Two students from the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) have developed a microgrid that works exclusively with renewable energy sources. Such a solution could provide energy self-sufficiency for buildings and even cities, the university writes in his statement.

The WUT team – consisting of Teodor Sawicki and Katarzyna Polczynska – first built a model of a production park and then tried to scale it for Warsaw. The students calculated that the capital uses an average of 147,000 MWh per month. In order for the Warsaw microgrid to be independent from the rest of Poland, wind farms with a capacity of approximately 500 MW and approx. It should be equipped with 500 MW photovoltaic equipment.

“We calculated this based on a simulation we developed – wind farms and PV farms, using historical weather data such as wind speed and hours of sunshine,” said Sawicki.

Towards climate neutrality

After the university test, Sawicki and Polczynska want to develop their project further. They emphasize that this is still conceptual work, but they are confident that it can bring tangible results.

“Thanks to such models, we can decarbonize small parts of our energy system, starting with university campuses and smaller groups of buildings, up to neighborhoods and entire agglomerations,” said Sawicki.

“This is the best way to meet Poland’s 2050 climate neutrality goal.”

More and more people are recognizing the challenges facing the world. Especially when it comes to the destruction and depletion of natural resources.

Urban microgrids

So is there a need to implement such a system in Warsaw? “This project would require the construction of a wind farm of approximately 2.5 thousand hectares in an area 20 times smaller than the area of ​​Warsaw,” listed Sawicki. “Just providing such forces is a challenge, since this is an area the size of about 5,000 football fields. In addition, we need energy storage facilities that regulate the needs, and the production capacity of the renewable energy sources needed for the capital exceeds the existing capacity, so many years of work are required still ahead of us.”

In urban conditions, it will also be a challenge to find a suitable area to build the facility. This is where the technologies of the future can help: wind turbines installed on buildings, automatic reduction of consumers’ needs, or better forecasting of production and consumption.

The impact of microgrids

The development of independent low-voltage distribution networks, i.e. micro-grids, is a response to the challenges related to the further development of renewable energy sources (RES), which are starting to be installed in increasing numbers at end users. This can solve the problem of lack of modernization of transmission networks and the resulting congestion.

“Thanks to microgrids, more distributed RES sources can be developed and the energy will be used where it is produced,” explained Polczynska. “This makes the process of electricity production more flexible, it will not have to be distributed throughout Poland.”

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