Assessment of the Use of PV Panels with Energy Accumulation Option for Riga City Office Building

Abstract

Currently, demand-side management (DSM) covers a whole range of technological and policy measures aimed at reducing electricity consumption connected with economic activities. Thus, the development of wind PV and other renewable energy technologies, combined with microgrid technology, offers the remote consumers and prosumers ample opportunities to stabilize long-term costs and increase local energy system security. Apart from that, DSM from microgrid based on renewable sources also has certain social benefits, such as protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources. Due to the advances in photovoltaic material research and solar panel price reduction over the last years, the usage of this alternative energy source in Baltic region countries seems more attractive. The usage of energy storage devices can help use the solar power more efficiently and smarter. This paper deals with the optimization of a proposed solar panel array of a renovated office building’s communal lighting in Riga, using storage devices and demand-side management of the produced power, looking into a way to calculate the needed storage capacity on the basis of potential PV system and existing power consumption for communal space lighting system. The proposed approach will become one of the first basic steps in applying DSM to help reduce the communal space’s illumination power consumption, in turn helping to reduce the needed PV generating power and energy storage.