Design of hybrid solar energy system for the application of train locomotive power source for the AALRT and Ethio-Djibouti Routes

Abstract

The scarcity and environmental effect of the nonrenewable energies and the abundance and opportunities of renewable energies lead to the development of a hybrid solar system with diesel and electric sources. This research has considered a PV solar cell to design a hybrid solar system for the railway train traction system. In this study, the widely known Angstrom correlation has been used to compute the daily radiation and energy utilization on the Ethio-Djibouti railway route. The data which has been used in the computation covers from 3 to 5 years sunshine hour data that was collected by the Ethiopian National Metrology Agency Service. This has been compared with the calculated value. Based on the technical proposal of the ERC; Box type, YZ25G, DFN7G and AALRT, tram train cars had been selected for the installation of solar panels at the top roof surface area of the car. To compute and to model the hybrid solar system, MATLAB, CATIA, Microsoft Visio and Microsoft Excel software were used. The amounts of solar energy generated for the traction, reduction of carbon emission and cost levelization of the system have been included in the research. The generated energy may cover 4.455 to 356.9% of required energy based on the sunshine hour duration, types of car and configuration;, Therefore, the excess energy shall be sent to the main grid for other purposes to reduce the wastage. For all selected trains, it was calculated that a total number of 2011 panels with a total of 30 years’ service and life cost of 56,764,325bir will be required. Considering the minimum energy production and maximum configuration, the cost return time may be 12 years. Therefore, it will operate for 18 years with profit. The reduction of carbon emission which is found based on the amount of fuel consumed ranges from 214.63 kg to 6845.85 kg and 107.313 kg to 3447.02 kg per trip for freight and passenger transportation respectively. The research generally shows the possibility of application of solar energy through the selected route and the best solution for sustainable energy supply which helps the overall economic development and environmental protection in the country.

Keywords: Photovoltaic, levlization, hybrid, dispatcher, rooftop-camber