Net-Zero Emission for Multi-Energy Campus System

The energy sector, as one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, is becoming manageable, especially in institutions such as university campuses that are also proponents of clean energy. A net-zero emission solution is proposed and demonstrated on a multi-energy campus system pursuing optimized energy and emission costs. The university at focus, via scheduling their existing onsite co-generators, high-efficiency steam boilers, and utility purchase, determines photovoltaic (PV) sizing and renewable energy credit (RECs) purchase necessary to accomplish carbon neutrality, as well as energy cost minimization. Three cases, based upon a two-step linear programming (LP), are executed to compare optimal electricity and steam provision, PV sizing, RECs purchase, as well as emission and energy cost tradeoffs. The two-step LP process decouples the unit commitment problem and the economic dispatch problem by leveraging practical operating constraints and minimizing demand charge and load profile impacts, effectively rendering an annual total campus cost savings.