The differential pricing for peak hours encourages industrial consumers to look for independent power supplies for the period from 19 to 22 hours. This paper presents a study to identify the optimal solution for a recycled paper mill that also intends to work in that period. The factory is located in Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, and considers the use of a diesel gen set, a micro hydro power plant and possibly PV modules. Two micro hydro power plants were considered in the study, an old plant to be renewed and another to be fully implemented. The software Homer was used as a tool to determine the most feasible combination of components considered in the study. The sale of surplus power to the energy system appears as a key to viability of alternatives that are not based solely on diesel generators. The optimal solution consists of a combination of diesel generators and micro hydro power plant, in one case, and only on hydroelectric power plant in another, with a significant penetration of PV modules if its cost is reduced to 12% of the current price, selling an amount of energy equal to that which is bought. The annual water availability in one of the sites requires diesel supplement, while the other, more abundant, this supplement is not necessary. 1 The city of Caxias do Sul can be located on Google Maps [4] at
Projects for energy supply based on the exploitation of renewable energy have a very predictable cash flow. The initial costs are usually high, with the acquisition of technologically evolving equipment. However, maintenance costs are relatively low and easily predictable. Likewise, operating costs are often very low as there is no need to buy inputs. Power storage devices are often short-lived and contribute to a relative cost increase. At the same time, these projects are often not approved because they are directly compared to projects based on non-renewable resources, with cash flows that may not be so easily predictable and with much lower start-up costs. Fossil fuels have hardly predictable costs, established by non-technical criteria and related to geopolitical issues. In addition, their operating costs are usually very high, precisely because of the need to purchase fossil fuels. This paper proposes the calculation of terminal value in cash flows of power generation projects and its application for feasibility analysis of projects based on renewable resources. The proposed method suggests the calculation of terminal value as the moving average calculated for five-year intervals with constant growth rate of 5%. This method also encourages the inclusion in the cash flow of annual values that add up to the end of the analysis period the sufficient value to renew the system components at the end of the usual analysis period of 20 -25 years. The application of the proposed method to a diesel wind system simulated with the well-known Homer software indicates the modification of the results of the Homer with the preference for systems with greater wind penetration instead of the systems with greater consumption of fossil fuels.
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