and project risks are analyzed
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6.2 Solar
Two solar technologies were studied in this sector: solar PV system and solar thermal system.
6.2.1 Solar Photovoltaics
Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity and solar PV system consists of PV module, electrical
components and other hardware components. Based on the basic materials used and different level of
commercial maturity, PV technologies are categorized into three generations [21]:
First-generation (fully commercial): monocrystalline silicon PV and multicrystalline silicon PV
Second-generation: thin-film PV technologies
Third-generation: Multijunction Solar Cells (MJSC) and CPV combination and organic PV cells
First-generation PV technology is fully commercialized in the market and it dominates 90% of new
installations by capacity in the solar PV market as it has mature nature, comparable high-efficiency and low-
cost [21]. On project S site, the contractors are only allowed to utilize the predefined project site and the
space among on-site facilities and buildings are roads, so the only available space for the PV panels is the
roof of the buildings. Based on the drawings of the project S, figure 8 below describes building layout in
campus and office area.
Figure 8. Campus and office area layout
Table 6 shows the breakdown list of available roof area of on construction site. 1,520.3 m2 of roof area is
available on project site for solar collectors and cells.
Table 6. Available roof area for solar PV panels
Available building Quantity Roof area (m2) Total area (m2) Remarks (m2)
Dormitory type I 21 28.3 594.3 12x2.35
Dormitory type II 2 17.5 35 5x3.5
Canteen 1 90 90 18x5
Office I 1 240 240 24x10
Office II 1 150 150 15x10
Office III 1 25 25 5x5
Office IV 1 66 66 12x3+6x5
Parking 1 220 220 44x5
Storage 1 100 100 10x10
Total roof area (m2) 1,520.3
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6.2.1.1 First-generation crystalline solar technology
Regarding to the commercial solar PV panels in the market, the size of the solar panels are almost
standardized, table 7 below shows solar panel parameters from a China manufacturer (Yingli Solar).
Table 7. The parameters of first-generation solar panels (Yingli Solar)
Solar panel Series Dimensions (mm)
Peak power (W) Length Width Depth
Monocrystalline Solar Panels [22] PANDA 48 Cell Series 1,330 990 40 205/210/215/220/225
PANDA 60 Cell Series 1,640 990 40 260/265/270/275/280
Multicrystalline Solar Panels [23]
YGE 48 Cell Series 1,310 990 40 190/195/200/205/210
YGE 60 Cell Series 1,640 990 35 240/245/250/255/260
YGE 72 Cell Series 1,960 990 40 290/295/300/305/310
Based on the available roof area on project S site and the size of the solar panels, it can be calculated that
monocrystalline PV panels can offer a peak power 237~262 kW and multicrystalline PV panels 223~246
kW.
6.2.1.2 Second-generation thin-film solar technology
Under specific operating conditions and mounting requirements, thin-film PV technologies have some
advantages over first-generation PV technologies. In 2012 and 2013 thin-film PV sector deployed 4.1 GW
and 3.9 GW respectively in a consolidated pace [21]. Table 8 below describes the parameters of thin-film
solar panels (flexible panel) in the market from Hanergy Company and First Solar Company.
Table 8. The parameters of thin-film solar panels (Hanergy and First Solar)
Solar panel Series Dimensions (mm)
Peak power (W) Length Width Depth
Hanergy Standard panel [24]
MiaSolé MS SERIES -04 1,611 665 7.5 150/155/160/165/170/175
SOLIBRO SL2 1,190 789.5 7.3 100/105/110/115/120
Solibro SL2-F CIGS Panel 1,196 796 30 100/105/110/115/120
a-Si/uc-Si Panel 1,300 1,100 6.8 120/125/130/135/140
Hanergy flexible panel [24]
a-Si/Ge Panel 1,245 635 9.7 65
MiaSolé FLEX-01W 1,710 999 17 200/210/220/230
MiaSolé FLEX-01N 1,710 370 17 60/65/70/75
Global Solar PowerFLEX™
2,017 494 3 90/100
3,881 494 3 185/200
5,745 494 3 275/300
HNS-BT65QA 1,245 635 4 70
HNS-BT65QB 1,245 635 4 70
FIRST SOLAR [25]
SERIES 4™ 1,200 600 6.8 105/107.5/110/112.5/115/117.5
1,200 600 6.8 92.5/95/97.5/100/102.5/105
6.2.1.3 Third-generation solar technology
Third-generation PV technologies have not yet been widely commercialized, however MJSC + CPV
technology’s applications have been seen in the market in China and Europe, especially the CPV/T
technology is very attractive due to its combination of heat and power and its high-efficiency.
The popular single junction solar cells are limited by the Shockley-Queisser Limit (the maximum theoretical efficiency of a solar cell using a single p-n junction to collect power from the cell.) of efficiency of 33.7% at Air Mass (AM) 1.5 for a single sun concentration; and MJSC have demonstrated that an increase in cell
-27-
efficiency is possible on the basis of a serial connection of single junctions [26]. In simple terms MJSC consist of a number of single junctions stacked upon each other. The goal of using these multi-layers is to extract the maximum amount of energy from the solar spectrum. Going from top cell to the bottom layer the material band gap decreases. Therefore, the high energy photons are absorbed by the top layers (band gap equal to or lower than the energy of the photons), while the low energy photons are absorbed by the bottom layers. To optimize the conversion efficiency the band gap of materials should cover a wide range.
The key elements of the CPV system are low-cost optics consisting of either lenses or reflectors to focus sunlight on a small area of the cell. In addition, there is single or dual-axis tracking to enhance the performance of the system. Based on different sunlight concentrating mechanism, CPV systems are classified into main four categories: Fresnel lens, Parabolic Mirrors, Reflectors and Luminescent concentrators [27]. The other popular way is to categorize CPV system with sunlight concentration ratios: concentration ratios > 300x - High concentration, photovoltaic system concentration ratio between 60x and 300x – Medium concentration photovoltaic system and concentration ratio < 50x - Low concentration photovoltaic system [28].
Currently, most companies developing MJSC-based concentrator systems have chosen a concentration level of around 500 suns High Concentration Photovoltaics (HCPV) systems [29]. In CPV system, the concentrated solar energy delivering to the solar cell is at 20-75 W/cm2; a portion of the energy is converted to electricity and the remaining waste heat must be removed to maintain the operating temperature to protect the solar cell and maximize the efficiency, therefore cooling system is an compulsory and integral part of the CPV system [30]. Based on different cooling ways, there are two types of dominant applications: 1) Fresnel lens or Parabolic Mirrors HCPV systems + MJSC + Passive cooling; 2) Fresnel lens or Parabolic Mirrors HCPV systems + MJSC + Active cooling. All HCPV applications are mounted with dual-axis trackers [27] [28].
Figure 9, a) shows a system of Fresnel lens HCPV with multijunction solar cell and passive cooling [30]. Commercially, this system reached an efficiency of up to 42% with concentration ratios above 400 [29]. b) Illustrates how the active cooling system works in a system of Fresnel lens HCPV with multijunction solar cell and active cooling by using a heat exchanger. In this kind of applications, electricity and heat are generated and collected simultaneously. Commercially, IBM Company applying this technology has announced that they reached an efficiency of up to 80% [31].
Figure 9. a) HCPV application with passive cooling system; b) HCPV application with active cooling system
In this thesis, HCPV+MJSC+Active cooling system or concentrating photovoltaic thermal system (CPV/T)
were studied in order to meet the power and heat demands on project S site. The CPV/T allows obtaining
a high temperature thermal energy to drive the absorption chiller to work in order to satisfy the cooling
demand [32].
According to IBM CPV/T system’s technical figures, 25% of the solar radiation energy is converted to
electricity and 55% of the energy is converted to heat energy (hot water) [33]. The annual daily solar radiation
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on project S is 5.81 kWh/m²/day and the available roof area is 1520.3 m2. Assuming that 100% of the roof
area is utilized to collect the sunlight, it is evaluated that 2208 kWh/day of electrical power and 4858
kWh/day of heat energy can be obtained from the CPV/T system.
Currently there are no commercialized CPV/T systems in the market, and the IBM CPV/T system will be
commercialized in the year 2016 [33]. Most CPV products in the market are using passive cooling system.
For the CPV/T system in this thesis, some evaluation and technical assumption/design were done in the
polygeneration design chapter. Table 9 below describes one commercial HCPV product series in the market.
Table 9. Technical parameters of one commercial HCPV product
Solar panel Series Dimensions (mm) Peak
power (W)
Weight (kg)
Efficiency Concentration ratio Length Width Depth
Skysource [34]
SKS-M05-56 1,266 1,072 333 260 52 24.0% 1,200
SKS-M10-34 1,423 1,093 516 320 54 24.5% 1,100
SKS-M10-33 1,081 1,081 523 239 51 24.4% 1,100
6.2.2 Solar Thermal Energy
In this thesis solar thermal energy was designed to offer domestic hot water and space heating, only Solar
Thermal System (STS) for residential applications like systems of solar water heater, and solar thermal
heating were studied. Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies were not involved in the study because
the generation of high temperature steam and use of steam turbine will increase the complexity of the power
use and maintenance on construction site.
STS absorbs solar radiation to heat the heat transfer fluid, which can be air, water or a specific fluid. The
heated fluid can be directly used as domestic hot water, or be used to heat the space or to meet the cooling
needs. The generated heat can drive the other final applications and be stored in the hot storage tank for
the time without sunshine. Solar water heating is a mature technology widely used in the world to cover the
residential heat demand and normally it includes a solar collector array, an energy transfer system and a
storage bank. For the complete solar heating systems, there are two main systems: Active Glycol System (or
pumped system) and Passive Thermosiphon System [35] [36].
Figure 10. Two solar heating systems [35]
Active Glycol system uses a pump for the heat fluid circulation between the collector and the storage tank
(see figure 10a). This system is mainly used in cold climates, such as North America and North Europe. In
2012, it accounted 11% of the global market share [36]. Thermosiphon system uses the natural convection
to circulate the water in the loop (see figure 10b), and it is mainly used in warm climates, such as Middle
East and Africa region. Almost 75% of the installed solar heating systems in the world are passive
thermosiphon system [36].
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Figure 11. Possible configurations for solar-driven cooling systems [36]
As project S is at Saudi Arabia (warm area) and the cooling demand is the biggest part of energy demand.
Therefore, a heat-driven cooling system is a necessary compliment to the solar heating system. Three kinds
of cooling systems are applied in the solar heating system: absorption chiller, adsorption chiller and desiccant
cooling system [36]. Figure 11 above describes the possible configuration of the solar heat-driven cooling
systems.
Considering energy demand (heat and cooling) in project S and the possible cooling system configuration,
active glycol system was selected to produce the heat because the hot water storage tanks are necessary for
the on-site use. The absorption chiller was applied to meet the cooling demand, as it is the most commonly
used in the cooling applications [36]. Similar to solar PV, all solar thermal collectors would be mounted on
the available roof area of the construction site. For active glycol system, two main types of solar collectors
are in the market: Vacuum tube solar collector and flat-plate solar collector. Figure 12 describes the curve
of collector efficiency against temperature gap in different applications.
Figure 12. Collector efficiency curve against temperature difference [37]
According to the efficiency curve, vacuum collector is the better system for the application of heat and
cooling as it has higher efficiency. Therefore, it was selected as the solar collector for project S site. Table
10 below shows the solar collectors’ parameters of Viesmann Company.
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Table 10. The parameters of solar collectors (Viesmann Company)
Solar collectors Series Dimensions (mm) Absorber
area (m2) Weight (kg) Length Width Depth
Viesmann vacuum tube collector [37]
Vitosol 100-T CD1V/CD1H
2,200 1,000 165 1.55 46
2,200 1,480 165 2.33 67
2,200 1,960 165 3.1 87
Vitosol 300-T CD3V/CD3H 2,000 1,450 165 2.29 65
2,000 2,150 165 3.46 100
6.3 Wind
Studies have found that average annual wind speed in a particular location normally need to exceed 15 km/h
(4.2 m/s) to be viable [38], and the economic viability of the wind system needs an average annual wind
speed of 6-8 m/s or above [39]. The annual wind speed on project S site is 4.1 m/s, which is less than 15
km/h. Consequently, wind energy is not an economical and practical source to generate electricity for
project S and it was not discussed in this thesis.
6.4 Biomass
Biomass is the organic matter derived from living, such as waste from plants, animals and human. Biomass
can be utilized directly as combustion fuel or indirectly be converted into biofuel (biogas). Project S is l in
the rural area of Saudi Arabia. It is a dry area with few green plants, and the only available biomass resources
on-site are the food waste and human feces.
In Saudi Arabia, the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation per day is 1.3 kg/capita/day [40]. Considering
150 people are living in the campus and 65% of the MSW is biodegradable [41], thus everyday 126.75 kg
biodegradable MSW can be generated on project site. Assuming all biodegradable components have the
same biogas generation ratio: 110 m3/ton [42], so everyday 13.94 m3 biogas can be generated based on the
MSW on project S site. The biogas generation is enough for the daily gas demand on campus (3.6 m3),
however it is not sufficient for the other energy demand and it is not economical to build a digester at this
capacity. Taking all above factors into consideration, biomass would not be available for project S.
6.5 Micro Combined Heat and Power technologies
CHP or cogeneration systems generates electrical power and thermal heat simultaneously. If power and heat
are generated, the overall efficiency of CHP can reach as much as 85%-90% and an efficiency of 40-45%
can be obtained if electrical power is the only output [43]. European Directive 2004/8/EC – the Combined
Heat and Power Directive – defines micro-CHP as CHP with electrical power output less than 50 kW.
Several technologies have been developed for the MicroCHP applications, and they are either commercial
products or they are close to the market entry [44].
Reciprocating engines: conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) coupled with a electricity
generator and heat exchanger to recuperate from flue gas
Microturbines: micro gas turbine (a type of turbo machines) with electricity output less than 500
kW and equipped with electricity generator and heat recuperator [45]
Stirling engines: thermal engine coupled with external combustion engine, generator and heat
exchanger
Organic Rankie Cycle (ORC): conventional steam turbine using molecular mass organic fluid as
working fluid
Fuel cells: Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEFC) with operating temperature 80 °C or
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) around 800 – 1000 °C
Various other technologies: steam cells, thermoelectric devices, etc.
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Reciprocating engines are already commercialized on the market. Theoretically, Stirling engines are very
efficient, but the commercial Stirling engines on the market only have an electrical efficiency of 10% [46],
and that makes it less attractive in the market. Microturbines have many advantages: high-efficiency, clean
combustion and low maintenance. The mature technologies and products on the market make
microturbines commercial viable. Current fuel cell technologies are complex and the start-up of fuel cell
needs careful control to make sure that all components raise to the correct operating temperature; fuel cell
CHP prototypes’ size is large and the commercialization of fuel cell CHP will take some years [46]. ORC
and other technologies are not yet commercialized. Although some ORC applications in laboratories or on
market are tested, they are still at the field of trial stage [46].
In this thesis, two CHP technologies were studied for the polygeneration system integration: Reciprocating
engines and microturbines, as both of them are commercial available on the market. Table 11 below
describes the technical features of the three technologies.
Table 11. Technical features of small-scale CHP devices [43]
Reciprocating engines Microturbines
Electrical power (kW) 10-200 25-250
Electrical efficiency, full load (%) 25-45 25-30
Electrical efficiency, half-load (%) 23-40 20-25
Total efficiency (%) 75-85 75-85
Electrical power/heat flow (-) 0.5-1.1 0.5-0.6
Output temperature level (°C) 85-100 85-100
Fuel Natural or biogas, diesel, fuel oil
Natural or biogas, diesel, gasoline, alcohols
Length of maintenance cycle (h) 5,000-20,000 20,000-30,000
Investment costs (US$/electrical kW) 800-1,500 900-1,500
Maintenance costs (₵/electrical kW) 1.2-2.0 0.5-1.5
6.5.1 Reciprocating engines
Figure 13 illustrates the system configuration of commercial gas genset CHP system. The heat comes from
engine cooling system (jacket water heat exchanger) and exhaust gas heat exchanger.
Figure 13. Gas genset CHP configuration [47]
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Table 12 shows the parameters of the co-generation power of gas genset CHP system.
Table 12. Gas genset CHP system co-generation power technical features
Co-generation Power [47]
Cooling Water (Hot-water supply)
Inlet Temperature 30°C
Outlet Temperature 70°C
Jacket Water Inlet Temperature 82°C
Outlet Temperature 74°C
Exhaust Gas Inlet Temperature 600°C
Outlet Temperature 200°C
Table 13 below shows the parameters of commercial reciprocating engines on the market.
Table 13. The parameters of reciprocating engines CHP (Chaoran and SenerTec companies)
Chaoran gas power [48]
Electric rated power (kW)
Dimensions (mm) Thermal power (kW)
Fuel consumption (m3/hr)
Overall power Input (kW) Length Width Height
30 1,900 750 1,280 64 11.17 111
40 1,900 770 1,300 86 14.90 148
50 2,100 770 1,300 102 17.96 179
60 2,200 800 1,400 122 21.55 214
80 2,800 1,100 1,800 163 28.73 286
100 2,800 1,100 1,900 184 32.44 323
30 1,800 720 1,280 64 11.09 110
50 2,250 820 1,500 102 17.96 179
80 2,250 820 1,500 151 27.27 271
SenerTec [49]
5.5 1,060 720 1,000 14.5 2.13 21
19.2 1,510 730 1,045 42 6.52 65
- Fuel in the table is natural gas, and its Low Heating Value (LHV) is 35.8 MJ/m3.
- The size of the unit is the size of the gas genset; CHP unit’s dimension should consider the size of co-
generation parts (heat exchanger, pipes etc.)
- Thermal power in the table is calculated based on overall efficiency of CHP system (85%) and the given
electrical power efficiency.
6.5.2 Microturbine
Figure 14 illustrates the configuration of commercial microturbine product, and the heat (hot water) is from
the heat exchange from the exhaust flue gas.
Figure 14. Microturbine system configuration [45] [50]
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Up to now, the microturbine products have been put into market, companies like Ansaldo Energia and
Capstone that own their mature microturbine technologies have already had some different
applications/projects.
Table 14 lists the main microturbine products of these two companies.
Table 14. The parameters of microturbine CHP (Ansaldo Energia and Capstone Microturbine)
Series Electric rated power (kW)
Dimensions (mm) Thermal power (kW)
Fuel consumption (m3/hr.)
Overall power input (kW) Length Width Height
Ansaldo Energia [50]
85 3,900 900 1,810 51 9.38 93
100 3,900 900 1,810 61 11.09 110
100 3,900 1,200 1,810 240 68.50 400
Capstone Microturbine [51]
30 1,500 760 1,800 74 11.60 115
65 1,900 760 1,900 137 22.54 224
200 3,800 1,700 2,500 345 60.94 606
600 9,100 2,400 2,900 1,036 182.83 1,818
800 9,100 2,400 2,900 1,382 243.78 2,424
1,000 9,100 2,400 2,900 1,727 304.72 3,030
- The fuel used in the table is natural gas, except the last product of Ansaldo Energia uses biogas as fuel.
- The LHV of natural gas and biogas used in the table are 35.8 MJ/m3 and 21 MJ/m3 respectively.
6.6 Water purification
Two types of water purification technologies were studied in this sector: RO and MD. Project S is in Riyadh
region (the center of the Saudi Arabia), and groundwater was used as the water source for drinking water.
Table 15 describes the water chemicals compositions on project S site in Al Kharj region.
Table 15. Project S site groundwater chemicals composition [52]
Potential of Hydrogen (pH) 7.3
EC (mS/cm) 2.912
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) (𝜇g/L) 1,863.68
Na+ (mg/L) 276.2
K+ (mg/L) 23.65
Ca+ (mg/L) 360.1
Mg+ (mg/L) 85.84
HCO3- (mg/L) 449.4
Cl- (mg/L) 265.54
NO2- (mg/L) 4.85
NO3- (mg/L) 81.42
SO42- (mg/L) 1,657.25
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) (mg/L) 11.96
Li (mg/L) 0.123
Sb (mg/L) 0.776
Mn (𝜇g/L) 6
As (𝜇g/L) 30
Fe (𝜇g/L) 560
B (mg/L) 0.601
- The sample from borehole 15 is used, as 15 is the closest location to project S
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According to the maximum contaminant level and guided values in drinking-water from World Health
Organization (WHO), the arsenic cannot exceed 10 𝜇g/L; chlorine cannot surpass 5 mg/L; NO2 and NO3’s
limit are 3 mg/L and 50 mg/L respectively; Sodium’s guideline value is 50 mg/L [53]. As one of the most
serious inorganic contaminants in drinking water, the long-term intake of over leveled arsenic can cause
chronic symptoms and illnesses. Based on the groundwater chemicals composition (see table 14), the
groundwater cannot be used as drinking-water directly on project site and a water purification system for
the groundwater is needed.
6.6.1 Reverse Osmosis technology
In general, RO technology uses a high-pressure pump to push the feed water go through a semi-permeable
membrane to remove the contaminants in the water, like ions and metals (see table 14), organic chemicals,
particles and pesticides [54].
Figure 15. RO system working principle and system configuration [55]
According to RO system working principle and system configuration (see figure 15), it is clear that RO is
driven by electricity to purify the feed water, and two types of water coming out of the system: permeate
water and reject stream. Typically, the electrical power consumption of RO facility is around 1.5 kWh/m3
and there is no thermal energy consumption in RO applications [56]. Normally most of RO water
purification systems in the market are using tap water as the feed water, so some pre-treatments are needed
for groundwater before it feeds into the RO system. Figure 16 below illustrates the common commercial
groundwater purification configuration in the market.
Figure 16. Commercial groundwater purification system configuration [57]
From figure 16, it is clear that three filters are applied before the water going into RO system. The
commercialized groundwater purification system integrates all the filters and components into a set and it
is highly portable and compact for decentralized applications. Based on the drinking water demand on
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project S: 895 liter/day and the size of the polyset container, some of the commercial groundwater
purification systems in the market were selected as the reference for polyset design and integration (see table
16).
Table 16. Commercial groundwater purification system technical parameters
Company Model Output capacity (m3/day)
Electricity consumption (kWh/m3)
Dimensions (mm) Remarks
Length Width Height
Jiangmen Seraph [58]
RO-0.5 0.5 2.2 1,700 700 1,700 Motor power: 1.1 kW
RO-1 1 1.5 1,550 900 1,800 Motor power: 1.5 kW
Jiangmen Pengjiang angel [59]
RO-0.5 0.5 2.2 1,300 600 1,400 Motor power: 1.1 kW
RO-1 1 1.5 1,300 600 1,400 Motor power: 1.5 kW
6.6.2 Membrane Distillation technology
Membrane distillation is a thermal based separation process, and it uses the vapor pressure difference across
the membrane to purify the feed water. Based on different cold side permeate processing, there are mainly
four MD configurations (see figure 17) [60].
Figure 17. MD system configurations
In Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD) configuration, the membrane is contacting with the
liquid phases directly. Compared to other three configurations, DCMD has the highest heat conduction loss
due to its configuration, and the high loss causes the low thermal efficiency and low energy efficiency, which
are the obstacles of commercialization on the market [60].
Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) configuration interpose an air gap between the membrane and
the condensation surface (see figure 17). AGMD has the highest energy efficiency among the four MD
configurations, however the permeate flux is generally low and a large surface is needed normally [60].
Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) configuration’s permeate side is vapor or air under reduced pressure.
To maintain the pressure difference the vapor permeate should be removed continuously and technically
according to this configuration, the greatest force at the same temperature can be generated because the
temperature on the cold side can reach almost zero due to the reduced pressure [60].
Sweep Gas Membrane Distillation (SGMD) uses stripping gas (a physical process to strip components from
liquid stream by a vapor stream) as the carrier for the generated vapor that is condensed in an external
condenser. SGMD is normally used to remove the volatiles from an aqueous solution [60]. SGMD has a
high mass transfer rate and a little heat loss through the membrane, however the configuration decides that
external devices (such as external condenser and air blower) are required to maintain the operation and that
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means increased investment, energy consumption and operation cost [60]. Table 17 lists some notable
organizations and their commercial MD systems.
Table 17. Commercial MD systems (solar-MD system) [60]
Properties Scarab Medesol Memstill Memsys Smades
Configuration AGMD AGMD AGMD VMD Sprial wound MD
Surface area (m2) 2.3 2.8 9 - 72
Membrane material Polytetrafluoroet-hylene (PTFE)
PTFE - - PTFE
Capacity (m3/day) 1-2 0.5-50 80/50 1 0.6-0.8
Permeate flux (kg/m2/h) 12-27 5-10 - - 2-11
Thermal energy consumption range (kWh/m3)
5-12 810 22-90 175-350 200-300
Electricity consumption range (kWh/m3)
0.6-1.5 - - 0.75-1.75 -
Test sites Sweden Spain Singapore Rotterdam
Singapore Jordan
Stage Commercialized Pilot plant Pilot plant Commercialized Pilot plant
Based on the thermal energy consumption of the MD systems, AGMD system from Scarab Company is
the best option for polyset and project S, as this system is commercialized and the thermal energy need is
around 10 kWh/m3 [61].
Figure 18. Scarab AGMD system test layout at Sweden [56]
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Figure 18 illustrates the test layout of Scarab AGMD modules. Five modules in three parallel cascades (two
modules connected in series for each cascades, except the last set) were tested with the municipal water as
the feed water [56]. Table 18 below describes the parameters of each AGMD module.
Table 18. AGMD module technical parameters [56]
Company Configuration Dimensions (m) AGMD Air gap
(mm) Width Height Thickness
Scarab AGMD 0.63 0.73 0.175 2
Following the test result of each cascade, the second module produces about 35% of the total water output
at high flow rates (1015 l/h), while it does not work at a low flow rates due to the larger temperature
polarization effect [56]. To test the performance of the AGMD module, the scale-up simulation was tested
based on the test result, and the configuration of the scale-up test can be seen in figure 17. In this simulation
the input heat energy is from the district heat and the feed hot water temperature are 70 °C and 90 °C while
cold water 40 °C. Table 19 describes the simulation results of the scale-up test.
Table 19. Simulation results, scaled-up performance [56]
Parameter Case I Case II
Cascade flow rate (l/h) 1,200 1,200
MD hot side temperature (°C) 70 90
MD cold side temperature (°C) 40 40
Pure water output (m3/h) 10 10
Specific case thermal energy consumption (kWh/m3) 5.5 12.1
Specific case electricity consumption (kWh/m3) 1.3-1.5 0.6-0.7
Membrane area (m2) 2,392 1,141
No of MD Modules 1,040 496
Pure water output (l/h)/Cascade – 2 modules 19 40
Based on the study of the parameters of AGMD, to meet the drinking-water demand on project S site “895
l/day”, one cascade with two modules connected in series under Case II configuration will be utilized.
6.7 Storage technologies and devices
In this sector, the storage technology and devices of energy (electricity, heat and gas) are introduced.
6.7.1 Electrical energy storage system
The Electrical Energy Storage (EES) system is a very important part of the system to store the surplus
electricity and compensate the shortages at generation-demand unbalanced moment. EES stores the
electrical energy in a certain state and convert the stored energy into electrical energy when needed. Based
on the form of the energy stored in the system, EES systems is divided into six main categories [62]:
Mechanical energy storage: pumped hydroelectric storage, compressed air energy storage and
flywheels
Electrochemical energy storage: conventional rechargeable batteries and flow batteries
Electrical energy storage: capacitors, super capacitors and superconducting magnetic energy storage
Thermochemical energy storage: solar fuels
Chemical energy storage: hydrogen storage with fuel cells
Thermal energy storage: sensible heat storage and latent heat storage
For project S, only ground water is available and there is no topographical height difference on site, so
pumped hydroelectric storage is not available. In addition, the devices and equipment in the pumped storage
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system need an extra cost, and the consideration of integrating all these equipment and devices into the
container is a big challenge. Pumped hydroelectric storage is a good choice for some certain hydropower
projects, where the dam and reservoir are already constructed and pump-turbine and other devices are in
the scope of the project equipment list. Similar to pumped hydroelectric storage, compressed air energy
storage and flying wheels have the same obstacles for project S.
Flow batteries, solar fuels and hydrogen storage with fuel cells technologies are still in the development and
demonstration stage; capacitors have a limited capacity and relatively low energy density and they are
normally used for high voltage power compensation, balancing the mass transit system [62]. Thermal storage
system has very good energy density and relatively low capital cost, however the size of the thermal storage
is the problem to make it integrated into the portable container [62]. No storage technologies discussed
above are the right choices for project S, however for different projects the optimized storage technology
may be different. The storage system for each project shall be analyzed to suit the project requirements and
to meet the design criteria.
The rechargeable battery is widely used in industry and daily life. There are four types of rechargeable
batteries in the market: Lead-acid batteries, Lithium-Ion (Li-ION) batteries, Nickel-Cadmium (NI-CD)
batteries and sodium Sulfur (NAS) batteries. According to the comparison of the four battery technologies
(see table 20 [62]), Li-ion is not yet commercialized and NAS and NI-CD have a relatively high power capital
cost, consequently the more economic Lead-acid battery technology is selected to be used in the polyset
system.
Table 20. Technical and economical characteristics of four batteries storage technologies
Technology Suitable storage duration
Discharge time at power rating
Power capital cost ($/kW)
Energy capital cost ($/kWh)
Operating and maintenance cost
Maturity
Lead–acid Minutes–days, short-to-med. Term
Seconds–hours, up to 10 h
300–600, 200–300, 400
200–400, 50–100, 330
~50 $/kW/year Mature
Li-ion Minutes–days, short-to-med. Term
Minutes–hours, 1–8 h
1,200–4,000, 900–1,300, 1,590
600–2,500, 2770–3,800
- Demonstration
NAS Long-term Seconds–hours, 1 h
1,000–3,000, 350–3,000
300–500, 350, 450
~80 $/kW/year Commercialized
NI-CD Minutes–days, Short and long-term
Seconds–hours, 1–8 h
500–1,500 800–1,500, 400–2,400
~20 $/kW/year Commercialized
To estimate the limit of the batteries quantities in the container, one series of commercial Lead-acid battery
banks for solar system from a China manufacturer are listed (see Table 21) [63].
Table 21. Commercial solar battery banks parameters
National Standard Mode
Rated voltage (V)
Rated Capacity (Ah-10h)
Dimensions (mm) Weight (kg)
Length Width Height
6-CNJ-80/90/100 12 80/90/100 329 172 236 25.3/27.3/27.7
6-CNJ-120 12 120 408 174 238 33.6
6-CNJ-150 12 150 483 170 240 40.5
6-CNJ-180 12 180 522 240 243 52.8
6-CNJ-200 12 200 522 240 243 55.5
6-CNJ-220 12 220 522 269 245 61.2
6-CNJ-250 12 250 522 269 245 68.2
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Compared to battery banks from other manufactures, the size of the battery banks at the same capacity is
almost same, so the parameters in table 21 is available and common for commercial solar batteries.
6.7.2 Heat storage system
In line with the system proposal (type II polyset system), the working fluid for heating and cooling in the
polyset system is hot water at 90 °C. Considered the configuration of solar thermal system and cooling
system (hot water tanks needed), the hot water tanks with thermal insulation protection were selected as the
heat storage system to balance the hot water generation and demand.
For the solar thermal and big-size residential applications, one type of big size (>5 tons) solar hot water
tanks are utilized in the market widely. Such solar thermal hot water storage tanks from a manufacturer are
listed in table 22 as the reference for the polygeneration design [64].
Table 22. Commercial hot water storage tanks’ parameters
Model
(ton)
Normal tank
Insulating
layer (mm)
Inner tank thickness (mm)
Outer tank thickness (mm)
Vertical Type (dia×height) (mm)
Horizontal type (dia×height) (mm)
Standard model
Normal
model
Standard
model
Normal
model
0.3 Φ720×1,050 Φ800×900 50 0.5 0.4 0.31
0.4 Φ800×1,100 Φ800×1,100 50 0.5 0.4 0.31
0.5 Φ960×1,000 Φ930×1,100 50 0.5 0.4 0.31
0.8 Φ1,030×1,300 Φ1,030×1,300 50 0.5 0.4 0.31
1 Φ1,060×1,500 Φ1,030×1,600 50 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4
1.5 Φ1,280×1,500 Φ1,250×1,550 50 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4
2 Φ1,400×1,600 Φ1,360×1,700 50 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4
2.5 Φ1,400×1,900 Φ1,360×2,100 50 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4
3 Φ1,610×1,750 Φ1,360×2,510 50 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4
4 Φ1,700×2,100 Φ1,560×2,500 50 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4
5 Φ1,800×2,310 Φ1,700×2,600 50 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4
6 Φ2,130×1,900 Φ1,700×3,100 50 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5
7 Φ2,130×2,270 Φ1,700×3,600 50 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.5
8 Φ2,130×2,600 Φ1,800×3,630 50 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.5
9 Φ2,250×2,600 Φ1,800×4,080 50 1 0.8 0.5 0.5
10 Φ2,250×2,860 Φ2,130×3,200 50 1 0.8 0.5 0.5
12 Φ2,500×2,750 Φ2,130×3,810 50 1 0.8 0.5 0.5
15 Φ2,600×3,200 Φ2,130×4,750 50 1 0.8 0.5 0.5
The water temperature is maintained at 85-90 °C in the tank and the tanks in the table are used as reference
for the polyset design. The real parameters may vary.
6.7.3 Gas storage and gas cylinder
To run the MicroCHP and gas turbine/genset, a gas storage system is needed. To have a small-size vessel
and big gas capacity, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cylinders were selected as the storage system. Considered
the size limits of the container, LNG cylinder for truck use are available in the market and this kind of
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cylinder can store a large mass of natural gas. Table 23 describes parameters of a commercial LNG cylinder
for truck use [65] .
Table 23. LNG storage cylinder parameters
Type CDPW600-500-1.59
Nominal capacity (L) 500
Usable capacity (L) 460
Filling Medium LNG
Max filling weight (kg) 196
Nominal pressure (Mpa) 1.59
Calculating pressure (Mpa) 3.18
Design temperature (°C) -196
Insulation type High vacuum multi-layers spiral wound insulation
Material 0Cr18Ni9/SUS304/304
Evaporation rate (%/d) LIN2:≤2.0
Empty weight (kg) Without pressurized devices≈355
Surface treatment (Accurate value refer to nameplate) Polished
Liquid treatment Capacitance
Size (mm) 2,220*690*750 Saddle-type
Figure 19 below describes the cylinders installation on trucks.
Figure 19. LNG cylinder on trucks [65]
Normally, there are fuel tanks on construction sites for diesel generator and other diesel-driven machinery,
so the gas storage system can either be integrated in the polyset or be prepared by the project
owner/contractor. Instead of preparing diesel fuel tanks, a LNG truck is estimated to be sufficient for the
MicroCHP or gas turbine/generator. The overall cost of the LNG truck is cheaper than the LNG cylinders
for the same gas consumption case.
6.8 Technologies selection and explanation
In this chapter, available technologies on project site were studies and analyzed. Wind energy and biomass
are not available and feasible for project S. Solar energy, microCHP, water purification and storage
technologies were proved to be feasible to project S, and some corresponding commercialized products in
the market were listed in the thesis for the system modeling and sizing in the next chapter. All the products
listed in this chapter were only used as the reference for the system sizing and they were utilized as
scandalized products. The real size and technical figures of the products in the market may vary.
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7 Scenarios proposing and system modeling
This chapter makes the comparison among the available technologies and proposes possible combinations
of available energy generation technologies to meet project S energy demand.
7.1 Available energy generation technologies
Through the studies in chapter 6, the available technologies for project S are solar PV Frist-generation
(Crystalline) and Second-generation (Thin-film), CPV/T, solar thermal, reciprocating engines and
microturbines. Table 24 lists all possible combinations of electricity and heat generation systems.
Table 24. Possible electricity and heat generation combinations
Possible Combination Electricity generation system Heat generation system Proposed polyset
C1 Crystalline solar PV
/ Type I Reciprocating engine
C2 Crystalline solar PV
/ Type I Microturbine
C3 Thin-film solar PV
/ Type I Reciprocating engine
C4 Thin-film solar PV
/ Type I Microturbine
C5 Crystalline solar PV
Reciprocating engine Type II Reciprocating engine
C6 Crystalline solar PV
Microturbine Type II Microturbine
C7 Thin-film solar PV
Reciprocating engine Type II Reciprocating engine
C8 Thin-film solar PV
Microturbine Type II Microturbine
C9 Reciprocating engine Reciprocating engine
Type II Solar Thermal
C10 Microturbine Microturbine
Type II Solar Thermal
C11 Reciprocating engine Reciprocating engine
Type II CPV/T CPV/T
C12 Microturbine Microturbine
Type II CPV/T CPV/T
The possible combinations C1 to C4 correspond to the proposed polyset “Type I”, which only generates
electricity; while C5 to C12 to “Type II”, in which both electrical power and heat are produced. Figure 20
describes the working principle of the polyset: all the components are packed into the container for
transportation; some of the components are mounted in the container and the other components will be
installed out of the container (on the project site).
Figure 20. Working principle of polyset
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7.2 Scenarios proposal and modeling
Geometrically, there are two limitations to the polyset for project S: the size of the available roof area (1520.3
m2) and the size of 40 feet container (12.035*2.35*2.385 m, L*W*H, see table 5). Considering the size of
the solar PV panels (crystalline and thin-film), MicroCHP engines, battery, water purification system and
other components (storage, electrical system, etc.), two proposals were made to meet project S energy
demand:
Proposal I: three polysets (Type I) with electricity output
Proposal II: two polysets (Type II) with electricity and heat output
7.2.1 Proposal I system modeling
In this proposal, solar PV technologies and Gas turbine/generator technologies were utilized to generate
electricity and three polysets were proposed to meet energy demand. Figure 21 describes the proposal I
polyset system configuration.
Figure 21. Proposal I polyset system configuration
The purple frame in the figure is the container boundary, and all the components in the frame are packed
in the container. RO is used to produce drinking water; electrical AC is applied for heat and cooling demand
on the site in proposal I. In terms of solar PV technologies, figure 22 shows the comparison among four
different commercial solar panels (The figure is made based on table 7, table 8 and the total available roof
area).
Figure 22. Solar panels comparison
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0
Monocrystalline Solar Panels
Multicrystalline Solar Panels
Thin-film Standard panel
Thin-film flexible panel
Volume (Cubic meter) Unit peak power price ($/W)
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It is clear that crystalline solar panels have a lower unit peak price and a higher volume. Monocrystalline
solar panels were selected due to its lower price compared to multicrystalline solar panels, and thin-film
standard panels have a lower price and size/volume in comparison with flexible panels. For the commercial
monocrystalline solar panels, 262 kW peak power can be installed on project S site subject to the available
roof area and 149 kW for thin-film standard panels.
The principle of the designed proposal is try to maximize the penetration of renewable energy in the polyset
system (in Proposal I: PV).
The peak power from Monocrystalline PV is 262 kW, divided by three polysets; and considered the space
use of the roof (incomplete space use due to installation), the capacity of the Monocrystalline PV for each
polyset is 240/3 = 80 kW. Following the same way, the capacity of the thin-film PV is 40 kW for each
polyset.
Annually, the electrical energy generation from Thin-film PV system is
120 x 5.81 x 365 (peak solar hours) = 254,478 kWh
The annual energy demand on project S site is 923,791 kWh. The difference is 669,313 kWh, which should
be generated by gas genset or microturbine, so the capacity is equal to
669,313/24/365 = 76.4 kW, when gas genset or microturbine works 24 hours per day.
76.4 kW divided by three polysets, the minimum capacity of the gas genset or microturbine is 25.5 kW.
Followed the same way, the minimum capacity is 15 kW when Monocrystalline PV is used. In project S, a
constant electrical power of 100 kW is needed in the daytime, considered the stability of the PV system, 30
kW is selected as the rated electrical power output of the microturbine or gas genset. In this circumstance,
three polysets will have a minimum 90 kW rated output power no matter the PV system works and that can
ensure the power supply of the project.
Four scenarios were proposed based on the available solar energy and energy demand (see table 25).
Table 25. Proposal I scenarios breakdown table
Components Scenario 1.1 Scenario 1.2 Scenario 1.3 Scenario 1.4
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Monocrystalline PV
80 kW 15.05 80 kW 15.05 / / / /
Thin-film PV / / / / 40 kW 2.78 40 kW 2.78
Gas genset 30 kW 2.19 / / 30 kW 2.19 / /
Microturbine / / 30 kW 2.05 / / 30 kW 2.05
RO 1 m3/day 0.55 1 m3/day 0.55 1 m3/day 0.55 1 m3/day 0.55
Battery 250 Ah 13.95 250 Ah 13.95 250 Ah 6.99 250 Ah 6.99
Gas cylinder 460 L 8.05 460 L 9.20 460 L 8.05 460 L 9.20
Total Volume / 39.78 / 40.80 / 20.55 / 21.57
For the calculation in the table 25, items below are complied with:
The components selected are the reference commercial products described in chapter 6.
The volume calculation is based on tables 7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 21 and 23.
Gas consumption time per cylinder for gas genset and microturbine is calculated based on LNG
and natural gas density and on the basis of methane proportion 96.5% on references [66] [67].
It is set that the autonomy time for battery banks are 3 days.
The charge frequency for gas cylinder is 7 days/time.
All the components selections are to be adjusted after the simulation if necessary.
The calculations in table 24 refer to appendix III.
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7.2.2 Proposal II system modeling
In this proposal, both electricity and heat are generated by polysets, and two polysets were to used meet
energy demand. Considering the possible combination of available energy technologies, polysets with three
different configuration were proposed in proposal II.
Figure 23. Polyset system configuration A in proposal II
In configuration A (see figure 23), besides generating electricity like solar PV, MicroCHP is providing heat
to meet the drinking-water demand and cooling demand through MD and absorption chilling technologies
respectively.
Figure 24. Polyset system configuration B (left) and C (right) in proposal II
In configuration B and C (see figure 24), the cooling and drinking water demand are satisfied by heat driven
MD and absorption chiller (same as configuration A). The difference lies in the electricity generation parts:
electricity is generated only by MicroCHP in configuration B while by MicroCHP and CPV/T in
configuration C. Regarding the heat generation, MicroCHP and solar thermal are the heat generators in
configuration B while MicroCHP and CPV/T in configuration C.
Applying the same principles described in proposal I, in scenarios 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4, the size of the
MicroCHP is set to 30 kW ( in proposal II, the electrical demand is smaller than the demand in proposal I
because electrical AC is not utilized in proposal II). The PV peak power in scenarios 2.1 and 2.2 is set to 80
kW due to the size limit of the container.
In scenarios 2.5 and 2.6, the MicroCHP capacity are 60 kW and 65 kW respectively by applying the same
limits/principle of scenarios 2.1 and the selection scope of the available microturbines in the market. The
size of the solar collectors are limited to 29.8 m3 in compliance with the size of the 40-feet container (67
m3). Similar to scenario 2.5 and 2.6, the capacity of the MicroCHP is set to 30 kW and the size of the CPV/T
is limited to 32 m3.
Subject to the roof area, energy demand and the size of the container, 8 scenarios were designed in proposal
II (see table 26).
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Table 26. Proposal II breakdown table
Components Scenario 2.1 Scenario 2.2 Scenario 2.3 Scenario 2.4
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Monocrystalline PV
80 kW 15.05 80 kW 15.05 / / / /
Thin-film PV / / / / 60 kW 4.17 60 kW 4.17
Gas genset 30 kW 2.19 / / 30 kW 2.19 / /
Microturbine / / 30 kW 2.05 / / 30 kW 2.05
MD 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16
Battery 250 Ah 13.95 250 Ah 13.95 250 Ah 10.47 250 Ah 10.47
Heat Tank 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52
Gas cylinder 460 L 8.05 460 L 9.20 460 L 8.05 460 L 9.20
Total Volume / 53.92 / 54.93 / 39.56 / 40.57
Components Scenario 2.5 Scenario 2.6 Scenario 2.7 Scenario 2.8
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Parameter Size (m3)
Solar Thermal Vacuum tubes
29.80 Vacuum tubes
29.80 / / / /
CPV/T / / / / 18.2 kW 32.00 18.2 kW 32.00
Gas genset 60 kW 2.96 / / 30 kW 2.19 / /
Microturbine / / 65 kW 2.74 / / 30 kW 2.05
MD 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16 1 m3/day 0.16
Battery / / / / 250 Ah 3.15 250 Ah 3.15
Heat Tank 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52 10 Ton 14.52
Gas cylinder 460 L 16.10 460 L 17.25 460 L 8.05 460 L 9.20
Total Volume / 63.54 / 64.47 / 60.07 / 61.08
For the calculation in the table 26, below items are complied with:
The components selected are the referenced commercial products described in chapter 6.
The volume calculation is based on tables 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23 and figure 12.
Gas consumption time per cylinder of gas genset and microturbine is calculated based on LNG and
natural gas density, which are calculated on the basis of methane proportion 96.5% on references
[66] [67].
The size of CPV/T is based on commercial CPV in table 9; 18.2 kW is the electrical power output
of CPV/T; the efficiency of electrical power and heat power are 24% and 55%.
The selections of 10-ton heat tank and 18.2 kW CPV/T are subject to the size of the container.
It is assumed that the autonomy time for battery banks are 3 days.
The charge frequency of gas cylinder is once every 7 days.
All the components selections maybe be adjusted after the simulation if necessary.
The calculations in table 25 refer to appendix III.
7.2.3 Proposal limitations and considerations
Microturbine and CPV technologies are already commercialized in the market, however the price of
microturbine is relatively higher compared to gas genset and the maturity of the CPV products is the main
obstacle of CPV’s development in the market. CPV/T is still in the development stage and there is no
commercialized product in the market.
In a long-term view, in this thesis microturbine and CPV/T are analyzed in scenarios to evaluate how far
these two advanced new technologies should advance to substitute the market predominant products.
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8 Scenarios analysis
In this chapter, all scenarios were analyzed in RETScreen software and the techno-economic analysis and
comparisons among scenarios were made.
8.1 RETScreen analysis
Table 27 below shows the RETScreen analysis results of proposal I four scenarios.
Table 27. Proposal I scenarios analysis results
Items S 1.1 S 1.2 S 1.3 S 1.4
Annual Fuel consumption (m3) 124,913 94,711 231,011 248,781
Initial costs ($) 630,950 663,650 404,030 436,730
Annual costs ($) 5,513 4,180 10,196 10,981
Base case annual operation costs ($) 270,462 270,462 270,462 270,462
Annual Savings ($) 264,949 266,282 260,266 259,481
Payback time (Year) 2.38 2.49 1.55 1.68
Emission Reduction (Ton) 395 451 197 164
Due to the calculation on different demand in RETScreen software (simulation of the space heating and
cooling), the base case annual costs in proposal II is less than the costs in proposal I, because the costs in
proposal I take consideration of the human behavior influence to the electrical AC operation. Table 28
shows the RETScreen analysis results to proposal II eight scenarios.
Table 28. Proposal II scenarios analysis results
Items S 2.1 S 2.2 S 2.3 S 2.4 S 2.5 S 2.6 S 2.7 S 2.8
Annual Fuel consumption (m3)
74,762 74,173 74,762 74,173 159,101 153,733 3,092 3,162
Initial costs ($) 455,800 469,800 397,160 411,160 206,100 281,800 227,000 283,500
Annual costs ($) 3,300 3,274 3,300 3,274 7,022 6,786 136 140
Base case annual costs ($)
250,464 250,464 250,464 250,464 250,464 250,464 250,464 250,464
Annual Savings ($) 247,164 247,190 247,164 247,190 243,442 243,678 250,328 250,324
Payback time (Year) 1.84 1.90 1.61 1.66 0.85 1.16 0.91 1.13
Emission Reduction (Ton)
215 216 215 215 56 63 338 339
The base case annual costs calculation of proposal I scenarios and the cost information of all scenarios can
be seen in appendix IV. The annual cost of all scenarios does not include the cost of the drinking water.
8.2 Techno-economic analysis
Compared to proposal II scenarios, scenarios in proposal I use three polysets to energize the construction
site and the initial costs are relatively higher.
Based on the scenarios results in table 27 and table 28, scenario 1.2 has the same system configuration as
scenario 1.1 except that it uses microturbine instead of gas genset, and the same way applied to scenarios
1.3-1.4, 2.1-2.2, 2.3-2.4, 2.5-2.6 and 2.7-2.8. The payback time of microturbine scenarios is longer than the
payback time of the gas genset scenarios with the same configuration because the microturbine’s unit price
is higher than gas genset’s. However, the difference is not as big as the price difference between microturbine
and gas genset. Compared scenarios 2.1 and 2.2, the payback times of these two scenarios are almost the
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same: 1.99 and 2.07 years respectively. That means the more expensive microturbine has the high potential
to be an alternative device of the conventional generator set, especially when it is considered as one part of
an integrated system rather than a single device. However, the limited number of companies, product series
and scope for option is the biggest challenge for its development now.
In scenarios 2.7 and 2.8, CPV/T is analyzed as one part of the system. The price of the CPV/T is estimated
based on the commercial CPV product and the overall efficiency of CPV/T is set to 80% (25%-electrical
efficiency and 55% - Thermal efficiency). According to the simulation result, CPV/T scenarios have a very
good economic performance compared to other scenarios (except 2.5 and 2.6 scenarios) as it generates both
heat and electricity at the same time. CPV/T for small and big applications is still in the development stage
currently; the feasibility of simulation results needs to be further studied, as there are no references in the
market.
Among all the scenarios, scenario 2.5 has the lowest initial costs and the shortest payback time (0.85 years),
and it meets energy demand by utilizing heat as the main driving force. Technically, scenario 2.5 can satisfy
energy demand with best economic performance. So scenario 2.5 is selected as the optimized scenario for
project S.
Scenario 2.5 includes solar thermal system, absorption chiller, AGMD, gas genset, gas cylinders and other
necessary electrical, hydraulic and thermal components. Figure 25 below describes the daily electric demand
under the scenarios 2.5 (Peak power around 110 kW as the electrical AC is not used in this scenario). It is
clear that the electricity demand in the nighttime is very low in workdays and the electric demand on
weekend is lower than the demand in workday. The electric energy demand for the nighttime of workday
(from 19:00 to 6:00) and weekend are 139 kWh and 305 kWh respectively.
Figure 25. Electric demand curve in scenario 2.5
According to scenario 2.5, space cooling and space heating will be satisfied by hot water, and only part of
the roof are occupied by the solar thermal collectors subject to the size of the container and the convenience
of the transportation. To save the natural gas and improve the system efficiency, solar PV panels and
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Weekday demand (kW) Weekend demand (kW)
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batteries are utilized in the system to use battery to meet all the electric demand in the night. Figure 26 below
describes the system configuration of scenario 2.5.
Figure 26. Scenario 2.5 system configuration
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9 Polygeneration system design
In this chapter, the polyset based on scenario 2.5 was designed and analyzed, and the technical specifications
and figures of the polyset were calculated and confirmed.
9.1 Technical design and sizing
In this sector, the technical design and sizing of the polyset system based on scenario 2.5 are introduced.
9.1.1 Energy demand
In scenario 2.5, space heating and cooling are used to meet energy demand, and cooling water is generated
by hot-water driven absorption chiller (seasonal Coefficient of Performance (COP): 0.7). The information
of demand of power, heating and cooling in RETScreen 4 is described in figure 27.
Figure 27. System load characteristic graph
Figure 28 below shows heating and power demand of project S (seasonal COP: 0.7).
Figure 28. Project S energy demand graph
The peak loads of system are as following: power – 111 kW, heating – 120 kW and cooling – 53 kW. The
annual power energy demand is 435 MWh, and annual heating power demand is 407 MWh.
9.1.2 The system balance and update
Based on the scenario 2.5, the system power and heat balance were analyzed (see appendix V). Electrical
power and hot water rate were used as basic elements to check the system balance and stability.
As the peak cooling power of the load is 53 kW, 2 absorption chillers with 35 kW cooling capacity (hot
water driven) were selected. The challenge for the absorption chiller is that the temperature drop of hot
water is only 5 °C and the rated hot water flow rate is 8.6 m3/h [68]. The high flow rate of the absorption
chiller requires big hot water tanks to compensate and balance the heat system. In this circumstance, the
polyset system for project S was revised to use the other two containers to transport the 15 tons hot water
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tank instead of 10 tons tank. Three containers in the polyset system means more spare space to transport
solar collectors. Followed the core idea of the polyset “more and more renewable energy penetration to the
polyset”, the solar collector quantity was increased, and solar PV system and batteries were integrated into
the system. The capacity of the PV system is calculated based on the spare space of the containers and the
spare roof area on construction site.
According to the system update, 53 solar collectors, 40 kW monocrystalline PV panels, 4 15-ton hot water
tanks and 72 pieces of battery banks are packed in each polyset, the other components stay the same as
described in scenario 2.5 (see figures 29 and 30). The cost of the transportation is changed as two more
container are needed to transport the solar collectors, the hot water tanks, solar panels and battery banks
and the cost of the hot water tanks and solar thermal system are changed due to the quantity change.
9.1.3 The system operation and balance
Based on the power demand curves (see figure 28) and system balance and the drawing (see appendix V),
the operation strategy of the polysets was designed as following:
Electricity generation in daytime 7:00 – 18:00: gas generation, solar PV and battery banks
Electricity supply in the nighttime 19:00 – 6:00: battery banks
Hot water generation in daytime 7:00 – 18:00: gas generation heat recovery system and solar thermal
Hot water supply in the nighttime 19:00 – 6:00: hot water tanks
Applied this strategy, gas gensets are only used in the daytime and the storage systems are providing
electricity and hot water in the nighttime. Table 29 describes the system balance of the operation strategy.
Table 29. Technical analysis of polyset system
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Gas gensets working hours per day (hour)
9.7 9.5 9.4 9.2 9.0 8.9 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.2 9.5 9.8
Daytime hot water balance (m3)
163 173 121 117 108 111 110 109 108 106 130 161
Nighttime hot water balance (m3)
118 141 94 70 16 18 17 17 16 13 116 117
Daytime electricity balance (kWh)
249 248 249 248 248 247 247 246 249 253 245 248
Nighttime electricity balance (kWh)
4 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 4 7 1 4
The hot water demand in table 29 and appendix V (Designed polysets analysis) are calculated based on
operation mode: Cooling mode – T>26 °C; Heating mode – T<18 °C; 18 °C ≤T≤26 °C – No heating and
cooling. The temperature utilized in the calculation referred the temperature in table 40 in appendix I. It is
clear that the designed polyset system can easily meet the heat and electricity demand. The gas gensets only
run on daytime as the peak electric demand is 110 kW. During the nighttime, the stored electricity and hot
water is sufficient for energy demand. Complying with the designed polysets and operation mode, the charge
cycle of the cylinders is once per 22 days for each polyset.
9.1.4 The backup system
The backup system for the polyset is very important to ensure a nonstop and stable performance. Because
the polyset configuration varies from project to project, the backup system needs to be designed accordingly.
For project S, the energy generation system works on daytime and the storage system offers the energy in
the nighttime (see table 29). This operation strategy allows the generation system and the storage system to
be each other’s backup system. If one of the gas genset stops working or part of the solar system (solar PV
and solar thermal) dysfunction, the battery banks and hot water tanks can be used to compensate the energy
shortage in the daytime, and vice versa for the nighttime.
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Gas genset is very important to the energy supply of project S. The other way to meet energy demand in an
emergency when one of the gas gensets stopped is to adjust the operation strategy of the polyset system.
When only one gas genset is available on project S site, the only gas genset will need to run more than 9
hours to satisfy the demand and spare some time for the repairs and replacement.
9.2 System overall design
Two polysets were designed to integrate all the components into the containers. Based on the real size of
the system and components, figure 29 below describes container configuration on the construction site.
Figure 29. Polyset configuration on construction site
Based on the design principle of the polyset, all the components are packed in the container for the
transportation. Based on this principle, figure 30 describes the polyset design for the transportation.
Figure 30. Polysets configuration for transportation
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One polyset includes three containers (see figure 30); one container (system container) with all system
mounted (see in figure 29) is filled with solar collectors and the other two containers (transportation
container) are with solar thermal collectors, four hot water tanks, solar panels and batteries inside. To meet
energy demand of project S, six containers (two polysets) will be transported to the project site, two system
containers will work onsite and the other four transportation containers will be emptied on site. Batteries
will be mounted in the system containers, solar thermal collectors and solar panels will be mounted on the
roof of the construction buildings. The system containers can work as a control room of the whole system.
The detailed information of system configuration and onsite arrangement for project S could be found in
Appendix V “Polygeneration system technical drawing”.
9.3 Technical figures
In this sector, the technical figures of the polygeneration system (two polysets) are described in four
categories: power system, thermal system, cooling system and water system.
9.3.1 Power system
The electricity is generated from two sets of gas genset (60 kW) and solar panels (63 kW). Two
synchronization control panels and one control panel are utilized to synchronize two gensets (refer to
appendix V: polygeneration system technical drawing) and one inverter control panel is applied to solar
energy control. Table 30 below shows the technical specifications of the power system.
Table 30. Power system technical figures and specifications
Power system Item Unit Remarks
Gas genset
Electric rated power 60 kW 2 units for two polysets with heat recovery systems
Fuel Natural gas
Heat recovery rate 79.50%
Rated frequency 50.00 Hz
Fuel consumption 21.55 m3/h Consumption at rated power
Synchronization control panel [69]
Rated efficient power 100-350 kW 2 units automatic synchronization panels
Switch capacity 630 A
Control panel (Switchgear) [70]
Rated insulation voltage 690 V
Rated work voltage 400 V Low voltage switchgear
Rated frequency 50 Hz
Main bus bar rated voltage 3,150 A
Rated peak withstand current 105 KA
Noise ≤55 dB
Protection degree IP30 /
Size (width*depth*height) 800*600*2,200 mm
Inverter [71]
Maximum input power 40,800 W 1 unit for two polysets
Maximum input voltage 1,000 V
Maximum input current 69 A 3*23 A
Rated input voltage 680 V
Rated output power 36,000 W
Rated output voltage 277/480 V
Rated frequency 50/60 Hz
Noise 33 dB
Size (width*depth*height) 550*770*270 mm
PV panels Peak power 280 W Refer to PANDA 60 Cell Series
Panel in table 8 Quantity 142 piece
Battery banks Quantity 144 piece Refer to 6-CNJ-250 in table 20
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9.3.2 Thermal system
Two systems are applied to offer heat (hot water at 90 °C): heat recovery system of gas gensets and solar
thermal system. Table 31 below shows the technical specifications of the thermal system.
Table 31. Thermal system technical figures and specifications
Thermal system
Item Unit Remarks
Gas genset heat recovery system
Thermal rated power 123 kW
Cooling water inlet/outlet temperature (temp.)
75/85 °C
Cooling water flow rate 3.5 m3/h
Jacket water inlet/outlet temp. 95/87 °C
Jacket water flow rate 7.0 m3/h
Flue gas inlet/outlet temp. 600/200 °C
Flue gas flow rate 368.5 kg/h
Solar thermal
Solar collector 106 pieces Fixed mode, slope 20°, azimuth 0°
Daily energy output 1,168 kWh Based on RETScreen simulation
Thermal power 193 kW Based on RETScreen simulation
Cooling water inlet/outlet temp. 75/90 °C
Cooling water flow rate 11.0 m3/h Based on RETScreen simulation
Pump power consumption 20 kWh/day Based on RETScreen simulation
Shower [72]
Hot water flow rate 3.3 m3/day temperature 75 °C
Space heating
Distribution pipe diameter (dia.) 65 mm
Secondary distribution pipe dia. 32 mm
Flow rate 2.5 m3/day
Hot water tanks
Quantity 8 pieces Refer to 15 tons, Φ2,130×4,750 tank in table 21
9.3.3 Cooling system
The cooling system in this polygeneration system is an absorption chilling system and two absorption
chillers (cooling capacity 35 kW) are using hot water to produce cooling water. Table 32 below shows the
technical specifications of the thermal system.
Table 32. Cooling system technical figures and specifications
Cooling system Item Unit Remarks
Absorption chiller (Model: TX 35) [68]
Cooling capacity 35 kW 2 units for polysets.
Hot water flow rate 8.6 m3/h
Hot water inlet/outlet temp. 90/85 °C
Hot water inlet/outlet dia. 40 mm
Hot water pressure loss 0.04 Mpa
Lowest hot water working temp. 75 °C
Chilled water flow rate 4 m3/h
Chilled water inlet/outlet temp. 15/10 °C
Chilled water inlet/outlet dia. 32 mm
Chilled water pressure loss 0.03 Mpa
Fouling factor of chiller water 0.086 m2/°C /kW
Power consumption 2 kW
Size (width*depth*height) 2,000*975*1,765 mm
Space cooling Distribution pipe size 65 mm
Secondary distribution pipe dia. 32 mm
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The absorption chiller unit in table 30 includes lithium bromide absorption chiller, control box, cooling
water tower, chilled water pump, cooling water pump, hot water adjusting valve, filter of chilled & cooling
water and vacuum pump. Refrigeration standard of the climate conditions for the absorption chiller:
atmosphere temperature 36 °C, wet bulb temperature (the adiabatic saturation temperature) 27 °C.
9.3.4 Water system
Water is pumped from ground for project S, and there are water pre-treatment process for groundwater
before it goes to the AGMD system and the domestic water system. Table 33 below shows the technical
specifications of the water system.
Table 33. Water system technical figures and specifications
Water system Item Unit Remarks
AGMD
Hot water inlet/outlet temp. 90/60 °C
Cold-water inlet/outlet temp. 30/55 °C
Thermal energy consumption 12.1 kWh/m3
Specific electricity consumption 0.6-0.7 kWh/m3
Pretreatment
Sand filter 1 piece 4 m3/h flow rate
Carbon filter 1 piece 4 m3/h flow rate
softener filter 1 piece 4 m3/h flow rate
Ground water facility Ground water drilling 1 set 1 time for construction site
Submersible pump [73] 450 W 15 m3/h
Water tanks and water pumps on construction sites (see technical drawing in appendix V) are not included
in the polyset system, as the contractors will prepare the water tanks.
9.4 Polygeneration set performance
The system cost of the polysets for project S is estimated to $300,000 (see table 49 in appendix VI), and
figure 31 below describes the cost structure of the polyset system.
Figure 31. Polyset system cost structure
The cost of LNG cylinders is the biggest part of the total cost, which is 30.74% (see figure 31). Normally,
the fuel tanks are prepared on site by project contractors. Considering the high cost of the LNG cylinders,
Solar thermal17.32%
Gas generator 60 kW12.01%
Synchronization panel0.91%
Control panel0.15%
Solar panel9.42%
Inverter1.02%
Battery banks10.55%
Container 2.45%
LNG cylinder 30.74%
AGMD1.65%
Absorption Chiller 35 kW
7.15%
Heat tank 4.08%
Electrical appliance0.47%
Water pretreatment1.02%
Installation, Transportation&
Mantenance1.07%
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the polyset system cost will decrease significantly if fuel tanks, which service diesel genset and other diesel
driven tools and equipment on construction site, replace LNG cylinders. To analyze the economic
performance of the designed polyset system, two scenarios are applied: the first sticks to the original design
and the second analyzes the system without LNG cylinders. Table 34 below describes the economic analysis
result of the designed polyset system based on the designed operation strategy. The detailed cost information
of the polyset system is described in appendix VI table 49.
Table 34. Economic analysis of designed polyset system
Annual Gas consumption (m3) 144,730
Gas price ($/ m3) [74] 0.044
Annual cost ($) 6,388
Initial cost with LNG cylinders($) 300,000
Initial cost without LNG cylinders ($) 208,000
Based case annual cost ($) 270,462
Payback time with LNG cylinders (year) 1.12
Payback time without LNG cylinders (year) 0.78
In project S, four diesel gensets were rented to offer electricity and that is the major option for most
contractors with short time project (less than 3 years) according to the marketing research result. The other
options are to buy new diesel gensets. Considering the power demand in project S, two 100-kW diesel
gensets and one 250-kW diesel genset as the backup genset will be the right choice to meet energy demand.
Table 35 shows the economic analysis of the new diesel gensets option for project S.
Table 35. Economic analysis of buying new diesel gensets scenario
Initial cost ($) 58,600
- Genset 100 kW cost ($) 12,000
- Genset 250 kW cost ($) 24,600
- Others ($) 10,000
Drinking water price ($/l) [75] 0.35
Annual consumed drinking water cost ($) 107,000
Diesel price ($/l) [76] 0.196
Annual consumed diesel cost ($) 46,000
Payback time with LNG cylinders (year) 1.6
Payback time without LNG cylinders (year) 1.0
Up to the time when the thesis was finished, 84 contractors participated in the market questionnaire. Figure
32 below describes the feedback on the usage time of temporary electrical generation system on project site.
Figure 32. Usage time of temporary electrical generation system on construction project site
1 year36%
2 years30%
3 years15%
4 years4%
No less than 5 years15%
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Based on the feedback from the participated contractors, 64% of their projects kept the temporary electrical
generation system (diesel genset) working no less than two years for single project. For the projects using
electrical gensets less than two years, they are small-size projects and the gensets were transported from
present project site to another project site if they are the properties of the contractors, or new gensets will
be rented.
Using diesel gensets as the base case, the low operation cost of using polyset system promises short payback
time for the gensets rental and new gensets cases, which are 1.12 years and 1.6 years respectively (see table
34 and table 35). Considered the usage time of diesel gensets on the construction site, it can be concluded:
the overall cost of polyset system will be lower than the overall cost of diesel genset if the usage
time is no less than two years;
the polyset system costs less in the projects, where the usage time is less than two years if the
contractors have no less than one projects and these projects are not in parallel.
The economic performance of the polyset is excellent if natural gas storage system are not integrated. The
payback time are 0.78 year and 1 year for gensets rental and new gensets cases respectively, which means
polyset system is more economical than diesel genset in most projects.
It is clear that polyset system is a more economical system to satisfy the temporary energy demand on
construction sites regardless which way contractors access diesel gensets, to buy or to rent.
Compared to diesel gensets, polysets for project S are more complex, therefore, the installation needs more
time and the system operation training is needed for the technicians. The system operation is very important
for economic performance and system stability. Another challenge to polysets system is the operation
strategy implementation. The system operation can be either manual or automatic, the manual operation is
simple but technicians need to be assigned for the job; the automatic operation means an extra electronic
monitoring, control and metering system is needed, and therefore, more investment is needed to the polysets
system. The cost in table 34 and 35 includes the cost of the manual operation. The automatic operation of
the system needs further research and studies in the future.
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10 Sustainability of polygeneration set
In this chapter, the sustainability of the designed polygeneration set for construction industry was
introduced.
10.1 Sustainable development
The term sustainable development first appeared in 1987: “Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” in “Report of the World
Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future” (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1987). Since the concept was defined, sustainable development has developed in all nations. In 2005, United
Nations identified environment protection, economic development and social development as sustainable
development goals in the report “2005 World Summit Outcome” [77]. As sustainable development
developed, it has shifted to focus more on environment protection, economic development and social
development and these three concepts are commonly defined as three pillars of sustainability. Venn diagram
of sustainable development below describes the confluence of three constituent pillars (see figure 33).
Figure 33. Venn diagram of sustainable development [78]
The diagram above illustrates the nature of the sustainability. In terms of technologies, sustainability brings
together the three main impacts of the technologies’ applications, environmental, economic and social. The
sustainability of designed polygeneration system is discussed in the context of these three pillars.
10.2 Environmental protection
Environmental sustainability refers to human being actions/or projects that can run indefinitely with very
little or no adverse impact to the environment. To energy technologies, environmental sustainability is about
the renewable resource harvest, non-renewable resources depletion and pollution creation.
In designed polygeneration system, solar PV, solar thermal and microCHP technologies are the energy
generation systems. Compared to the base case “24-hour working diesel genset power system”, the designed
polygeneration system integrates solar systems (solar PV and solar thermal) into the system to make the
whole system renewable and sustainable. In addition, MicroCHP system (gas genset) using natural gas is the
prime mover in the polygeneration system, and it improves the efficiency of the system, hence decreases
the usage of the natural gas and relevant emission. Compared to fossil fuel “diesel” in the base case, natural
gas in the designed system is a greener and more sustainable source: it decreases the air pollution and carbon
dioxide emission significantly and there will be no contaminated water and soil pollution because of using
diesel on project site.
Based on the operation mode of the designed system, gas genset only works around 9 hours in the daytime.
The excess energy generated from solar systems and gas genset in the daytime are stored in the heat storage
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system for the energy demand in the nighttime. This operation mode maximizes the utilization of energy
from renewable energy system; therefore, it improves the sustainable performance of the system.
Wind and biomass are not feasible in project S, and they are not in the designed system. As mentioned
before, the polygeneration system varies with different projects, so the polygeneration system will be more
environmentally friendly and sustainable if there are more available renewable energy resources on/or
around the project site.
10.3 Economic development
Economic sustainability refers to the use of various strategies to achieve a long-term responsible and
beneficial balance by employing available resources. To energy technologies, economical sustainability is to
use the technologies in an efficient way to provide long-term benefits to the user of the technologies.
In project S, annual cost of drinking water is a big part of the overall annual cost in the base case because
the drinking water is very expensive in Saudi Arabia. Considered the available underground water and water
purification technologies, water purification system is integrated in the system, and this promises the
designed system a good economic performance. Instead of using diesel, natural gas with very low price is
used in the system to drive the MicroCHP system. The price difference between diesel and natural gas in
Saudi Arabia gives the system a promising benefit. The renewable energy systems and natural gas let the
designed system operate at a very low cost, and that makes the system competitive for the long-term run.
As discussed in paragraph 9.4, the designed system has a very short payback time if the gas cylinders are not
involved in the system. The short payback time of the designed system can guarantee the long-term benefits
to the contractors, though the higher initial cost of the new system may bring some hesitations and obstacles.
As mentioned above, the polygeneration system varies with different projects, so the polygeneration system
may be not economically feasible and sustainable in some countries and regions. Different technical and
economic strategies shall be applied to different projects, and economic issues are an important piece of the
development.
10.4 Social development
Social sustainability of processes, systems, technologies and structures actively support the current and
future generations to build healthy and livable communities.
The portable polygeneration system is designed to substitute the temporary power system (diesel genset) in
construction industry, and the usage time of the system is not very long. Normally, the community of the
construction site is not stable because it is temporary, although it can last more than 5 years for some big-
size projects.
Two of the most important characteristics of the polygeneration system are flexibility and portability, and
these two characteristics can help the contractors to build their new community (construction campus,
onsite facilities and offices) on the new project site in a very quick and efficient way. It is easy to move the
integrated system from one project to another, and it saves time, energy and money to adjust the system to
the new energy demand and the new available renewable energy sources. In addition, the operation mode
of the system promises a quiet night for the construction community, as only storage systems are working
in the nighttime; and the high-quality water and green energy support the community habitants to have
healthy and comfortable living conditions on the construction site.
The portable polygeneration system may bring some risks to the safety of the community. For example,
natural gas tanks/or stations are needed to support the designed system in project S, and it is a big challenge
to manage the risky and explosive fuel in a small and temporary community. For other projects where
biomass is available and feasible, how to manage the interaction and relation among biomass processing
plant, the construction community and local community in a green and sustainable way will be a very
important issue.
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11 Business feasibility study
In this chapter, business feasibility of the designed polyset was studied and analyzed through six tools.
11.1 Analysis of idea
Initially, the idea was to develop a polyset system integrated in one container with electric power capacity
100 kW or electric power capacity 50 kW and thermal power 100 kW to replace diesel gensets on
construction site. One project in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia was selected to test the accessibility of the polyset,
as the author was involved in this project before. The polyset would be a major contribution for construction
industry for two main reasons:
Currently most construction contractors use diesel gensets to meet the construction site energy
needs. One environmental, sustainable and renewable energy system would be another choice for
the contractors.
Besides electricity, heat and cooling, drinking water and domestic water are added benefits from
the polyset system.
After the techno-economic analysis, one polyset integrated in three containers (two of them just for storage
system transportation) was selected as the optimized solution to meet energy demand. This polyset system
has very good economic performance and one polyset can meet the daily demand of 1,650 kWh electricity,
3,500 kWh thermal power and 1 m3 drinking water.
Project S was selected because the author worked in this project and the information of energy demand is
easily accessible, other alternative locations were not considered in this thesis because of the limited research
time.
The problems of the current energy system has been mentioned and the available technologies on project
S was discussed in earlier chapters (chapter 2, 3 and 4), and the big data used in this thesis was achieved
from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for solar irradiation and wind speed
information, and Wunderground for temperature information.
11.2 Minimum Viable Product
The minimum viable product of polyset system is the energy technical advisory service to the existing
construction projects. Normally, energy demand varies with project processing to different stages, so it is
wise and efficient to use an adjustable and flexible system to meet energy demand. The technical advisory
will be given to existing construction projects to cut the energy consumption and relevant cost.
The renewable energy penetration oriented advisory service to the contractors will improve their existing
conventional energy generation quality (energy cost/energy consumption), and foster and thrive the
renewable energy conception in the construction industry.
Furthermore, technical advisory with polyset scenario to meet energy demand of the existing projects will
be presented to the contractors. A vivid animation presentation of the comparison and the simulation of
the new polyset system will be a practical tool to the technical advisory.
The results can be measured by the number of customers giving the feedback on the advisory, and interests,
doubts, questions, concerns and obstacles to the new system can be measured and analyzed based on the
feedback.
The minimum viable product will be first applied to the customers, who have personal connections with
the author or the company’s employees and the cost of the minimum viable product lies on the preliminary
design of the existing project and techno-economic simulation, which are not complicated and costly.
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11.3 Business model canvas
The business model canvas is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool to develop new business
model. Potential trade-offs of a company’s or product’s value propositions, infrastructure, customers and
finances are listed in the visual chart to aid aligning the relevant activities.
The business model canvas is a powerful and popular tool to see the potential development of a new
business model, hence it is utilized to analyze the polyset system’s business model (see figure 34 below).
Figure 34. Polyset system business model canvas
From business canvas, it is realized that:
The low-cost of the energy services (electricity, heating and cooling) and high-quality drinking water
are the most important factors to make the polyset an outstanding integration system.
Renewable energy penetration is the key resource to the polyset system, and the distinguished
advantage to the conventional power generation system.
Personal relationship is very important to develop the market as all construction contractors have
the interconnections and the word-of-mouth marketing is a very persuasive way in construction
industry.
Besides construction contractors, independent energy users and isolated villages/islands could be
the target customers.
Project-oriented field sales is the main channel for the product sales.
Material suppliers MarketingLow cost of electricity,
heating and coolingPersonal relationships Construction contractors
Construction
contractorsR & D
High quality drinking
water and domestic
water
Interconnection among
contractorsIndependent energy users:
Independent energy
usersLogistics
Polyset adjustability and
flexibility
Participation from ealry
project stageHotel and hospital
Logistics company Built-in backup system Polyset seminars and trainingIsolated villages, islands and
communities
Energy advisory
Renewable energy
penetrationField sales
Online sales
Exhibitions
Marketing R & D Polyset rental
Logistics Materials Polyset sales
Installation cost Maintenance Technical advisory service
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
Key Partners Key Activities Value Propostions Customer Relationships Customer Segments
Key Resources Channels
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11.4 Customer Experience Management
The customer experience map is drawn as a matrix with four vertical “experience steps”- Awareness,
Purchase, Product/Service and Post-sale/New project, and five horizontal “what happens in the progress”
– Actions, Touchpoints, Motivation, Question and barriers and Key points and ideas. Table 36 describes
the customer experience map for the polyset system.
Table 36. Polyset system customer experience map
Awareness Purchase Product/Service Post-sale/New project
Actions
Check previous projects energy and water cost; Realize the problems of diesel gensets.
Make the comparison between diesel genset and polyset; Consider the choices among rental, purchase and technical advisory.
Prepare project information; Coordinate and cooperate for on-site installation and training; Operate the polyset.
Rental extension; Maintenance requirement; Rental to purchase; Project scale-up; Technical advisory need.
Touchpoints
Phone calls, email, office visit and product pitch presentation.
Email, techno-economic explanation meeting.
Interaction communication (phone calls, emails, meetings).
Post-sales regular phone calls and email; Promotion meetings for new projects.
Motivation
One choice besides diesel gensets and grid; Cheap and environmental way to fulfill energy demand; Various demand can be satisfied.
Stable and quiet solution; Short payback time compared to diesel genset; Focus on construction project rather than the power supply.
Efficient coordination and communication; Quick installation and effective training; Easy operation; Project-oriented demand following.
A few/no maintenance issues; Customer-oriented aftersales services; Project-participation services.
Questions and barriers
Initial capital and new system acceptance
Time taken to quote
How to do the smart operation
Long-term cooperation
Key Points and ideas
Clear explanation and comparison
Correct project information for design
Professional training and easy operation
Relationship buildup
The customer experience map is an important tool to discover the critical aspects of the activity by being in
customer’s shoes. For the polyset system, they were:
The awareness of the temporary energy cost on construction site and the disadvantages of diesel
genset.
The acceptance of the new system is the biggest barrier for both customers and suppliers.
Short quotation time and efficient coordination and communication for the polyset design.
Few maintenance and quick post sales response.
Active participation in the early stage of the potential projects.
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11.5 Swim Lane Flow Chart
Swim lane flow chart is an effective tool to distinguish job sharing and responsibilities in a business process. Figure 35 below describes the Swim Lane Flowchart
(SLFC) of polyset system.
Figure 35. Polyset system swim lane flow chart
SLFC gives a clear picture of how to process the project and the interconnections among different stakeholders and phases. It includes time and cost management,
communication management, sales management and stakeholder management.
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11.6 Demand forecasting and product
Demand forecasting is analyzed to estimate the sales of the product. It is essential in a sense that it helps in,
Estimating market sales potential and profitability,
Aiding in establishing capacity and output levels,
Supporting in decision-making on product, marketing and budget,
Assisting in comparison between proposed changes to current results.
11.6.1 Past data
The historical data of construction projects and diesel genset application were listed in this sector.
Despite the economic stability in the past years, global contractors develop their business well in the world
market. In general, the contracting revenue of Engineering News-Record (ENR) top 250 international
contractors from international projects was in an increasing trend (see figure 36) [79]. In 2014, the revenue
obtained from projects out of their own countries was $521.5 billion and the domestic projects contributed
a revenue $909.26 billion in comparison to $871.50 billion in 2013 [79].
Figure 36. The past decade’s international contractor revenue (in $ billions)
Generator sales market is projected to increase from $17.59 Billion in 2015 to $23.36 Billion in 2020, and
the market Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is expected to increase 5.85% from 2015 to 2020 [80].
Figure 37. Generator sales market by region, 2020 [80]
Asian and Pacific Coasts (APAC) is forecasted to have the largest market and highest growth rate; the quick
developing market in Middle East and Africa (MEA) is expected to run with a relatively high growth rate
from 2015 to 2020 (see figure 37) [80]. At an expected CAGR of 12.9% from 2015 to 2020, the size of
global power rental market will reach $21.3 Billion by 2020, and utilities, oil & gas, industrial, construction,
and quarrying & mining are the main and largest end-user segments for the market [11].
The power rental market is expected to be booming in the near future in Middle East as the market is driven
by the 2022 FIFA world Cup in Qatar and World Expo in the UAE. The power rental business is increasing
rapidly in Saudi Arabia, the largest power rental market in Middle East, and Saudi Electricity Company is
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lacking of ability to meet the power demand from flourishing infrastructural sector that offers the power
rental business a reliable market.
11.6.2 Analogy
The polyset system is new to the construction industry; however, some products have been launched in the
market with some similar figures as the polyset system.
Some renewable energy companies are providing solar panels to power the construction lighting.
Combined heat and power reciprocating machines (gas generator) starts to be used in the market
for the small applications, but was not yet found in the construction industry.
Gas genset and diesel genset are widely used to generate electricity on offshore project sites.
Solar heating and solar cooling applications to the house/villa are already commercialized in the
market and the combination of cooling and heating from solar energy is available.
The applications of generating electricity, heating, cooling and drinking water can be found in some
independent energy systems in the building or villa, but the systems are not integrated. That means
there are four separate system (electricity, heating, cooling and drinking water systems) to meet the
demands.
11.6.3 The Product
The polyset system designed for reference project S in MEA consists of a 60 kW gas genset, electric panels,
solar PV, 3 40-feet containers, water processing system, cooling system, solar thermal system and others.
The cost objective is to produce a polyset system (without LNG cylinders) at a price of $104,000 per set
(see table 37). Gas storage system (gas cylinders) is not included in the polyset system and the polyset price
varies with different project.
Table 37. Polyset system product information (without gas cylinders)
System components Cost ($)
Gas genset 18,000
Electric panels 2,300
Solar PV system 31,500
Container 3,600
Water processing system 4,000
Cooling system 11,000
Solar thermal system 32,000
Installation, Transportation and Maintenance 1,600
Total cost 104,000
11.6.4 Services and product extensions
As a substitute of diesel genset, the rental service to the construction site is a big part of the business. On
project S site, three diesel gensets were utilized the rental was $9,600 per month ($3,200 per set per
month).The rental rate of the polyset system is set to the same price of diesel genset with equivalent capacity.
In the case of the project S, the monthly rental rate is $3,200 /month/set and the yearly rental rate is $40,000
/year/set.
Technical advisory is another service offered to the customer, especially in the early stage of the company
development. The cost of the technical advisory is counted based on man-hour/man-day/man-month rate
and it varies with the requirement. The standard rate for the technical advisory is set to $100 per man-hour
and $500 per man-day, and the lump sum price of a project is based on requirements and negotiation.
The retrofit cost of exiting energy generation system is evaluated from project to project, and the cost of
the extension to the polyset system in use depends on the extension size and specific requirements.
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11.7 Marketing plan
11.7.1 Target customer
Initially, the target customers are set to construction contractors, who are using or about to use diesel gensets
as prime movers on the construction sites. The independent energy users, hospital, hotel, and isolated
villages and islands will be involved in the customer segments afterwards.
11.7.2 Selling proposition
The selling proposition is what distinguishes our company from competitors. A combination output of heat,
cooling, drinking water/water and electricity is the main characteristics of polyset system. The combination
gives the system a high-efficiency and low-cost energy products. As the polyset system is an integration of
different technologies, the system is adjustable for different energy demand, and the flexibility of the system
is a big advantage to the changing energy demand. No extra backup system is needed according to the
operation mode of the polyset system, and that saves the cost of the system. The energy advisory services
is an added-value service to promote the business development of polyset system.
11.7.3 Pricing and positioning strategy
As pre-described, one product and two services are put into the market: polyset system, polyset system
rental service and energy advisory service.
Regarding the polyset sales, the polyset system configuration varies with different projects and requirements,
and so does the price of the system. The price of the polyset system (without LNG storage) is set to the
price, which gives the customers two years’ time to pay back their cost compared to the conventional
scenario: diesel gensets rental or buying new diesel gensets. The lower first year annual cost (operation cost
+ initial cost) conventional scenario prevails when the pricing setting to the polyset system is applied. For
example, the price of the polyset system for Project S is set based on the scenario “buying new gensets” as
its cost is lower than the scenario “diesel gensets rental”. Following this principle, the price of the polyset
for Project S is described in table 38.
Table 38. Polyset system price for Project S
Scenario initial cost ($) 58,700
Polyset system annual operation cost ($) 3,200
Scenario annual operation cost ($) 153,000
2 polysets price ($) 358,000
Polyset unit price ($) 179,000
Polyset unit cost ($) 104,000
Profit margin % 72%
Payback time (year) – “Buying new gensets” 2.0
Payback time (year) – “Gensets rental” 1.3
For the polyset rental service, the rental rate of the polyset system is set to the same price of diesel genset
with equivalent capacity. Table 39 describes the rental price for Project S.
Table 39. Polyset rental price for Project S
Rental service Remarks
Monthly rental ($) 3,200
Polyset unit cost ($) 104,000
Polyset life (years) 15
Polyset monthly cost ($) 500 Besides polyset cost, the other costs are considered
Profit margin % 900%
Project S duration (years) 3
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In terms of energy advisory services and retrofit/extension project, the price strategy is introduced in
paragraph 10.6.4.
11.7.4 Marketing strategy
To develop the prototype and set up a showcase project, then to develop customers of international
contractors in the first few years. Potential customers are categorized by regions and industry sectors, and
they will be contacted, visited and maintained regularly. Business development team is in charge of
developing new customer segments, agencies and distributors and maintaining the long-term cooperation
customers through company propaganda and professional exhibitions.
The main distribution channel is the field sales to the office and customer’s offices. In addition, online
propaganda and professional exhibitions are another two practical ways to promote the sales. Agencies and
distributors are to be developed in the countries where the projects locate. With local relationship and
connections, it is easy for local agencies and distributors to facilitate the after-sales services and business
development localization.
11.8 Sales forecasting
The sales forecast is obtained from past data, analogy, product and relevant services of product. Based on
the demand forecasting, it is comprehended that the market for polyset system is bright, especially in APAC
and MEA area. Compared to independent energy users (hotels, hospitals, and isolated islands and
communities), construction contractor is prioritized to be the dominant customer segment to develop the
polyset system business because temporary energy service is a mandatory part of the construction project
and a fixed budget is assigned to get the energy generation system.
Initially, the potential customers will be targeted to China international contractors and the business
development will focus on markets of APAC and MEA. Up to May 2016, there are 4,113 international
construction contractors registered in the Ministry of Commerce of People’s Republic of China [81]. In
2015, the revenue of China international contractors was $154 billion and the value of newly signed contract
was $210 billion; compared to the value in 2014, the revenue and the value of newly signed contract
increased 8.2% and 9.5% respectively [82]. 3,987 contracts were signed between China contractors and
countries under the framework of "Silk Road Economic Belt' in 2015 [83] and 479 contracts with a
contractual value over $50 million were signed from January to September [84].
Theoretically, projects with contractual value over $50 million have a project life longer than 2 years and the
corresponding contractors are targeted as the prospective buyers. 640 annual contracts were calculated based
on “479 contracts in 9 months” assuming the same pace and amount applied to the remaining three months.
The price of each polyset ($180,000) refers to the price of polyset for project S ($179,000 in table 38). The
annual sales forecasting for the early stage (2017-2019) of the company development is described as below:
Total estimated prospective buyers Annual Contracts (contract value over $50 million)
640
Target market 10% of total contracts x 0.1
Distribution/communication coverage 10% of target market x 0.1
Annual purchase rate 2 units per year per contract x 2
Annual sales Annual sales quantity 12
Average offering unit price ($) Unit price: $180,000 x 180,000
Forecasted sales ($) 2,160,000
Considered company’ status in the market (new and small-size company), 10% of total contracts are forecasted as the target market and distribution coverage is expected to be 10% for the early stage.
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12 Business plan
This chapter describes a summary of the business plan of the polyset system.
12.1 The business
Business name: H.K. Energy Solutions, Ltd
Business structure: Sole Trader Company
Business location: Haikou, Hainan Province, China
Date established August 2017
Business owner(s): Haikuo Liu
Products/services: Polyset system and polyset rental services
12.2 The market
Target market:
International construction contractors, independent energy users in China
Marketing strategy:
To enter the market, the target customers are set to construction contractors, who are using or about to use
diesel gensets as prime movers on the construction sites. Compared to independent energy users (hotel,
hospital, and isolated island and communities), construction contractor is prioritized to be the dominant
customer segment to develop the polyset system business, because temporary energy services is a mandatory
part of the construction project and a fixed budget is assigned to get the energy generation system.
Independent energy users, such as hospitals, hotels, and isolated villages and islands, will be involved in the
customer segments afterwards.
12.3 The finances
Initial fund requirement for the company is around $500,000. The upfront fund for the company operation
and development will be sought from loans and relatives, and ¾ of my money will be contributed towards
the business. In the early stage of the company development (the first 3 years: 2017-2019), the annual profit
intention is around $450,000.
12.4 The future
Vision statement:
Every independent energy user has its green, portable and adjustable energy system.
Goals/objectives:
Short-term goal: To build the reputation of the polyset system in construction industry and to start the
rental service in the market.
Long-term goal: To substitute the conventional energy temporary systems in all applications.
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13 Conclusions and future work
This chapter concludes the thesis and describes the future work.
13.1 Conclusions
Polyset system with high-efficiency is promising in the construction industry, serving as a substitute to the
current conventional oil-based energy generation system. Compared to the conventional energy generation
system, polyset system with multiple output products and services has advantages of higher energy efficiency
and lower economic risks. The commercialization of polyset system is feasible with current available
renewable energy technologies and materials in countries where energy services prices are high, and the
business feasibility of the polyset system was analyzed on the basis of the target customer is set to China
international construction contractors. A company will be registered to develop the business of polyset
system for international construction industry, and a business plan based on the polyset system designed
for the reference project was made to access the availability of the business operation. According to the
business plan, seven polyset sets need to be sold to break-even and keep the company running.
In this thesis, an idea using polygeneration system to substitute conventional power generation system
(diesel genset) on construction sites was studied after the author finished a series of courses and training on
polygeneration. Firstly, the application of diesel genset was studied and problems were identified in the
construction industry to support the idea. To test the feasibility of the idea, one construction project (project
S) in Saudi Arabia was selected as the reference project. Secondly, the energy generation system and energy
demand on project S site were studied and pictured.
Based on available renewable energy sources on-site and design criteria (mobility) of the polyset system,
solar, MicroCHP, water purification and energy storage technologies were proposed and studied. 12
scenarios were proposed to meet energy demand. CPV/T and microturbine were involved in the scenarios,
though their commercialization is still immature and the price is relatively high in comparison with the gas
genset and other technologies. According to the techno-economic simulation results of all scenarios, CPV/T
and microturbine have the potential to replace the present renewable energy technologies as a part of a
generation system, which mitigates the high price influence and needs advanced technologies to innovate
and to improve system stability.
Based on the analysis results of the scenarios and the design principle of maximization of renewable energy
penetration, two polysets were designed to satisfy energy demand of project S and each polyset includes
solar PV, solar thermal, MicroCHP, AGMD water purification, electrical storage and thermal storage
systems. In comparison with the base case of diesel gensets power systems and drinking water supply, the
designed polyset system has a very short payback time (0.78 year) and that makes the polyset system very
competitive.
Several tools were applied to analyze the business feasibility of the polyset system. Based on the polyset
system of the reference project, the polyset price and the annual sales were estimated to $180,000 and 12
units respectively. To develop the polyset system for the construction industry, a company will be founded
and the business plan for the company’s development and operation was made in parallel to this thesis.
13.2 Future work
In this thesis, only the preliminary design of the polyset system was made and a detailed design shall be done
for specific projects in the future. The operation mode and control system of the polyset system will be a
big part of the future work, as they were not discussed in this thesis.
A market questionnaire was made to support the thesis and some of the interviews were made. The
interviews to the contractors will be a supplement to the future study. To support the propaganda of the
business, an animation introducing polyset system and its working principles will be developed. Business
plan improvement is expected to be a very important part of the future work.
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Appendix I Air temperature in Al Kharj
Table 40. 2015 average temperature in Al Kharj City [85]
2015 Jan. Feb. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Time °C °C °C °C °C °C °C °C °C °C °C °C
0:00 14 17 21 25 32 32 35 37 33 29 22 15
1:00 13 16 20 24 32 32 34 36 32 29 21 14
2:00 12 15 19 24 31 31 33 35 32 29 21 14
3:00 11 14 18 23 30 30 32 34 31 28 20 13
4:00 11 14 17 23 30 30 32 33 31 28 20 13
5:00 10 14 17 22 30 31 31 33 30 28 19 13
6:00 11 14 17 22 30 31 30 34 30 27 19 13
7:00 12 15 19 23 30 34 32 35 31 28 19 13
8:00 13 16 22 25 32 36 34 37 33 31 21 14
9:00 16 19 25 28 35 38 38 39 37 34 22 16
10:00 18 21 27 30 38 40 40 42 39 36 24 17
11:00 19 22 29 32 38 41 42 44 40 37 26 18
12:00 20 24 30 34 40 42 44 45 41 38 27 20
13:00 21 25 30 35 40 43 44 46 42 39 28 21
14:00 21 25 31 36 40 43 45 46 42 39 29 21
15:00 21 25 31 37 40 43 45 46 43 39 29 21
16:00 21 25 30 37 39 42 44 45 42 39 29 21
17:00 19 24 29 36 38 42 44 45 42 39 28 20
18:00 18 22 27 35 37 41 43 44 40 36 27 19
19:00 16 21 26 34 37 39 41 42 38 34 26 17
20:00 15 20 25 31 35 37 39 41 37 32 24 17
21:00 14 19 23 30 34 37 38 39 35 31 23 16
22:00 14 20 22 29 34 35 37 38 35 31 23 15
23:00 13 19 17 28 33 34 36 37 34 30 21 15
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Appendix II Project S power demand
Table 41. Project S daily power demand in workdays
2015 Jan. Feb. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Time kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW
0:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
1:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
2:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
3:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
4:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
5:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
6:00 93 93 93 31 81 81 81 81 81 81 31 93
7:00 163 163 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 114 163
8:00 163 163 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 114 163
9:00 163 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114 163
10:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114 163
11:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114 114
12:00 47 47 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 47
13:00 47 47 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 47
14:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114
15:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114
16:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114
17:00 114 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114
18:00 163 114 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 168 114
19:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
20:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
21:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
22:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
23:00 105 44 105 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
Total (kWh) 2,483 2,080 2,440 2,434 2,994 2,994 2,994 2,994 2,994 2,994 2,027 2,483
Table 42. Project S daily power demand in weekend
2015 Jan. Feb. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Time kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW kW
0:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
1:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
2:00 72 72 11 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
3:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
4:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
5:00 72 72 72 11 78 78 78 78 78 78 11 72
6:00 90 90 90 29 78 78 78 78 78 78 29 90
7:00 67 67 6 6 73 73 73 73 73 73 6 67
8:00 82 82 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 21 82
9:00 82 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21 82
10:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21 82
11:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21 21
12:00 39 39 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 39
13:00 39 39 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 39
14:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21
15:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21
16:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21
-77-
2015 Jan. Feb. Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
17:00 21 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21
18:00 82 21 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 21
19:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
20:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
21:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
22:00 105 44 44 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
23:00 105 44 105 94 94 94 94 94 94 94 44 105
Total (kWh) 1,571 1,142 1,467 1,475 2,063 2,063 2,063 2,063 2,063 2,063 1,027 1,571
-78-
Appendix III Proposal calculations
Table 43. Proposal I scenarios specifications
Scenarios Item Specification Quantity per polyset
Total volume per polyset (m3)
Remarks
S 1.1
Solar panel PANDA 60 Cell Series 286 15.05 Refer to table 7
Inverter 80 kW [86] off grid solar inverter 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 465 13.95 Refer to table 21
Gas genset 30 kW 30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table 13
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
RO 1 m3/day 1 0.55 Refer to table 16
S 1.2
Solar panel PANDA 60 Cell Series 286 15.05 Refer to table 7
Inverter 80 kW [86] off grid solar inverter 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 465 13.95 Refer to table 21
Microturbine C30 30 kW 1 2.05 Refer to table14
Container Standard container 3 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
RO 1 m3/day 1 0.55 Refer to table 16
S 1.3
Solar thin film panel a-Si/uc-Si Panel 286 2.78 Refer to table 8
Inverter 40 kW [71] 40 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 233 6.99 Refer to table 21
Gas genset 30 kW 30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table 13
Container Standard 40 feet container
3 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
RO 1 m3/day 1 0.55 Refer to table 16
S 1.4
Solar thin film panel a-Si/uc-Si Panel 286 2.78 Refer to table 8
Inverter 40 kW [71] 40 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 233 6.99 Refer to table 21
Microturbine C30 30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table14
Container Standard container 3 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
RO 1 m3/day 1 0.55 Refer to table 16
Table 44. Proposal II scenarios specifications
Scenarios Item Specification Quantity per polyset
Volume per polyset (m3)
Remarks
S 2.1
Solar panel PANDA 60 Cell Series 286 15.05 Refer to table 7
Inverter 80 kW [86] off grid solar inverter 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 465 13.95 Refer to table 21
Gas genset 30 kW 30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table 13
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.2
Solar panel PANDA 60 Cell Series 286 15.05 Refer to table 7
Inverter 80 kW [86] off grid solar inverter 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 465 13.95 Refer to table 21
Microturbine C30 30 kW 1 2.05 Refer to table14
-79-
Scenarios Item Specification Quantity per polyset
Volume per polyset (m3)
Remarks
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.3
Solar thin film panel a-Si/uc-Si Panel 429 4.17 Refer to table 8
Inverter 60 kW [86] 60 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 349 10.47 Refer to table 21
Gas generator 30 kW
30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table 13
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.4
Solar thin film panel a-Si/uc-Si Panel 429 4.17 Refer to table 8
Inverter 60 kW [86] 60 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 349 10.47 Refer to table 21
Microturbine C30 30 kW 1 2.05 Refer to table14
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.5
Solar thermal Vacuum tube collectors (30 tubes per collector)
42 37.60 Refer to table 10
Gas generator 60 kW
60 kW 1 2.96 Refer to table 13
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 14 16.10 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.6
Solar thermal Vacuum tube collectors (30 tubes per collector)
42 37.60 Refer to table 10
Microturbine C65 65 kW 1 2.74 Refer to table14
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 15 17.25 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.7
CPV/T Electrical power 18.2 kW
70 32.00 Refer to table 9
Inverter 20 kW [86] 20 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 105 3.15 Refer to table 21
Gas generator 30 kW
30 kW 1 2.19 Refer to table 13
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
-80-
Scenarios Item Specification Quantity per polyset
Volume per polyset (m3)
Remarks
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
S 2.8
CPV/T Electrical power 18.2 kW
70 32.00 Refer to table 9
Inverter 20 kW [86] 20 kW 1 0.25
Battery banks 250 Ah capacity 105 3.15 Refer to table 21
Microturbine C30 30 kW 1 2.05 Refer to table14
Container Standard container 1 67.45 Refer to table 5
LNG cylinder 460 L 8 8.05 Refer to table 23
AGMD 40 l/h 1 0.16 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW [68]
35 kW 1 3.44
Heat tank 10 tons 1 14.52 Refer to table 22
LNG cylinder volume calculation:
The natural gas density is 0.688 kg/m3 [67], and the LNG density is 465.4 kg/m3 [66]. So LNG cylinder
with 460 l volume can discharge 460*465.4/0.688 = 311,168.6 l natural gas.
For gas generator 30 kW, the nominated natural gas consumption is 11.17 l/h, so one fully charged LNG
cylinder could drive the gas generator run 26.82 hours. Following the same way, one fully charged LNG
cylinder can drive the gas generator (60 kW, 21.55 l/h) 14.44 hours, microturbine (30 kW) 26.82 hours and
microturbine (65 kW) 13.80 hours.
Battery quantity calculation:
The annual peak sun hour on project S site is 5.81 hours (annual radiation 5.81 kWh/day). The battery bank
size is determined by the peak sun hour, autonomy days (3 days) and the size of the peak power of installed
solar panels. For example, the solar panel peak power in scenario 1.1 is 260 kW, so the calculation of battery
bank quantity is as following:
Q = 260,000*5.81*3/250/12 = 464.8, so the quantity of the battery banks is 465.
The battery bank parameter: 250 Ah and 12 V.
Solar thermal calculation:
The quantity of the solar collectors is determined by the size of the container, as the size of each solar
collector is not small. Initially the size of the solar thermal collectors for proposed scenarios was set to 32
m3 and it was adjusted to 37.60 m3 after the simulation.
Solar thermal power annual average output (1168 kWh/day) was calculated in RETScreen software with 53
pieces of vacuum tube solar collectors.
CPV/T power calculation:
The quantity of the CPV/T panel is determined by the size of the container. The size of the total CPV/T
panels’ volume was set to 32 m3. The size of the CPV/T panels refer to the commercialized CPV panels in
the market and the electric power efficiency and thermal power efficiency were set to 25% and 55%. Based
on the settings of efficiency and the quantity (70 pieces), the electric power of CPV/T panels is calculated
to 18.2 kW.
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Appendix IV Proposal Scenarios cost information
Table 45. Base case annual operation cost breakdown list
Operation cost Remarks
Diesel gensets rent ($/month) 9,600 3 units
Transportation cost ($) 800
Maintenance fee ($/month) 133
Annual drinking water cost ($/year) 106,973 (895*313+52*435)l drinking water
Diesel annual consumption ($/year) 45,889
Annual operation cost ($/year) 270,462
Table 46. Proposal I scenarios cost breakdown list
Scenarios Item Quantity per polyset
3 sets costs ($) Remarks
S 1.1
Solar monocrystalline panel 286 170,000
Inverter 80 kW 1 36,000
Battery banks 465 306,900
Gas genset 30 kW 1 37,500
Container 1 3,750
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
RO 1 17,400
Electrical appliances 1 2,100
Installation & Transportation 1 4,800
S 1.2
Solar monocrystalline panel 286 170,000
Inverter 1 36,000
Battery banks 465 306,900
Microturbine C30 1 70,200
Container 3 3,750
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
RO 1 17,400
Electrical appliances 1 2,100
Installation & Transportation 1 4,800
S 1.3
Solar thin film panel 286 123,200
Inverter 1 9,000
Battery banks 233 153,780
Gas genset 30 kW 1 37,500
Container 3 3,750
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
RO 1 17,400
Electrical appliances 1 2,100
Installation & Transportation 1 4,800
S 1.4
Solar thin film panel 286 123,200
Inverter 1 9,000
Battery banks 233 153,780
Microturbine C30 1 70,200
Container 3 3,750
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
RO 1 17,400
Electrical appliances 1 2,100
Installation & Transportation 1 4,800
-82-
Table 47. Proposal II scenarios cost breakdown list
Scenarios Item Quantity per polyset
2 sets cost ($) Remarks
S 2.1
Solar monocrystalline panel 286 112,800
Inverter 1 24,000
Battery banks 465 204,600
Gas generator 30 kW 1 25,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.2
Solar monocrystalline panel 286 112,800
Inverter 1 24,000
Battery banks 465 204,600
Microturbine C30 1 39,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.3
Solar thin film panel 429 123,200
Inverter 1 6,000
Battery banks 349 153,560
Gas generator 30 kW 1 25,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.4
Solar thin film panel 429 123,200
Inverter 1 6,000
Battery banks 349 153,560
Microturbine C30 1 39,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.5
Solar thermal 42 41,200
Gas generator 60 kW 1 36,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 14 92,000
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
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Scenarios Item Quantity per polyset
2 sets cost ($) Remarks
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.6
Solar thermal 42 64,400
Microturbine C65 1 82,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 15 98,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.7
CPV/T 70 64,400
Inverter 1 2,000
Battery 105 46,200
Gas generator 30 kW 1 25,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
S 2.8
CPV/T 70 64,400
Inverter 1 2,000
Battery 105 46,200
Microturbine C30 1 82,000
Container 1 2,500
LNG cylinder 8 52,500
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 21,500
Heat tank 1 3,000
Electrical appliance 1 1,400
Installation & Transportation 1 3,200
-84-
Appendix V Polygeneration system technical drawing
-85-
Appendix VI Designed polysets analysis
Table 48. Analysis of designed polysets
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Gas gensets working hours (hours)
9.7 9.5 9.4 9.2 9.0 8.9 8.9 8.9 9.0 9.2 9.5 9.8
Heating and cooling system average daily water consumption
Day time (m3) 10 5 58.5 65 78 78 78 78 78 78 45.5 10
Night-time (m3) 30 17.5 12.5 32.5 78 78 78 78 78 78 0 30
AGMD average daily hot water consumption
Day time (m3) 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4
Night-time (m3) 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4 14.4
Polysets average daily hot water consumption
Day time (m3) 24 19 73 79 92 92 92 92 92 92 60 24
Night-time (m3) 44 32 27 47 92 92 92 92 92 92 14 44
Daily Hot water generation (m3)
187 192 194 197 200 203 202 202 201 198 190 185
Day time hot water balance (m3)
163 173 121 117 108 111 110 109 108 106 130 161
Night-time hot water balance (m3)
118 141 94 70 16 18 17 17 16 13 116 117
Gas gensets electricity generation (kWh) – 12 hours
1,164 1,134 1,122 1,104 1,080 1,062 1,068 1,068 1,080 1,104 1,140 1,176
Solar PV electricity daily average generation (kWh)
187 217 230 247 271 288 281 281 271 251 207 175
Total daily average electricity generation (kWh)
1,351 1,351 1,352 1,351 1,351 1,350 1,349 1,349 1,351 1,355 1,347 1,351
Daily average electricity consumption (kWh)
1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103 1,103
Day time electricity balance (kWh)
249 248 249 248 248 247 247 246 249 253 245 248
Day time electricity stored to battery banks (kWh)
201 201 202 201 201 200 200 200 201 205 198 201
Night-time electricity consumption (kWh)
198 198 198 198 198 198 198 198 198 198 198 198
Night-time electricity balance (kWh)
4 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 4 7 1 4
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Table 49. Cost of the designed polyset system
Quantity per polyset 2 sets cost ($) Remarks
Solar thermal collectors 53 52,000
Gas genset 60 kW 1 36,000
Synchronization panel 1 2,600
Control panel 0.5 600
Solar panel 71 28,000
Inverter 40 kW 0.5 3,000
Battery banks 72 32,000
Container 3 7,200
LNG cylinder 14 9,200
AGMD 1 4,800 1 cascade
Absorption Chiller 35 kW 1 22,000
Heat tank 4 12,000
Electrical appliances 1 1,400
Water pretreatment 0.5 3,200
Installation Transportation & Maintenance 1 3,200
Total Cost ($) 300,000
Total Cost without LNG cylinder ($) 208,000
-87-
Appendix VII Market research
Market research questionnaire was made to construction projects contractors, 16 questions below about
energy services on site, troubles and expectations of on-site energy services were listed in the questionnaire.
What is your position/role in the project?
The majority of the projects you involved are international projects or domestic projects.
Which industry are your projects in?
What is the most needed uninterrupted energy services on the project site?
In your past and present projects, how was/is the on-site project electrical demand satisfied?
In your past and present projects, how was/is the on-site project heat demand satisfied?
In your past and present projects, how was/is the on-site project cooling demand satisfied?
In your past and present projects, how was/is the on-site project drinking water demand satisfied?
In your past and present projects, how was/is the on-site project gas fuel (LNG or Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG)) demand satisfied?
In your past and present projects, how long did you utilize the temporary electrical generation
system?
Which way will you choose to get the temporary electrical generation system when there is no
available grid connection?
What are the troubles bringing from the usage of temporary electrical generation system?
Is the temporary electrical generation system specifically designed for your projects?
For the genset rental or purchase, which option would you like to choose: oversized genset and
small size genset?
Under what kind of circumstances you are willing to replace your current temporary electrical
generation system.
The new polyset system can offer below energy services, which one/ones do you need most?
Up to June 2016, 84 people from different construction contractors answered the questionnaire.
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