The case for microgrids in electrifying Sub-Saharan Africa

Murenzi, Jean Pierre; Ustun, Taha Selim

doi:10.1109/irec.2015.7110858

Cited by 35 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In each of the simulations, four load profiles were constructed from two Rwandan villages. Rwamiko and Nyakabanda [10,11] are used as representative load profiles and are shown in Figure 3. From these two profiles, two more were generated to increase the robustness of the model.…”

Section: Economic Feasibility Of Microgrid Breakeven Distancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

FutureGrid: Use of Microgrids in Underserved Communities

Hubble¹,

Ustun²

2017

Development and Integration of Microgrids

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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.

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Section: Economic Feasibility Of Microgrid Breakeven Distancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

FutureGrid: Use of Microgrids in Underserved Communities

Hubble¹,

Ustun²

2017

Development and Integration of Microgrids

Self Cite

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“…Most agree that mini-grid projects will generally be the more cost-effective method and that renewable generation combined with storage is both cheaper and more reliable than conventional generation from diesel. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] What these studies do not address are the power quality considerations of designing these mini-grid systems. As mini-grid development continues to accelerate it will be critical to define-and design to-various electricity service levels and their associated power quality/availability/reliability metrics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-optimal evaluation of centralized and distributed microgrid topologies considering voltage constraints

Dunham

Cutler

Mishra

et al. 2020

Energy for Sustainable Development

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Integration of renewable generation and energy storage technologies with conventional generation supports increased resilience, lower-costs, and clean energy goals. Traditionally, energy supply needs of rural off-grid communities have been addressed with diesel-generation based mini-grids. But with increased awareness of environmental considerations and rapidly falling renewable generation costs, mini-grids are transforming into hybrid systems with a mix of renewables, energy storage, and conventional generation. Optimal design of an integrated energy system like hybrid mini-grid requires an understanding of both the economic and power quality impacts of different designs. Existing approaches to modeling distributed energy resources address the economic viability and power quality impacts via separate or loosely coupled models. Here, we extend REopta techno-economic optimization model developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory-to consider both within a single model. REopt formulates the design problem as a mixed-integer linear program that solves a deterministic optimization problem for a site's optimal technology mix, sizing, and operation to minimize life cycle cost. REopt has traditionally assumed a single-node system where power injection is not constrained by power quality constraints. In the work presented here, we expand the REopt platform to consider multiple connected nodes. In order to do this, we model power flow using a fixed-point linear approximation method. Resulting system sizes and voltage magnitudes are validated against the base REopt model, and solutions of established power flow models respectively. We then use the model to explore design considerations of mini-grids in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we evaluate under what combinations of line length and line capacity it is economically beneficial (or technically required based on voltage limits) to build isolated mini-grids versus an interconnected system that benefits from the economies of scale associated with a single, centralized generation system.

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“…This approach only benefits those who are sufficiently close to the grid, while more isolated locations are ignored [4]. Furthermore, the utility grid is known to be notoriously unstable in these countries and connecting more load to it only adds to the problem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%