Reinforcement of Smart NUST Grid Infrastructure for Sustainable Energy Management in Horizon 2030 /

Abstract

Electricity consumption expenses take a significant amount of an educational institutions budget. If these expenses are controlled more funds will be available for educational activities, research and student’s welfare. Normally, electric Loads are powered thorough utility and shifted to Diesel generators during the outage of utility due to any fault or scheduled maintenance. Majorpart of utility production in Pakistan relies on fossil fuels which are not environment friendly and their production cost is too high. To overcome these problems on an institution level renewable energy should be encouraged as distribution generation, this research seeks to develop and implement a strategic plan for the improvement of NUST Grid Infrastructure to ensure efficient energy management and reduce utilization cost. The 75-Bus Distribution system of NUST, is developed and simulated on MATLAB/Simulink software. Different cases are simulated using optimization techniques for the optimal placing of Solar system and Diesel Generator. The proposed model consolidates the DGs into a single large unit at the substation, increasing solar PV capacity, resulting in a 38.24% reduction in operational costs and a 46.05% decrease in CO2emissions. Additionally, HOMER software was employed for financial and environmental impact analysis, including LCOE, NPC ROI, IRR and carbon footprint assessments. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness and efficiency of the proposed grid configuration, ensuring resilience against varying conditions. The findings demonstrate significant cost savings, improved grid reliability, and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with NUST’s commitment to sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).