Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica
The technical and economic feasibility of utilizing solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV station in Antarctica was evaluated in order to estimate potential financial and external savings, and to alleviate the programme's dependence on the special blend of diesel shipped annually from Ca...
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:eee:renene:v:33:y:2008:i:5:p:1073-1084 2024-04-14T08:04:34+00:00 Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica Olivier, Jürgen R. Harms, Thomas M. Esterhuyse, Daniël J. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148107002108 unknown http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148107002108 article ftrepec 2024-03-19T10:32:27Z The technical and economic feasibility of utilizing solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV station in Antarctica was evaluated in order to estimate potential financial and external savings, and to alleviate the programme's dependence on the special blend of diesel shipped annually from Cape Town. The average global horizontal and tilted insolation rates at the base were studied, energy consumption data of the station was investigated, technical performance characteristics of devices for harnessing solar energy were assessed and an economic analysis was completed. It was shown that at SANAE IV flat-plate solar thermal collectors could potentially be used in conjunction with the snow smelter (a device that meets the station's fresh water demand) and that photovoltaic modules could feasibly be used to reduce the station's electrical demand. Flat-plate solar thermal collectors could collect solar energy at an average of 3.13R/kWh (viz. 0.49US$/kWh) from a suggested 143m2 array, while comparatively a 40kWp photovoltaic system would be less economically sound and only able to pay back costs at the end of the system's expected 25-year lifetime, generating electricity at an estimated 3.20R/kWh (annual electrical consumption at SANAE IV amounts to more than 1062MWh). The total diesel savings of the solar thermal and photovoltaic systems were estimated at approximately 12245 and 9958l, respectively, which represent savings in externalities of R67338 and R55879 each. Solar energy; Antarctica; Feasibility study; SANAE IV; Technical analysis; Economic analysis; Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) SANAE ENVELOPE(-2.850,-2.850,-71.667,-71.667) SANAE IV ENVELOPE(-2.850,-2.850,-71.667,-71.667) SANAE IV Station ENVELOPE(-2.829,-2.829,-71.674,-71.674) |
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Open Polar |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
op_collection_id |
ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
The technical and economic feasibility of utilizing solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV station in Antarctica was evaluated in order to estimate potential financial and external savings, and to alleviate the programme's dependence on the special blend of diesel shipped annually from Cape Town. The average global horizontal and tilted insolation rates at the base were studied, energy consumption data of the station was investigated, technical performance characteristics of devices for harnessing solar energy were assessed and an economic analysis was completed. It was shown that at SANAE IV flat-plate solar thermal collectors could potentially be used in conjunction with the snow smelter (a device that meets the station's fresh water demand) and that photovoltaic modules could feasibly be used to reduce the station's electrical demand. Flat-plate solar thermal collectors could collect solar energy at an average of 3.13R/kWh (viz. 0.49US$/kWh) from a suggested 143m2 array, while comparatively a 40kWp photovoltaic system would be less economically sound and only able to pay back costs at the end of the system's expected 25-year lifetime, generating electricity at an estimated 3.20R/kWh (annual electrical consumption at SANAE IV amounts to more than 1062MWh). The total diesel savings of the solar thermal and photovoltaic systems were estimated at approximately 12245 and 9958l, respectively, which represent savings in externalities of R67338 and R55879 each. Solar energy; Antarctica; Feasibility study; SANAE IV; Technical analysis; Economic analysis; |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Olivier, Jürgen R. Harms, Thomas M. Esterhuyse, Daniël J. |
spellingShingle |
Olivier, Jürgen R. Harms, Thomas M. Esterhuyse, Daniël J. Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
author_facet |
Olivier, Jürgen R. Harms, Thomas M. Esterhuyse, Daniël J. |
author_sort |
Olivier, Jürgen R. |
title |
Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
title_short |
Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
title_full |
Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at South Africa's SANAE IV base in Antarctica |
title_sort |
technical and economic evaluation of the utilization of solar energy at south africa's sanae iv base in antarctica |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148107002108 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-2.850,-2.850,-71.667,-71.667) ENVELOPE(-2.850,-2.850,-71.667,-71.667) ENVELOPE(-2.829,-2.829,-71.674,-71.674) |
geographic |
SANAE SANAE IV SANAE IV Station |
geographic_facet |
SANAE SANAE IV SANAE IV Station |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148107002108 |
_version_ |
1796301177123504128 |