Design Methodology of a Multi-village Microgrid

Abstract

This paper deals the optimal sizing and location of the power plant in a microgrid interconnecting several villages. The case study is defined by eight villages of rural community of Dakoro, in Niger. The methodological approach proposed is based on a matrix of distances established from the geographical coordinates of the sites. This serves as a basis for the estimation of the losses as well as for estimation of the shortest path defining the architecture of the microgrid. The energy requirement is then estimated for sizing power sources (PV, diesel generator) and energy storage units. The particle swarm optimization method is applied to the data with some criteria and constraints. The proposed energy flow management strategy is tested on a realtime system according to different scenarios. The results are presented and analyzed.