FutureGrid: Use of Microgrids in Underserved Communities

Abstract

Rural electrification in developing countries-especially Sub-Saharan Africa-has trailed urban development drastically. The extreme costs associated with expanding traditional grid networks, and the relatively few people they serve, have proved to be a serious economic barrier. Being able to generate and distribute electricity at an affordable rate is crucial in order to effectively power homes, schools, health clinics, and private business. Through this continued cycle and lack of access to electricity, poverty only continues. If given access, quality of life increases through more educated, longer, and healthier lives as well as through developed entrepreneurship and business growth. Unfortunately, because of the remoteness of many communities they are often dismissed as unreachable. Furthermore, microgrids help address another global need: increased renewable energy penetration. Small-scale energy production lends itself to solar installations, but depending on the location and available resources, wind and hydropower can also play an important role.

A review of P2P energy markets and a possible application for remote areas

“…A particular case is represented by developing countries, where the transmission and distribution networks are not developed, the villages are insulated from the grid with kilometers of rainforests (like in the Amazonia region), or the transport infrastructure is not sufficient to build the network [21]. Hence, most likely, the grid extension to these regions will never happen due to both high capital costs and low electricity demand [22]. An alternative and a more economical solution nowadays is to develop microgrids for the remote rural areas.…”

“…Even if microgrid solutions have been widely discussed for the developing countries [22]- [24], the P2P concept has still not been considered in such a context. Nevertheless, trading among close-by villages could provide higher benefits than islanded microgrids and could cost less that the connection to the main grid.…”

“…Compared to the traditional grid, microgrids in underserved communities have some distinct features. The load curves are atypical, since the peak of consumption often is during the day, while the evening is relatively calm [22]. Moreover, a unique microgrid design does not exist, hence the technology and the structure of microgrid should be applied individually to each community, based on its loads and available resources.…”

“…Rwanda is a commonly used case study in this field, due to its low level of electrification, lack of fossil fuel resources and 75% of the population living in remote rural areas [22]. Particularly, two villages modelled by [25] and [24] were already used to design microgrids.…”

“…According to [25] and [24], the microgrid in Village A can rely on PV and diesel generation, while Village B can be supplied by hydro energy coupled with PV; both villages are equipped with storage systems, which are essential in islanded networks based on intermittent generation. According to [22], on a monthly time horizon, the river flow is constant and can stably supply energy.…”