Design, development and deployment of a hybrid renewable energy powered mobile medical clinic with automated modular control system
A renewable energy powered mobile medical clinic has been designed, developed and deployed in the Dominican Republic. The portable renewable energy system consists of a 46.5 m2 (500 ft2) tent powered by a suite of renewable energy technologies including a hybrid wind and photovoltaic system with a lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) battery bank for energy storage. Thin-film photovoltaic panels integrated into the thermal fly of the tent are designed to generate 4.8 kW of power. In addition, the system consists of two wind turbines each capable of generating 1 kW, and are supported on portable towers which do not require guy wires or mountings into the ground. The system provides 3 kW of power continuously with a maximum renewable energy power generation of 6.8 kW. The Mobile Medical Clinic (MMC) was deployed in Mao, Dominican Republic. Due to the environmental conditions at this particular location a majority of the power generated by the renewable energy system came from the photovoltaic panels. The renewable energy system and energy storage system are backed up by a gasoline generator, which serves solely as a source of power in the absence of wind or solar energy and when the battery bank is discharged. The control system of the MMC automatically turns on and shuts off the generator as needed in order to minimize fuel consumption. The entire MMC including the renewable energy system was designed to be portable, scalable and all components man-liftable. The system is controlled by state-of-the-art off the shelf components and does not require a complex computer control system. The control system consists solely of the inverters and the charge controllers. The system has remained extremely effective and yet simple to operate which is beneficial since the purpose of the MMC is to operate in austere conditions with minimal training for the operators. The system has been donated to the Dominican Republic to be used for deployment during emergency response situations.
