Energy Resource Availability - Modelling Resource Fluctuation

Temporal Availability Profiles

Contents

1. Introduction

2. What Are Temporal Availability Profiles

3. Calculations

4. Concluding Remarks

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Bitesize Edition

• I’m coming close to the end of my discussion on resource availability, with a final post on energy density arriving over the next few weeks. Today, I’m going to discuss a vague aspect of any system involving resources, a temporal availability profile.

• This refers to the patterns of resource availability in a system. This could be workers in a factory, the delivery of a critical resource in a supply chain, or the sunshine hitting a solar panel. The contexts in which we can utilise this metric are extensive, and that’s why it is a topic that is worth exploring. As always, I hope the mathematical example included will further support the usefulness of this metric. Let’s dive in below.

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Introduction

As I discussed last week, exploring resources has led me down unexpected paths. Today, I’ll take another such path as I explore temporal availability profiles.

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What Are Temporal Availability Profiles?

A temporal availability profile refers to the pattern or fluctuation of resource availability in a system. Because this definition is so broad, it can be applied to multiple contexts across the energy sector.

Take a solar panel for example, and we could create a temporal availability profile for the energy produced. It would peak during the day if the sun was shining, before falling during the night. In this scenario, a temporal availability profile can help us locate intermittency in our electricity production sources.

Let’s say a company is building a solar farm that it wants to complete in the next two months. A temporal availability profile could monitor employees' availability by tracking shifts, holidays, and peak workload periods. This could allow for more efficient work time allocation.

Finally, we are building this new solar farm at the height of summer. Multiple countries around the world are also seeking silicon supply for their projects. Let’s also imagine silicon supply comes from one country, and they’re embroiled in a geopolitical conflict. The availability of silicon and other raw materials can be presented in a temporal availability profile, and in our example, seasonality and geopolitical factors would negatively impact it.

These examples are great, but how can we quantify this metric?

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash

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Calculation

We will monitor the availability of sunlight to a solar panel. Let’s take sunrise at 6:00, and sunset at 18:00. The peak will be at midday.