The feasibility of renewable energies at an off-grid community in Canada

Three renewable energy technologies (RETs) were analyzed for their feasibility for a small off-grid research facility dependent on diesel for power and propane for heat. Presently, the electrical load for this facility is 115 kW but a demand side management (DSM) energy audit revealed that 15–20% reduction was possible. Downsizing RETs and diesel engines by 15 kW to 100 kW reduces capital costs by $27 000 for biomass, $49 500 for wind and $136 500 for solar.The RET Screen International 4.0® model compared the economical and environmental costs of generating 100 kW of electricity for three RETs compared to the current diesel engine (0 cost) and a replacement ($160/kW) diesel equipment. At all costs from $0.80 to $2.00/l, biomass combined heat and power (CHP) was the most competitive. At $0.80 per liter, biomass’ payback period was 4.1 years with a capital cost of $1800/kW compared to wind's 6.1 years due to its higher initial cost of $3300/kW and solar's 13.5 years due to its high initial cost of $9100/kW. A biomass system would reduce annual energy costs by $63 729 per year, and mitigate GHG emissions by over 98% to 10 t CO2 from 507 t CO2. Diesel price increases to $1.20 or $2.00/l will decrease the payback period in years dramatically to 1.8 and 0.9 for CHP, 3.6 and 1.8 for wind, and 6.7 and 3.2 years for solar, respectively.