Final Report

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University of Technology Sydney *

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Electrical Engineering

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Jan 9, 2024

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1 JANUARY 5 Team Energy Authored by: Houyuan Chen, Kevin Chow, Tan Trai Nguyen, Yiming Xu, Yuk Ho Chan Innovation in Energy Storage

Executive Summary There are many developing countries around the world today that require assistance from organisations in areas of water safety, sanitation, health, and waste management. Engineers without Borders (EWB) is one organisation responsible for assisting poorer countries in areas of social and environmental welfare. The following report will target innovations energy storage, an area of concern in the country of Australia, in specific the Cape York community. A brief insight into the energy problems will be given to inform of the reasoning behind the decision to target energy storage. Additionally, the report will address the different proposed solutions involving Battery Farms, Solar Energy Grid and Smart Energy System – explaining the positive and negative implications of each solution. The design selection process will display how the final solution was chosen and against what criteria this decision was made. Furthermore, the design solution will consider each stage relevant to energy storage and usage, through focusing on the implications and importance of energy storage throughout the day. This energy is then via an array of networks stored to multiple communities which are then using the energy, which will be suitable for community uses. Throughout the design development, many social and cultural considerations have been made such as an acceptable solution which does not harm the environment and is not too costly for the community to maintain in the long-term. To achieve this, local and existing resources will be utilised as much as possible, consequently reducing long-term costs, and individuals within communities will be provided with the skills and knowledge to provide routine maintenance to ensure the systems are correctly operating. 2 “As a citizen, I can assume my responsibility for the public world—the world of politics—not as a spectator, but as a participant who engages and shapes it.”

Team Reflection Challenges Overcoming Challenges Learning Experiences Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 2 Team Reflection .......................................................................................................... 3 Challenges ............................................................................................................... 3 Overcoming Challenges ........................................................................................... 3 Learning Experiences ............................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 3

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Introduction This report is intended to solve the problems in the 2020 Engineering Without Borders Challenge by finding and developing a design that is sustainable and beneficial for the Cape York communities. The report also describes how it would be implemented and the cost of the design. Due to the problem the Cape York communities are facing, Centre for appropriate Technology (CfAT) is collaborating with EWB to find designs and implementations that would help the community’s quality of life (EWB 2020). Our report focuses on the energy section for their future projects. The Cape York community is in the most northern part of Queensland (Citation here). Due to how far it is from the city, there is no power grid in the Cape York area (Citation here). In Cape York there exist 17 communities with 9,453 (56%) being indigenous (Jawun, n.d.). However due to the high unemployment rate and lack of land development incentive, the land is still underdeveloped. Electricity coverage is limited, and many communities are still clinging to diesel generators due to it (Add citation). As a result, people living in Cape York suffers from constant power outages and unstable power delivery, most people still use diesel generators due to its availability and pricing, however lack of sustainable power generation meant those which relies on diesel, needed a constant supply of it to be delivered to them, the rough roads can cause delays which could lead to outages for a few days (Add Citation). The power outages problem is still a major issue in the Cape York communities as large-scale projects like a solar farm require a lot of time and funds to be built, CfAT bush light and Village project helped solve some of the issues however there are areas without a reliable source of energy still lurking. The report aims to solve those issues by introducing a cheaper solar power alternative which is scalable and sustainable. This gives the community a way to sustain itself in a power outages scenario and does not require them to get diesel. 4

Background Community Context Cape York, located in the northern part of Queensland. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia. Most are still original. However, there are many problems in the Cape York community. Services such as energy are difficult to provide. Because rural areas have strong limitations, such as being far away from power grids and other facilities. These problems revolve around areas where they are located in rural areas and have difficulty accessing services. Because Cape York is located in a remote area, insufficient energy supply has plagued local residents for many years. Some residents must use expensive diesel to maintain the energy needed for basic living (Martire, 2020). According to the 2016 census, the population of Cape York was 7,513. Not only that, in terms of income, but the average weekly income of no family is also $961 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). In terms of employment, although the full-time work rate is 54.4%, the “vacancy” and “unemployment” rates are as high as 21.8% (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). These data intuitively reflect the low quality of life and the lack of employment of residents. There are also many problems at the social level of Cape York. Before colonization, Cape York was densely populated, people maintained a complex blood network, and traded throughout the African continent (empowered communities, n.d.). With the development of society, the rights of indigenous peoples have been increasingly recognized. This brings benefits, but also unintended consequences (Empowered communities, n.d.). Indigenous people are considered Australian citizens. Indigenous peoples were included in the 1967 referendum and legislation to eliminate racial discrimination (Empowered communities, n.d.). This is a big step towards achieving equality. However, this development also enables the indigenous people of Cape York to enjoy drinking and discrimination rights (Empowered communities, n.d.). After a regular monthly supply of alcohol, the "previously livable and vibrant" Cape Town community became a "disaster zone". Because of the right to welfare, indigenous people have obtained the "right to rely on welfare." The government’s intervention in the lives of indigenous people has increased, but the government’s behavior has deprived the indigenous people of their responsibilities and reduced their self-reliance. 5

Nowadays, the indigenous people not only face an employment crisis, but the Cape York area is still underdeveloped and there is no home ownership and employment. Problem There is a major issue in reliance on powered generators, as they rely on diesel gas to be powered, there must be always a reliable source and maintenance of the generator. If the generator runs out of diesel or does not have an operator to maintain the generator there will be no energy produced at that given time. This truly affects the community that lives within the Cape York region as we all know even when we experience blackouts in our area’s things can get a little bit dicey and chaotic. Even though ours may only last 15-30 minutes, the community at Cape York could experience power shortages all throughout the day and night for long periods and continued periods of time which as anyone can imagine would make life a whole lot difficult and unproductive. With these long hours of power shortages and issues, they come at a cost. Whether it be the meat and food that is stored in a fridge, or a shop or store that relies on powered tools to get jobs done, or a family trying to enjoy the night watching some TV, it truly does affect everyone in a certain way. The team truly believes that these problems really need to be eradicated and solved to help the lives and communities that live in Cape York. Providing the community with a reliable and continual source of energy will allow the community to be much more productive and, in a sense, give them a much more enhanced living condition. Solution 6

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Design Options Solar Farm This design solution will make use of graphene technology as it is the latest and greatest not just only in battery technology but also solar panel technology. Graphene batteries are an emerging technology which allows for increased electrode density, faster cycle times, as well as possessing the ability to hold the charge longer thus improving the battery's lifespan. Graphite batteries are well-established and come in many forms. Despite all this, with all new emerging technologies the price for the material is quite high. Pricing today for graphene powder ranges between US$50-$200/kg, depending on quality and volume of purchase. In this option we will utilize graphene in both batteries and solar panels built on a 2-hectare block of land in rural Cape York. The solar farm will be rated at 1MW which would make 1,460 MWh per year and connect to all the rural communities situated nearby as we plan to build it as close as possible to the rural communities that are desperately in need of energy. Figure 1 - Tesla Solar Farm 7

Solar Glass Energy Grid The solar glass energy grid focuses on utilizing the available power of the sunlight and converting them into power which the entire community will have access to. The design requires the use of solar panels connected to a Tesla Powerwall; the Powerwall will then transfer the excess power from the solar panel into a Power Input Box (PIB) in a power line using aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR). The PIB will have two connections, input, and output. The output cable is connected to the entire city/houses, which enable every single house to receive additional power from the PIB. The input cable is reserved only for those who already have Tesla Powerwall installed. The Powerwall itself cost $7,500 USD and $1,000 for the Gateway (The energy management and monitoring for solar panel). The solar glass cost depends on the complexity of the house roof. Simple layout cost $14 sq/ft to $19.24 sq/ft for a complex layout. The design requires the installation of power lines to reliably send and receive their power, which means government approval is required before this project can be implemented. Figure 2 https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/energy-and-environment/using-electricity-and-gas-safely/powerline-safety/identifying-powerlines Smart Energy System Smart energy system is the use of a network of energy hubs to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by connecting power sources to end-users through energy conversion technologies and transmission utilities and from the demand side, through the market, operators and service providers.( Carriveau, R., & Ting, D, 2018) .The energy 8

conversion process is made by combining the electricity, thermal, and transport sectors so that the flexibility across these different areas can compensate for the lack of flexibility from renewable resources such as wind and solar. e.g. fig1.( Connolly, D., H. Lund, et al, 2013). Smart energy systems is a 100% renewable energy system that has the ability to manage energy fluctuations through the conversion and storage of energy, in order to meet the energy demands of a community.(Energy Plan, n.d.) It also has the ability to consume a sustainable level of bioenergy and utilizes the synergies in the energy system to maximize efficiency, reduce costs and provide a cleaner environment. The design requires hubs installed in the building to act as a representative part of an urban area. Each hub is connected together and the inputs to each hub include natural gas, electricity (from grid), and solar. (fig2 example) The price of the whole technology includes $100 for boiler, $2440-2970 for micro turbine, $900- $1200 for internal combustion engine, $3910 for PV,$1520 for solar-thermal collector, and the cost for energy distribution . In conclusion, it is affordable compared to a fossil fuel based energy system which is more costly. Figure 3 Smart Energy System 9

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Figure 4 This section briefly outlines a minimum of 3 design options available to solve the problem (as presented in your Team Proposal). Describe each option, and then the design option selection using an appropriate decision making tool. Which Energy solution is the best? Cost Availability Simplicity Longevity Environment Total (1-5, 5 Being the best) Weighting x3 Weighting x3 Weighting x2 Weighting x2 Weighting x5 Solar Farm 1 3 2 5 2 36 Solar Glass Energy Grid 2 4 3 3 3 46 Smart energy System 1 2 1 3 5 42 Color note 10

Red is equals to 1 which is the worst Orange is equals to 2 which is bad Yellow is equals to 3 which is neutral Light Green is equals to 4 which is good Dark Green is equals to 5 which is the best As seen from the criteria (EXPLAIN CRITERIA) SGEG (SOLAR GLASS) is the chosen solution as we have determined from our criteria. 11

Design Solution The Design Figure 5- Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG) Flowchart Overview. As seen on figure 5, The Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG) is a combination of both Tesla Powerwall and Tesla Solar Roof with Custom powerline designed to have a reserved power input slot. This design aims to allow the household owner to share their excess solar power by redirecting it to a Power Input Box (PIB). The Tesla System itself is independent of the energy grid, this design allows everyone who has purchased the System to function without an energy grid, so it can sustain itself indefinitely. The design also intended for the system to work with other combinations of power storage and solar panels to work with it as the system works by receiving electricity from any housing with a storage that can be used to send power into the powerline. 12

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Figure 6 - Solar Roof components The PIB will be installed on the side of the powerline, allowing authorized users which meet the criteria to run a power cable made from Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) materials (Electrical Easy). Figure 7 below shows how the Tesla system works. By receiving power from the solar panels, the Powerwall Solid-State Battery can store power for backup purposes. The Powerwall comes with Gateway, a power monitoring system which allows it to transfer power from the Powerwall to or from the power line. By utilizing this system, the initial total cost will be kept down as the grid only receives power from those willing to pay the cost to install the system. As such, the users can use the Powerwall during outages or power issues such as running out of diesel for their generators. Our problem statement is to find new battery chemistries for Cape York communities to give them better access to energy after sundown . The Powerwall's large 13,5kW Capacity allows them to store that electricity from the solar panels during the day and gives them enough power to last until the next day. According to a research done in Solano County, United States. During a power outage a home can draw up to 2 kW (Kilowatts), with an average of 750W to 1000W . This meant the Tesla Powerwall can last for 12 to 15 hours (Merchant, 2019). The solar panels are meant to be used to power the home and store electricity into the Powerwall, users who are connected to the powerline get additional power from those with solar panels to store electricity into their Powerwall. This means less generated electricity from the panels is wasted but instead used for better purposes. This design is stackable, allowing users with just a Powerwall to still receive energy until they can afford to get solar panels of their own. 13

Figure 7 - How Powerwall works The Process The entire process can be divided into two separate systems. The first is the Tesla Roof and Tesla Powerwall combination, this system works by first capturing sunlight into existing solar panels or Tesla Roof. The sunlight or solar radiation is then converted into electricity. The electricity is then carried into the tesla solar inverter using solar wires before it is used to power the household (Tesla). If the solar panels produced more electricity than the home used, the electricity is stored in the Powerwall (Tesla). The second system uses the excess output from the solar panels and converts it into AC power using the tesla solar inverter before sending it into an input box in the powerline (EERE). This process requires the gateway to calculate if the current Powerwall is fully charged and the solar panel production is higher than the home demand. The electricity is sent using a standard ACSR power cable to carry it from the house to the input box on the powerline. The electricity is then carried through the powerline into the community grid, allowing other houses to use the excess electricity provided by solar powered homeowners. The electricity is carried to the other houses using ACSR cable before connecting to the home service panel. 14

The Specification The most essential part of the SGEG is the Tesla Powerwall, as different brands of solar panels can be used while the PIB and powerline depend on government approval and their required specification. The Powerwall needs to be configured following Figure 8; The Powerwall can hold up to 13,5 KWh of electricity (Tesla). This allows for continued use of up to 12 hours based on the average home power consumption of 28 kWh/day (Rise). The Powerwall can sustain a continuous load of 5kwh at any given time, which limits some industrial appliances that require more than 5kwh of power to function. The Powerwall can sustain a temperature of –20°C to 50°C in operation (Tesla). According to research, Cape York's annual temperature is 26°C and can go up to 28°C in February (Queensland Government). Which means Powerwall is safe to use indoor or outdoor under the Cape York climate Figure 8 - Tesla Powerwall typical configuration 15

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The Powerwall has a dimension of 45.3"(L) x 29.6" (B) x 5.75" (H) with a warranty of 10 years (Tesla). However, installation of Powerwall required the installation of a solar inverter and gateway (Tesla). Which meant both component sizes needed to be considered. Figure 9 - Tesla Powerwall dimension. Figure 10 - Tesla Solar Inverter Specification 16

The Tesla Solar Inverter has a dimension of 26" x 16" x 6" (660 mm x 411 mm x 158 mm) and can withstand temperature from -30°C to 45°C. The inverter has a warranty of 12,5 years and have a 97,5% energy conversion rate (Tesla). The gateway on the other hand has a dimension of 23” x 15” x 5” (584 mm x 380 mm x 127 mm) with operating temperature of -20°C to 50°C (Same as Powerwall) and a 10- year warranty (Tesla). This acts as the brain of the system. Figure 11 - Tesla Gateway dimension 17

This section describes your proposed design solution to the design problem. It describes both what the solution is and how it works (firstly as an overview, then in detail). Detailed design information e.g., cla should be placed in the Appendices but explained in the report. Include visuals as appropriate, from a high level functional block diagram or flowchart to more detailed design diagrams. https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/solar-panels/learn/what-tesla-installs-at- your-home https://www.electricaleasy.com/2016/07/types-of-conductors-used-in-overhead- lines.html https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/solar-inverter/tesla-solar-inverter? redirect=no https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/powerwall/Powerwall %202_AC_Datasheet_en_northamerica.pdf https://www.tesla.com/solarroof https://www.tesla.com/powerwall https://cleantechnica.com/2019/08/08/an-inside-look-at-the-components-that-go- into-a-tesla-solar-roof-installation/ https://www.buildwithrise.com/stories/tesla-powerwall2-basics#:~:text=10%2Dyear %20warranty.-,How%20Long%20Does%20a%20Tesla%20Powerwall%20Last %20Without%20Solar%20Panels,a%20home%20for%2012%20hours . https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/can-solar-and-storage-weather-a- days-long-power-outage-it-depends#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAn%20average %20homeowner%20typically%20will,for%2012%20to%2015%20hours. %E2%80%9D 18

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Implementation Plan We have designed the Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG) for the community so that they could make use of the available power from sunlight and convert the power into energy, and the community from Cape York can access the energy by the Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG). The structure to use the design is simple. For the owner of the Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG), it is required to install components, including (The Powerwall, solar inverter, gateway (the smart system), Solar panels and the Powerline). After all the components are successfully installed, the tesla Powerwall should be able to store the energy from the grid or solar, which can keep the appliances in the building running without interruption. When the gateway has calculated that the current Powerwall is fully charged, and the solar panel production is higher than the home demand. The excessed energy will be sent to the community by using a standard ACSR power cable to carry it from the house to the input box on the powerline. The electricity is then carried through the powerline into the community grid, allowing other houses to use the excess electricity provided by solar powered homeowners. The electricity is carried to the other houses using ACSR cable before connecting to the home service panel. To implement the Solar Glass Energy Grid (SGEG) first and foremost we would need to request permission from the Queensland Government and local authorities beforehand. As installation of public powerline and wiring falls into the energy distributors responsibilities (Queensland Government). In this implementation we will be using a private powerline to build the grid. 19

After which we need to start the installation of the tesla system (Tesla Roof and Tesla Powerwall System). To do this, we need to figure the size of the roof and how much electricity the home will consume. Tesla will automatically do this as soon as the customer sends them their roof size, layout, and average monthly energy consumption. The figure below is an example of the estimate Tesla gave. Figure 12 - Tesla Roof installation process It should be noted that the client can opt for their own preferred solar panels option instead to save cost . This process is optional but highly recommended if the client opts to install it later. The mandatory steps the client needs to install are the Powerwall. The Powerwall gives the client a battery to use if they get power outages. If they installed solar panels as well, the combination is self-sustaining, which means they do not have to rely on generators anymore. Users who do not have solar panels can receive their power from excess power generated by other owners through the powerline. https://www.qld.gov.au/housing/buying-owning-home/energy-water-home/ electricity/electricity-prices/understand-electricity-system 20

Cost Analysis 21

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Design Prototype The design prototype we have here will be a very close interpretation of the final design solution albeit some tweaks and improvements pending testing. A dwelling will be fitted with Tesla’s solar tiles combined with a Tesla home battery pack which is also known as Tesla’s Powerwall. With this system in place the dwelling will be able to harvest energy and store the energy via solar. To further enhance this system and maximize its full potential, there will also be a grid installed in the community area that will allow us to connect all the dwellings with the Powerwall system installed to distribute energy that is no longer needed to other dwellings who may need it; this is shown in figure 13. The Prototype allows us to harvest energy and store the energy efficiently as the batteries we use will be the latest technology and store an amount that will be enough for the average household. This information will be taken and evaluated by its ability to provide energy to the community efficiently and consistently without power outages or failures. This will help improve the system if need be and let us see if there are any issues with the system. 22

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Figure 13 - Prototype of Final Design Solution Each team is expected to make at least one prototype - detail this here. How did you construct and test the prototype? Summarise any test results and evaluation. Note that if your prototype is diagrammatic only, it should be in the Design Solution section (Section 4), not in this separate prototyping section. Detailed information (e.g., detailed test and evaluation results) should be provided in the Appendices but explained in your report. 23

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Discussion Community Implications Social: Cultural: Environmental: Economic: Energy Storage Strength and Weaknesses 24

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Role of Stakeholders Conclusion and Recommendations Energy Usage Requirements per Household in Cape York 25

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References On a new page provide a list of references, formatted in APA style. Energy Plan. (n.d.) Smart energy system https://www.energyplan.eu/smartenergysystems/ Carriveau, R., & Ting, D. (2018) Wind and solar based energy systems for communities . Institution of Engineering & Technology. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/ bmxlYmtfXzE3ODg4NjdfX0FO0?sid=4904c766-7950-407b-9189-1a79bdaa473e %40sessionmgr102&vid=0&format=EB&lpid=lp_187&rid=0 Connolly, D., H. Lund, et al. (2013) Renewable Energy Systems and Smart Energy Systems, CeeD’s Energy Clinic and Launch of Institute of Energineering and Energy Technologies (IEET) https://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/smart-energy-systems-holistic-and-integrated- energy-systems-for-t 26

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Appendices 27

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Final Report

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