A15 - Resiliency vs. Economic Impact: A Medical Center Case Study

The Santa Clara University – Solar Saviors Team project comprises a set of studies and analyses
performed to identify the best techno-economic proposal committed for Ohio State University’s
medical campus, whilst accommodating for the resiliency needs for the hospitals’ patients
livelihoods. Our approach is done under four major aspects:

Conceptual

Design: We proposed six photovoltaic subsystems to allocate 6.4MW of power capacity and 5.8MWh of energy capacity. Solar panels were placed according to the area made available by OSU's master plan. The solar resource available in Columbus, OH, and the orientation, tilt, and location of the panels were analyzed to achieve the highest generation capacity possible.

Distribution System Impact: OSU is located in a dense urban area and the distribution network is a combination of meshed and radial. Any injection of power or load to a power grid (network) node can cause a change in its voltage level, and any extra production on the distribution side can cause a disturbance. So control strategies will be required to balance the campus’ power supply and demand.

Financial Analysis: As the project serves to supply a medical campus, resiliency has to be prioritized over economic benefits. The project proposes a dollar per kilowatt-hour payment rate triple of what OSU currently pays to its power utility provider, as the PV plus battery system is recommended to meet the goals of resiliency. The total initial cost-per-watt is $1.74/W DC. After considering avoided outage costs for the medical center, the project has a net profit value of -$215,985.

Development Plan: The proposed PV system aligns with the university’s climate action plan which underlines a future solar energy generation project of 10 MW capacity by 2030. The southern part of the campus is divided into 6 smaller areas, and the proposed timeline spans 12 months. Risk assessments were made with regard to building permits and construction costs.