Bora Karayaka is an Engineering faculty at Kimmel School, Western Carolina University. He has worked as a Senior Engineer for smart grid and wireless communication industries for over ten years. He is currently responsible for teaching electric power engineering courses in the department.Dr. Karayaka's research interests include power engineering education, ocean wave energy harvesting, identification, modeling and control for electrical machines and smart grid.
AbstractWestern Carolina University (WCU) would like to begin raising awareness of renewable energy and educating students and faculty on the importance of sustainable energy. WCU Facilities Management division has sought help in designing a project that will accomplish these goals. A 10 kW grid-tied PV system has been proposed that will be centrally located on campus. The system will serve as a living, learning laboratory for the campus community. The solar panels for the system will be mounted on three structures approximately 10 to 14 feet off the ground, which will also provide shade and shelter from the elements. Underneath the solar panels will be benches, tables, electrical outlets, and special hooks for students to hang hammocks. A small garden featuring native plant life will be planted around the solar panel structure. Small informational signage will be displayed throughout the garden informing visitors about the benefits of sustainable energy and how a PV system works.As part of this effort, an engineering capstone project team was responsible for researching, designing, and proposing a PV system for Western Carolina University. A shading analysis was first conducted in multiple locations on campus to determine where the most sunlight hours occurred. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's PVWatts 1 Calculator was later utilized to estimate how much energy the system would generate per year and how much money the system would save the university. Greenhouse gas savings estimates were also calculated to determine the amount of reduction in CO2 emissions. Western Carolina University's lead architect provided assistance with the structural design of the EGG and estimation of construction costs. Since the university is recommended to use a third party to install the PV system, a local installer was contacted to gather a professional opinion. The proposal was later submitted to the WCU Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) Committee, which allocates funds for sustainable energy projects on campus. After a formal presentation by the engineering capstone team, the WCU SEI Committee has decided to move forward with the project.The preliminary research involved gathering information on exactly how a PV system works. Further research revealed the necessity for Maximum Power Point Tracking in solar inverters. The engineering capstone team has investigated the benefits of oversizing a PV system with a 1.25 array-to-inverter ratio 2 . A vital part of this research involved emissions reduction calculations and payoff estimates. The emissions reduction ca...