The WUT team first built a model for a production park and then tried to rescale it for Warsaw. The students calculated that on average the capital uses 147 thousand MWh a month. For the Warsaw microgrid to be independent of the rest of Poland, it would have to be equipped with wind farms of the power of ca. 500 MW and ca. 500 MW PV installations.

– We calculated this on the basis of a simulation we developed - of wind power and PV power stations, using historical weather data, such as wind speed and sun hours – says Teodor Sawicki.

First tests at the Warsaw University of Technology

Of key importance in the project are an additional energy storage, balancing temporary and seasonal energy generation, and a control system.

– In the future we would like to run tests at one WUT faculty: we could build there solar panels, a small wind farm and devices for energy management – explains Teodor. – In this way we would make the building independent of electricity supply from the grid.

Our students were awarded a grant to complete this project within the programme Science ONDE Flow Innovation Academy.

The WUT team was represented by Teodor Sawicki at the celebration of award of the grants

Towards climate neutrality

After the test at the University, Teodor and Katarzyna want to develop their project. They emphasise that now this is concept work but they are convinced that it may bring about tangible results.

– Thanks to such models, we can decarbonise small parts of our power system, starting with University campuses and small groups of buildings, and ending with city districts and whole agglomerations – Teodor said. – This is the best way to complete the goal of Poland’s climate neutrality in 2050.

So is there a need to implement such a system in Warsaw?

– This project would require the construction of wind farms of the area of ca. 2.5 thousand hectares over an area 20 times smaller than the area of Warsaw – lists Teodor. – Just to secure  such powers is a challenge since this is an area of circa 5 thousand football fields. Moreover, we need energy storage that controls the demand and the generating power of renewable energy sources required for the capital exceeds the existing power, so there are many years of work ahead of us.

In urban conditions, it will also be a challenge to find an area suitable for construction of the installation. Here technologies of the future may be of help: wind turbines installed on buildings, automatic reduction of recipients’ demand or better forecast of production and consumption.

Model of the microgrid designed by the WUT students

Positive impact of the microgrid

Development of independent low-voltage distribution networks, i.e., microgrids, is a response to the challenges related to further development of renewable energy sources, which start to be installed at end recipients’ premises in greater numbers. This could solve the problem of lack of modernisation of transmission networks and overload caused by that.

– Thanks to microgrids, more dispersed RES sources may be developed and energy will be used where it is generated – explains Katarzyna. – This will make the electricity generation process more flexible, it will not have to be distributed all over Poland.

– Energy islands made of wind turbines, PV panels, energy storage and recipients connected in one system will become the future of power engineering – argues Teodor. – Development of independent power networks will improve Poland’s energy security and in the future will decrease the costs of RES development. In future, there will be power cooperatives, similar to the present housing cooperatives.