Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Potential Site Energy Reduction for Artificial White Water Courses Author: Alistair Moon Supervisor: Dr Paul Strachan A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirement of the degree Master of Science Sustainable Engineering: Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment 2016 Copyright Declaration This thesis is the result of the author’s original research. It has been composed by the author and has not been previously submitted for examination which has led to the award of a degree. The copyright of this thesis belongs to the author under the terms of the United Kingdom Copyright Acts as qualified by University of Strathclyde Regulation 3.50. Due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. Signed: Date: 31/8/16 Abstract Artificial white water courses are becoming popular venues for international competition, recreational sport, rafting and safety services training. Increasingly, these courses are using water pumps to provide a flow of water to the course. While these pumps only operate for relatively short periods of time, almost exclusively throughout the day and evening, they consume large amounts of energy. This thesis aims to identify if renewable generation technologies could be installed on site to reduce the site energy consumption. Electrical storage was also investigated as a way to reduce reliance on the grid and further utilise electricity generated on-site. A study in to course designs that would remove the energy consumption completely was then undertaken. Finally, two case studies were used to study how the solutions from the general investigation could be applied to existing courses. The results of the investigation found that becoming a net zero energy site could be relatively straightforward depending on the climate of the site. The size of the water pumps and the price received for exported energy would have a large impact on the cost effectiveness of the solutions. Electrical storage proved problematic due to the high power draw from the pumps. A large number of batteries would be required which had a large impact on the cost. Generally, electrical storage was found to not be feasible for this application. Non-generation design concepts showed that there may be scope to build and artificial white water course without using pumps yet retaining all the benefits that water pumps bring. Locations for courses using these designs would be greatly limited with regards to suitable sites. i Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Common AWWC Layouts .............................................................................. 1 Flow Diversion Courses ......................................................................................... 2 Pumped Courses ..................................................................................................... 4 Dam Release ........................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Pumped AWWCs in the UK ........................................................................... 6 Nene Whitewater Centre ........................................................................................ 6 Cardiff International White Water Centre .............................................................. 7 Lee Valley White Water Centre ............................................................................. 7 Pinkston Watersports .............................................................................................. 7 Tees Barrage ........................................................................................................... 7 1.3. Examples of AWWCs Around the World ....................................................... 8 1.4. Pumps Used at AWWCs ................................................................................. 9 1.5. Energy Use ...................................................................................................... 9 1.6. Driving Factors .............................................................................................. 11 Cost ....................................................................................................................... 11 Carbon Emissions ................................................................................................. 11 1.7. Aims .............................................................................................................. 13 1.8. Project Outline............................................................................................... 14 2. Renewable Generation and Site Operation ........................................................... 15 2.1. Site Energy Definitions ................................................................................. 16 Net Zero Site Energy ............................................................................................ 16 Net Zero Source Energy ....................................................................................... 16 Autonomous.......................................................................................................... 16 2.2. Site Operation ................................................................................................ 17 2.3. Generation Technologies............................................................................... 17 Wind ..................................................................................................................... 17 Hydro .................................................................................................................... 20 Solar ...................................................................................................................... 22 Biomass ................................................................................................................ 23 3. Electrical Energy Storage ..................................................................................... 25 3.1. Mechanical .................................................................................................... 25 ii Compressed Air Energy Systems ......................................................................... 26 Pumped Hydro ...................................................................................................... 26 Flywheels .............................................................................................................. 27 3.2. Electrical........................................................................................................ 28 Capacitors ............................................................................................................. 28 Supercapcitors ...................................................................................................... 28 Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage Systems ........................................... 29 3.3. Chemical........................................................................................................ 29 Lead-Acid ............................................................................................................. 29 Sodium Sulphur .................................................................................................... 30 Flow Batteries ....................................................................................................... 30 3.4. Thermal ......................................................................................................... 30 4. Modelling an Artificial White Water Course ....................................................... 32 4.1. Software ........................................................................................................ 32 4.2. Constructing the Models ............................................................................... 33 Electric Load ......................................................................................................... 34 Grid Connection ................................................................................................... 34 Electrical Storage .................................................................................................. 34 Converters ............................................................................................................. 35 Renewable Generation .......................................................................................... 35 Resources .............................................................................................................. 36 Costs ..................................................................................................................... 36 Carbon Impacts ..................................................................................................... 37 Scenarios ............................................................................................................... 38 4.3. Modelling Results ......................................................................................... 39 Model 1: Small AWWC Using Wind Turbines.................................................... 39 Model 2: Small AWWC Using PV....................................................................... 44 Model 3: Large AWWC Using Wind Turbines: .................................................. 46 Model 4: