Microgrids are autonomous systems that generate, distribute, store, and manage energy. This type of energy solution has the potential to supply energy to remote communities since they can integrate solar, wind, and back-up diesel generation. These systems are potentially beneficial in Peru, where there are approximately 1.5 million people without access to electricity. This paper studies the technical aspects of the implementation, operation, and social impact of a hybrid microgrid installed in Laguna Grande, Ica, Peru, a rural fishing community composed of about 35 families who have lived in this remote location for more than 40 years without access to electricity. The design of the microgrid comprised three main stages: assessment, sizing, and social management. According to resource assessment, this location has a very high wind potential with an average of 8 m/s and annual average irradiation of 6 kWh/m2/day. The microgrid was designed based on interviews with members of the community on energy use, social-economic aspects, and factors such as expected growth and available funds. The construction followed a participatory approach, involving the community in specific stages of the project. This hybrid microgrid is composed of a 6 kWp photovoltaic system and two wind turbines of 3 kW each. It has two coupled 4 kW inverters that deliver power to a 230 V AC distribution line to which all the community loads are connected. Energy is stored using a VRLA 800 Ah, 48 V battery bank, which is designed to work at 50% DOD. The installed microgrid has proven very effective in supplying the average daily demand of 23 kWh at an almost steady power of 1–1.2 kW. During almost 2 years of monitoring, it has presented a 10% loss of load due to peak increases in demand, technical problems, and occasional low solar and wind resources. PV/wind integration is very important since approximately 60% of the energy demand is nocturnal. The CAPEX of the project reached USD 36,000.00, obtaining a cost of energy levelized cost of energy of 0.267 USD per kWh. The project has a useful life of 20 years, with battery renewal every 3 years and wind turbines and electronics every 10.

In the wetlands of Peru's central coast, fires are a recurrent problem. Little is known concerning their impact on vegetation and the recovery strategies adopted by that vegetation in response to such events. The goal of this study is to provide information regarding changes in vegetation cover, density, growth and plant species diversity during the first 155 days after a fire that occurred at the Ventanilla Wetlands Regional Conservation Area (RCA). In order to evaluate the area, 51 plots, each measuring 1m 2 , were established. In these, the following information was recorded: a) Number of stems that survived the fire, divided by species; b) The length of new shoots, divided by species; c) The phenological stage of each stem; and d) Plant cover, obtained via visual estimation. Schoenoplectus americanus (bulrush) was the fastest to recover, followed by Distichlis spicata-Sporobolus virginicus (saltgrass). The only stems found to have survived the fire were those of S. americanus, and these began to die from day 45 onwards. Sarcocornia neei, Typha domingensis and Bolboeschoenus maritimus appeared after the event. Throughout the period of the study, the only species to flower was S. americanus, which began to flower from day 31. The Shannon Wiener and Simpson index values show that alpha diversity seems to have reached its highest value in the evaluated time and begins to decrease. Two important post-fire stages were identified for S. americanus (bulrush): a) The survival stage; and b) The growth stage. S. americanus has demonstrated a great ability to recover in the first stages following this type of anthropogenic impact, achieving an average cover of 82% and representing 81% of the total abundance of stems during the first 155 days of evaluation. Key words: Fires, succession, regeneration, resilience, wetlands. ResumenLos incendios en los humedales de la costa central del Perú son recurrentes. Poco se conoce de sus impactos sobre la vegetación y de las estrategias de recuperación de la misma frente a estos eventos. El objetivo del presente estudio es el de dar a conocer los cambios en la cobertura, densidad, crecimiento y diversidad de especies vegetales durante los primeros 155 días posteriores a un incendio ocurrido en los Humedales de Ventanilla (sector Área de Conservación Regional, ACR). Para evaluar el área, se establecieron 51 parcelas de 1m 2 . En ellas se anotó a) el número de tallos que sobrevivió al incendio por especie b) la longitud de los nuevos rebrotes por especie, c) el estadio fenológico de cada tallo, y d) la cobertura vegetal obtenida mediante estimación visual. La recuperación de las especies dominantes ante los efectos del fuego fue diferencial. Schoenoplectus americanus ''junco'' se recuperó con mayor rapidez seguido de Distichlis spicata-Sporobolus virginicus ´´grama salada´´. Solo S. americanus presentó tallos que sobrevivieron al incendio, los cuales fueron muriendo a partir del día 45. Sarcocornia neei, Typha domingensis y Bolboeschoenus maritimus aparecieron posteriormente e...

Introducción: Los humedales se encuentran entre los ecosistemas más productivos, pero actualmente están siendo degradados o eliminados a un ritmo acelerado por múltiples actividades antrópicas. En la costa central de Perú, los humedales sufren incendios recurrentes, y los efectos poco estudiados incluyen el nivel de emisiones y el secuestro de carbono por quema. Objetivo: Estimar el carbono en la biomasa aérea afectada por el fuego y el carbono recuperado por la vegetación al cabo de un año. Métodos: Trabajamos en el humedal costero Los Pantanos de Villa (Lima, Perú) y comparamos áreas quemadas (32 cuadrantes, 1 m2) y no afectadas (33 cuadrantes). Resultados: La vegetación afectada fue predominantemente herbácea y dominada por Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus americanus, Typha dominguensis y Cladium jamaicense. El incendio afectó 1 147.0 t de biomasa vegetal que almacenó 381.8 t de carbono, generando la emisión de 1 397.1 t de CO2 a la atmósfera. Al cabo de un año se había recuperado el 79 % de la cobertura vegetal, pero solo el 26 % de la biomasa vegetal viva y el 12.8 % del carbono contenido en la vegetación. Conclusiones: Los indicadores apropiados de la resiliencia de los humedales al fuego deben considerar que los humedales afectados por el fuego recuperan rápidamente la cobertura vegetal, pero no el almacenamiento de carbono y la biomasa vegetal.

Hybrid microgrids constitute a promising solution for filling the electricity access gap that currently exists in rural areas; however, there is still relatively little information about their reliability and costs based on measured data in real working conditions. This article analyzes data obtained from the operation of a 9 kW hybrid microgrid in the fishermen’s cove of Laguna Grande, Paracas, in the Ica region of Perú, which has been running for 5 years. This microgrid has been equipped with data acquisition systems that measure and register wind speed, solar radiation, temperatures, and all the relevant electric parameters. Battery dynamics considerations are used to determine the depth of discharge in a real-time operative situation. The collected data are used to optimize the design using the specialized software HOMER, incorporating state-of-the-art technology and costs as a possible system upgrade. This work aims to contribute to better understanding the behavior of hybrid rural microgrids using data collected under field conditions, analyzing their reliability, costs, and corresponding sensitivity to battery size as well as solar and wind installed power, as a complement to a majority of studies based on simulations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the economy, industry, health, and key sectors in almost every country in the world. Electricity generation has been one of the sectors highly impacted by the national measures taken due to the pandemic. In Peru, a mandatory social quarantine was decreed that strongly impacted the demand and generation of electricity in the country. This paper studied the impact of social isolation measures, adopted by the COVID-19 pandemic, on greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) associated with the generation of electricity from the interconnected electricity system (SEIN) From Peru. A reduction in greenhouse gases of 1,599,285 tCO2e, equivalent to 60% with respect to the reference scenario, was estimated.