Reinforcement of smart campus grid infrastructure for sustainable energy management in buildings across horizon 2030

Abstract

• Established a centralized diesel and solar PV system, which led to the reduction of the operational cost by 38.24% as well as CO 2 emission by 46.05%. • Provided a thorough technical assessment of the grid model as well as environmental implications, inclusive of measurable factors for decision purposes. • Conducted sensitivity studies to determine the optimum grid configuration that can meet varying loading levels and changing fuel costs. • Outlined improvements in the grid system that are in direct correlation with SDG 7, 9, 11, and 13, which emphasize sustainable energy practices. • Built a detailed 75-bus distribution network model in MATLAB/Simulink for accurate estimation of work performance within different situations and analysis of the proposed grid model's technical feasibility and environmental costs, providing clear metrics for decision-making. Electricity consumption expenses take a significant amount of an educational institution's budget. A major part of utility production in Pakistan depends on non-renewable sources of energy, which have a bad impact on the environment, while their production cost is very high. To mitigate these problems at an institutional level, Renewable Energy (RE) should be promoted; this research provides a detailed plan for improving the NUST grid structure for sustainable energy management by 2030. The study improves the location of RE sources, especially solar PV systems, and includes a central Diesel generator (DG) to replace dispersed generators. The research provides a new strategy for the development of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) grid infrastructure to support sustainable energy management by 2030. It combines central utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and distributed generation (DG) systems, unlike the current literature that largely consists of distributed renewable power systems. This research evaluates grid performance by creating a 75-bus distribution network model in MATLAB/Simulink and implementing variations to various scenarios to optimize operational costs at 38.24% and decrease CO 2 emissions by 46.05%. This, together with the use of the HOMER software for both cost and environmental analysis, avails a good model that other institutions experiencing similar characteristics in the power sector can emulate when in pursuit of the optimal, efficient integration of sustainable energy solutions.

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