Energy Recovery System for Large Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper proposes a kinetic energy recovery system for large telescopes, integrating supercapacitors with motor inverters to reduce energy consumption and grid power peaks, enhancing sustainability of observatories.

Contribution

It introduces a novel energy recovery system design using supercapacitors and bidirectional converters tailored for large telescope drives.

Findings

Significant reduction in telescope energy consumption.

Notable decrease in grid power peaks during telescope operation.

Potential for increased sustainability of observatories.

Abstract

In this paper, a kinetic energy recovery system for large telescopes is presented, with the Atacama Large Aperture Submm Telescope (AtLAST) as a possible target application. The system consists of supercapacitors integrated in the DC-link of motor inverters through a bidirectional DC-DC converter. The optimal system design, based on the energy flow analysis within the telescope's power electronics, is introduced. The proposed system is simulated as part of the telescope's drives, providing not only a significant reduction in energy consumption of the telescope due to motion, but also remarkably reducing (or shaving) grid power peaks. We find that the system presented here can contribute to making both current and future observatories more sustainable.