Smart Grid Analysis of Centralized Power and Cooling for an Urban Community

This project aims to compare two approaches to providing building cooling and electricity to a new community of 100,000 residents. Two cases were studied and a thirty-year net present value of each case is calculated. In the baseline case, each individual building has its own HVAC equipment for cooling and is operated using electricity purchased from the grid. The second case the community purchases a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant to provide electricity for the community along with a district cooling system through the use of absorption chillers powered by waste heat generated from the power plant. Operating cost analysis utilizes the notion of real-time electricity prices to assess the benefits of the centralized power and cooling system. To provide additional the time-shifting of cooling loads, a large scale Thermal Energy Storage (TES) unit is also considered.