EAGER: Solar Aware Smart Grid at Biosphere 2

将大量的太阳能整合到现有的电网中是有问题的，因为电力只在白天产生，而且会被路过的云中断。这种间歇性导致电力生产和电力消费之间的不匹配，这限制了公用事业公司和需要稳定可靠电源的大规模电力用户采用太阳能。发现补偿间歇性的新方法将加速太阳能的采用，减少二氧化碳排放，并通过保护不可再生资源提高国家安全。为了适应间歇性，我们将根据测量和预测的太阳能发电，按分钟调整工业规模的电力需求。我们将在亚利桑那州的生物圈2号进行实验，在那里我们将使用现场测量和预测的70千瓦的太阳能光伏模块输出来调节两台75马力（56千瓦）的水泵的运行。水泵将两口井的水输送到一个50万加仑的蓄水池中。如果水泵的活动是根据光伏组件产生的功率适当调节的，那么与单独的光伏组件相比，组合系统（光伏+水泵）的功率产生的可变性将会减少。在这方面已经做了大量的理论工作；拟议的项目将提供急需的实验数据。更广泛的影响我们的实验结果将告知大型电力用户，如亚利桑那大学，城市公用事业图森水务公司和亚利桑那中部项目（CAP）关于成本效益和安全使用更多太阳能的方法。它还将使工业界能够在没有净计量的情况下规划更大的太阳能发电场。研究生和本科生将受益于参与。

Intellectual MeritIntegrating large amounts of solar power into the existing electric grid is problematic because power is only produced during daylight hours, and can be interrupted by passing clouds. This intermittency leads to a mismatch between power production and power consumption, which limits the adoption of solar power by utility companies and large-scale power users who require a stable and reliable power source. Discovering new ways to compensate for intermittency will accelerate the adoption of solar power, will reduce CO2 emissions, and will improve national security by conserving non-renewable resources. To accommodate intermittency, we will regulate industrial-scale electrical demands on a minute-by-minute basis in response to measured and forecasted solar power. We will conduct experiments at the Biosphere 2 in Arizona, where we will use measured and predicted output of 70 kW of solar PV modules present at the site to regulate the operation of two 75 HP (56kW) water pumps. The water pumps transfer water from two wells into a 500,000 gallon reservoir. If the activity the water pumps is suitably regulated based on the power produced by the PV modules, the variability in the power production of the combined system (PV + Pumps) will be reduced compared to that of the PV modules alone. A great deal of theoretical work has been done in this field; the proposed project will provide much needed experimental data. Broader ImpactsFindings from our experiments will inform large power users such as the University of Arizona, the city utility Tucson Water, and the Central Arizona Project (CAP) about cost-effective and safe ways to use more solar power. It will also enable industries to plan bigger solar farms without net-metering. The graduate and undergraduate students will benefit from the participation.