Réseau Mediterranéen des Ecoles d'Ingenieurs
Project RESINE
ACTIVITY 11: “RESINE: Reseau Intelligent des Nouvelles Energies”
Foreword
The title, which in English is read: “RESIN: Renewable Energies Systemic INtegration”, reminds the resin (and the incense) of the Mediterranean coniferous trees. Resine is a “small grid” (“petit reseau”) of energy producers and users, of local characterisation, to become, by progressive interconnection, the future RESINE-MED, made up of “intelligent energy districts”, extended all over the Mediterranean basin.
1. Scenario
Although with several region-by-region peculiar differences and local specificities, the energy-related issues for a sustainable development are mostly similar all around the Northern and Southern Mediterranean coastal territories. One distinct feature is the abundance of some natural resources (notably solar energy) accompanied by the complementarity of other actual or potential resources (wind, biomass) which are available within relatively short distances from the end uses (coastal cities, commercial or resort centers, interland industrial and agricultural activities). The above joint characteristics could provide the unique opportunity of both integrating different energy generation modalities (polygeneration) as well as harmonizing the energy offer with the local demand to the advantage of energy sustainability, availability, flexibility and costs.
2. Mid-term Objectives
The main objective of the Activity, to be achieved within a period of 3 years, is that of operatively demonstrating that careful planning of renewable energy resources, correct adoption of up-to-date poly-generation technologies, strategic integration of energy production and utilisation, all within an intelligent energy-saving scenario, can grant economic and ecological sustainability to a series of “pilot energy grids” (Resines), established all around the Mediterranean shores, ready to induce a progressive penetration of the new sustainable energy modality throughout the Mediterranean regions. The local Resine could be very small at the beginning, but its distinct feature will necessarily be, as above stated, an offer of CHP (combined heat and power, or even poly-generation) well tuned with the local energy demands.
3. Short-term Actions
In the first year of the Activity (2008), the following preliminary actions will be performed:
·Survey of on-going research programs related to solar energy (thermal and photovoltaic), wind energy, biomass (from wood and herbaceous plants, green waste, etc.), biofuels (from oil seeds, corn, etc.) energy conversion and utilisation. This point to be mostly pursued within an academic department, laboratory or research-center environment.
·Survey of actually operational applications (or very near so) related to solar, wind, biomass, biofuels, energy conversion and utilisation which can be made available and accessible for on-site direct observation, diagnostic monitoring, data acquisition, and possible functional improvement. This point to be typically pursued by establishing partnerships between academic specialist teams (from Universities or research centers) and:
-energy producers or distributors
-industrial or agro-industrial establishments
-residential establishments
-energy conversion equipment providers or manufacturers
where the energy converter, the co-generator, the energy-efficient building, the local distribution grid, etc. are operational or anyhow available.
·Survey of potential resources to be made available or deployed in order to pursue the local establishment of a local Resine. Possible resources could be:
-direct financial support
-indirect financial aids (e.g. by lobbying activity with local or national public administrations or through private organisations)
-energy infrastructure, equipment, instrumentation, etc.
-technical and/or managerial competences, expertise
-availability of terrain areas of adequate dimensions already covered by woods or suitable for planting rapid-growth trees so to provide a sufficient quantity of wood biomass in order to be used as fuel for energy co-generation (or, if necessary, also for sea water desalination)
-availability (and accessibility) of a building, a commercial center, a public infrastructure, etc. where energy is produced or anyhow saved and utilised in an intelligent fashion (wood-energy heating, bio-architecture, solar roofs, low-consumption lightning, thermal accumulators, adsorption conditioning, etc.)
-availability of competences and instrumentation for direct measurement and control of energy fluxes (e.g. readings of energy fluxes as measured from the fuel flow-rates as well as from the flow-rates of hot fluids used for distance heating or even the cold fluids used for distance cooling) in order to quantify the “efficiency” (and the related costs, dissipations) of the energy conversion
and the like.
4. Short-term Results
On the base of the three above surveys, which will be organised in an online data-base widely accessible and continuously up-gradable (the University of Genoa, Savona Campus, is available to set up the data-base), the following results will be achieved, within year 2008:
-an up-to-date, detailed picture of the on-going situation will be attained
-an online forum will be established for exchanges of data, informations, invitations to launch or join initiatives and programmes
-a series of thematic tele-conferences will be organised, and, if required, also a meeting of all participants, in order to define the requirements to be fulfilled for being officially accepted as a new Resine (under private, public or mixed sponsorship and coordination); the organism in charge of releasing (or not) the said acceptance could be the “on-line committee” made up of all the RMEI Representatives.
-the start-up of a first series of Resines will be launched, as direct development, evolution and integration of what evidenced by above actions.
5. Questionnaires to be compiled (Fac-similes)
Survey of on-going research programs
Survey of actually operational applications
Survey of potential resources