Techno-Economic Study of a Distributed Renewable Power System for a British Winery

This paper analyses and evaluates a design for a distributed renewable power system for a British winery. A winery in Wiltshire, England, is used for a case study. The consumption of this winery is first analysed, then potential means of generation are discussed. The resulting design is a combination of 156 1.6 x 1 m2 photovoltaic panels; a 2 x 12 m2 modular anaerobic digester using winery and farm waste to produce 0.00287 kg/s of biogas; and a biogas combined heat and power generator to supply 188 MWhe and 44 MWht per year. This was analysed technically, using ECLIPSE, and economically. The design would reduce the carbon footprint of a winery by 41,100 kgCO2/year. The techno-economic performance was compared with traditional power generation means; the designed system is technically viable, and financial incentives allow it to compete economically with alternatives. The cost of the design varies more with technology price than incentives, demonstrating that as technology improves incentives will quickly no longer be required.