Analysis of the energy production of a photovoltaic system integrated with a transport system derived from cableways

The climate crisis has sped up the energy transition, which is nowadays a global problem. The energy transition is already begun by carrying out effective energy policies. The case study presented in this work is consistent with the objectives that have been prearranged for Europe and Italy in terms of energy sustainability. One of the main challenges will be the inclusion of renewable energy systems in the current scenario. The goal of this thesis is to conduct an analysis of the energy production of photovoltaic panels integrated with a cableway to feed part of its energy request. The cableway under investigation will be built in the Italian region Aosta Valley by adopting an innovative transport system named CableSmart. The energy load profile of the cableway and the production profile of the PV plant installed are deduced, the latter by means of software as PVGIS, Solarlog and Helioscope. The data have been extrapolated on hourly basis with time horizon of one year and inserted in the implemented Excel file to carry out the energy simulation. This procedure has been done considering two scenarios which provide two different sizes of the PV plant: in the first one, the photovoltaic modules are supposed to be integrated with avalanche barriers erected in the mountains next to the infrastructure; in the second one PV modules are supposed to be integrated also on the roofs and the walls of cabins and stations. The results of energy simulations take into account that both configurations are connected with the electric grid. A sensitivity analysis of the first scenario has been carried out to examine the results dependence on the main components that characterize the transport system or the photovoltaic panels. A further interesting energy simulation of the first scenario has been done by introducing in the model the presence of a storage system, in this case batteries. The economic analysis of all the presented scenarios is reported. To conclude, a slight pause on the adopted CableSmart transport system is proposed: the greater efficiency and the lower energy impact of this system with respect to a traditional cableway is demonstrated by reporting computations. This case study puts into evidence the good luck of renewable energy technologies integration on existing infrastructures and faces important themes as the one related to innovation and sustainability into the transport sector: all points of interest of the actual Italian energy policy and consistent with investments and measures to be realized by Italy in the next decade.