Sustainable Microgrid Analysis for Kutubdia Island of Bangladesh

Abstract

Uninterrupted power supply with sustainable microgrid remains a big challenge for Kutubdia Island in Bangladesh. However, the majority of study has been focused on the techno-economic aspects of producing electricity in support of this isolated area. To bridge the gap, the present study proposes a methodology for assessing off-grid hybrid microgrid pertaining to the priorities of four key sustainability performance indicators (KSPI): economy, environment, technology, and society. The evaluation process also includes total 13 sets of sub-indicators under KSPI, such as levelized cost of energy, return on investment, CO 2 emissions, renewable fraction, excess electricity, unmet load, land usage, job creation etc. The comprehensive value of KSPI regarding economic, environmental, technical, and social priorities are computed using fuzzy logic Mamdani type rules, which facilitates human judgment in linguistic terms and eliminates weightage ambiguity. Seven microgrid scenarios integrating locally accessible resources have been scored and ranked to identify suitable configuration. According to the findings, the PV/Wind/Diesel/Converter/Battery combination reveals best option considering economic priority. On the other hand, the PV/Wind/Converter/Battery alternative receives excellent performance scores and is recommended in both environmental and social categories. However, the PV/Diesel/Converter/Battery arrangement outperforms the others architectures and gets preference for technical reasons. Additionally, the electrical, financial, emission, and sensitivity analysis are carried out for a selected microgrid in Kutubdia. This assessment framework can assist academics, policymakers and investors for planning microgrid in a better way based on sustainable dimensions.