Cost Benefit Analysis to Select Clean Energy Solutions in Dairy Farm Milk Collection Posts in Azores

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of implementation of alternative renewable energy micro-generation installations in dairy farm milk collection posts, from the technical, economical and environmental perspectives. Work was performed through dairy farm milk collection post energy audits. Weather data was obtained from CLIMAAT and MacSIMAR projects and introduced in a renewable energy solutions calculator (HOMER). Moreover, a system design from the available portfolio of micro-generation devices was defined and a cost benefit analysis of the selected alternatives was performed. From the analyzed solutions, the set of PV (20 kW) and Wind (3 kW) with no batteries revealed to be the best one. The sensitivity analysis indicated that wind micro-turbines should be installed except if the solar radiation is maximum and that in no case the use of batteries is an advantage. For systems requiring a certain degree of energy (in this case with an average of 350 kW/day), the implementation of micro generation systems, like the ones evaluated, will never be economically feasible in terms of Total Economic Value, even with generous feed-in tariff schemes. It is preferable that grid operators make investments in renewable energy production.