Data for a dairy farm microgrid solution

Load data (Farm_load_kW_data.txt)

A pre-determined hourly data series of electricity consumption (one year). The consumption was considered independent from the microgrid operating state – network connected or islanded operation. Load was not controlled in order to obtain longer islanded operation capability, nor to minimize power exchange with the network in normal state. The dairy farm case was with about 180 cows and corresponding electricity consumption of approximately 261 MWh/a. The farm data series was created based on data from similar size farms. Daily consumption profile was based on diurnal consumption data of a large cowhouse in a winter day, and the variation from day to day throughout the year was approximated by creating sliding data series based on monthly electricity consumption. The dataset was then suitably scaled for the specified annual consumption.

PV generation data (PV_pu_data.txt)

An hourly PV production data series for one year was created for a specific location (in Finland) based on MERRA-2 time series data on radiation [1] and air temperature [2]. The daily average radiation and temperature were scaled to match monthly values from PVGIS database [3,4]. PV panel generation (in per units) was calculated considering location and temperature, and selected panel tilt given by PVGIS ‘optimal inclination angle’. The PV generation data series was then scaled appropriately for the selected PV capacity in the case study.

References

1. Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) (2015), MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_rad_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly, Time-Averaged, Single-Level, Assimilation, Radiation Diagnostics V5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).
2. Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) (2015), MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_flx_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly, Time- Averaged, Single-Level, Assimilation, Surface Flux Diagnostics V5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).
3. Huld, T., Müller, R. & Gambardella, A. A new solar radition database for estimating PV performance in Europe and Africa. Sol. Energy 86, 1803–1815 (2012).
4. European Communities (2012), PVGIS interactive application. Available: http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps4/pvest.php#.