| Popis: |
Renewable energy system designers in status-quo and high-income countries (HICs) work to improve the environmental and societal impacts of energy systems by using increasingly complex technologies to predict the future. However, low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) focus on innovative solutions by turning complexity into an asset. This paper presents the results from four optimization objectives, presented as scenarios with data from EIA utility regions, and with powerloads scaled using population data, solar radiance, wind speed, and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) capabilities for biogas turbines. This allowed for the complexity of renewable energy systems to be used as a benefit instead of a deficit. For many US cities, an emerging LMIC-based optimization pathway can make possible energy system designs that increase reliability by including backup biogas generators. Here we show that the HIC-based approach is optimal for some cities; for others the status-quo pathway; for many, surprisingly, the LMIC approach is optimal. |
