Resource Utilisation and Resource Availability

Resource Utilization Factor and Resource Availability Factor

Contents

1. Introduction

2. What Is The Resource Utilisation Factor?

3. What Is The Resource Availability Factor?

4. Effective Utilisation Factor

5. Concluding Remarks

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Bitesize Edition

• In continuing to explore resource availability in energy systems, I’ll today remain focused on the resources themselves through two metrics. Firstly, what availability does an energy system have in terms of resource input into this system? Secondly, how effective does the system utilise these resources when they’re available?

• Can we come to more in-depth conclusions if we combine these metrics? I’ll attempt just this in today’s piece.

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Introduction

In energy systems, we frequently calculate the efficiency of the entire system. For example, in a wind turbine, how much kinetic energy from the wind can be turned into useful electrical energy?

One aspect we often don’t consider is how efficiently we utilise the resources in these systems, relative to their potential or installed capacity. We also don’t consider how long a resource is available for use. For example, in a wind turbine, the resource of the wind is not always available. Even in non-intermittent sources, downtime, maintenance, or a supply shock can also lead to negative impacts when considering resource availability. It’s these topics that I’ll dive into below.

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What Is The Resource Utilisation Factor?

In electrical systems, the resource utilisation factor assesses how efficiently a resource is being used relative to its potential or installed capacity. Rather than exploring a system's efficiency, this metric assesses the amount of a resource that is converted into useful energy.

\(\text{RUF} = \frac{\text{Actual Energy Output}}{\text{Total Potential Energy Available}}\)

Example:

A solar panel farm has the potential to produce 1000 MWh of electricity based on the available sunlight. However, due to downtime, it only produces 750MWh. The resource utilisation factor will be:

\(\text{RUF} = \frac{\text{750 MWh}}{\text{1000 MWh}} = 75\%\)

The resource utilisation factor combines multiple characteristics of energy systems that I have been exploring. It can help to assess the efficiency of an electrical system, while also accounting for losses in the conversion of energy, and for losses due to downtime. For renewable systems, it can also account for intermittency losses. In general, a higher resource utilisation factor would indicate a more efficient system with less waste.

Photo by Darren Bockman on Unsplash

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What Is The Resource Availability Factor?