Volume 38: Energy Transitions toward Carbon Neutrality: Part I

Numerical model of solar-driven cold storage for small-scale fisheries Sajid Mehmood, Muhammad Usman, Wayan Gede Santika, Renaldi Renaldi

Abstract

The need for cold storage is growing worldwide, especially for small-scale fisheries in tropical coastal regions where access to a continuous power supply and modern preservation methods is limited or nonexistent. This deficiency in adequate storage facilities significantly diminishes their catch quality. Novel renewable, grid-independent solutions are required to address this problem. This study proposes and demonstrates a solar-driven grid-independent cold storage unit through a dynamic model developed in TRNSYS simulation software. A detailed parametric study highlights the critical parameters for optimal sizing related to cold storage insulation, sizing of air conditioning systems, and photo-voltaic battery systems. Moreover, the optimal integration was compared with conventional (grid-based) cooling solutions for cold storage. The results show that grid-independent cold storage of 20 feet to store 1,285 kg of fish daily at -20°C requires 24.5 kW of PV array, 10 kW inverter and a battery storage of 151296 Wh to meet the annual electricity demand of 32.3 MWh. The parametric analysis shows that insulation of 150mm reduces thermal energy demand for cooling by 12.3% (from 74 MWh to 64.9 MWh), and a further increase in insulation does not provide significant benefits. The analysis shows how the cooling rate influences the sizing of the HVAC system, how the collector tilt angle adjustment frequency impacts PV performance, and how the battery backup time influences the battery size. The proposed system can save 23.3 tons of carbon emissions annually compared to grid-connected conventional cold storage. The paper discusses the design and implementation of the PV-driven grid-independent vapour compression cooling system, highlighting key influence design parameters, control strategies, and energy management techniques to minimise excessive cooling in the cold storage freezer room.

Keywords cold storage, grid-independent, TRNSYS, fisheries, solar energy, heat pump