High-Efficiency micro-CCHP unit and a smart microgrid: technical and economic feasibility for Tecnológico de Monterrey

After the Mexican Energy Reform was approved in December 2013 and enacted in August 2014, the Wholesale Electricity Market (Mercado Eléctrico Mayorista) favored a market configuration where competition for private and public generators and suppliers, to reduce overall energy costs and increase private investment in Mexico. Nonetheless, since Transmission and Distribution infrastructure remained under CFE’s jurisdiction, there has been a lack of projects to build, or renovate new and current power lines, to seemingly hinder private generation and supply. Tecnológico de Monterrey’s main campus, located in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, is expected to grow around three times its size within the next 30-40 years, which generates many questions about the available power in the current local transmission and distribution lines. Therefore, the addition of a micro-CCHP (Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power) unit in the new housing building “Residencias ABC” to supply the building’s electrical demand, and part of its cooling demand. Additionally, by replacing the existing equipment of the current underground microgrid, it is possible to develop a Smart Microgrid (SMG) to optimize distributed energy generation, and grid and loads energy consumption. The surplus energy generated by the engine would supply the Campus’s electric demand through the SMG previously mentioned. The system should analyze historical data to generate demand forecasts due to weather conditions, occupation forecasts, and user inputs. The feasibility of combining a micro-CCHP unit and an SMG will be demonstrated through energy analysis and a business model considering the equipment investment, and the current Campus’s operating cost for energy, water, and natural gas