Data Standardization for Smart Infrastructure in First-Access Electricity Systems

Recent developments in renewable energy and Information Technology (IT) fields made it easier to set up power systems at a smaller scale. This proved to be a turning point for developing First-Access Electricity Systems for the underserved locations around the world. However, there are planning and operation challenges due to lack of past data on such places. Deployment of IoT devices and proliferation of smart infrastructures with additional sensors will lead to tremendous opportunities for gathering very useful data. For different stakeholders to access and manage this data, trusted and standardized mechanisms need to be in place. Storing proper data in a well-structured common format allows for collaborative research across disciplines, large-scale analytics, and sharing of algorithms and methodologies, in addition to improved customer service. Data standardization plays a more vital role in the context of electricity access in underdeveloped countries, where there is no past data on generation or consumption as in utility grids. Data collected in a standard structure, be it for a short period of time, facilitates learning from the past experiences, monitoring the current projects and delivering better results in future endeavors. It will result in ways to better assist consumers and help the industry operate more efficiently by sharing data with different stakeholders. It can also enhance competition, thus making electricity accessible faster and to more people. The focus of this paper is data standardization for first-access electricity systems, in general, and renewable energy based microgrids, in particular, different data sources and ways the corresponding data can be exploited, technological and capacity constraints for storage of data, political and governance implications, as well as data security and privacy issues, are examined. The work presented here is relevant to different stake holders such as investors, public utilities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities. Using the data standardization approach developed here, it is possible to create a much-needed first-access electricity system database. This will provide an important resource for project developers and energy companies to assess the potential of a certain unelectrified site, estimating its demand growth in time and establishing universal control systems that can seamlessly communicate with different components

Swarm electrification: A comprehensive literature review

In the global North, the need to decarbonize power generation is well documented and the challenges faced are endemic to the design of the electrical grids. With networks relying on centralized generation, it can be difficult to replace fossil-fuel power plants with renewable energy sources as generation may be intermittent causing grid instability when there is no ‘spinning reserve’ [1]. In parts of the global south, however, many under-electrified nations have high levels of solar irradiance. This, combined with falling prices for solar panels, is allowing for alternative paths to electrification from costly grid extensions and has resulted in grids built from the bottom up [2]. These grids can vary considerably in scale and capacity, dubbed micro-grids, nano-grids, and pico-grids. They can utilize AC, DC, or both and generally have either a centralized or distributed topology where each design has specific advantages and disadvantages [3]. Bangladesh has seen an unprecedented proliferation of small solar home systems. After performing a case study Groh et al. [4] discovered much of the generated electricity was not being utilized

Data Standardization for Smart Infrastructure in First-Access Electricity Systems

Recent developments in renewable energy and Information Technology (IT) fields made it easier to set up power systems at a smaller scale. This proved to be a turning point for developing First-Access Electricity Systems for the underserved locations around the world. However, there are planning and operation challenges due to lack of past data on such places. Deployment of IoT devices and proliferation of smart infrastructures with additional sensors will lead to tremendous opportunities for gathering very useful data. For different stakeholders to access and manage this data, trusted and standardized mechanisms need to be in place. Storing proper data in a well-structured common format allows for collaborative research across disciplines, large-scale analytics, and sharing of algorithms and methodologies, in addition to improved customer service. Data standardization plays a more vital role in the context of electricity access in underdeveloped countries, where there is no past data on generation or consumption as in utility grids. Data collected in a standard structure, be it for a short period of time, facilitates learning from the past experiences, monitoring the current projects and delivering better results in future endeavors. It will result in ways to better assist consumers and help the industry operate more efficiently by sharing data with different stakeholders. It can also enhance competition, thus making electricity accessible faster and to more people. The focus of this paper is data standardization for first-access electricity systems, in general, and renewable energy based microgrids, in particular, different data sources and ways the corresponding data can be exploited, technological and capacity constraints for storage of data, political and governance implications, as well as data security and privacy issues, are examined. The work presented here is relevant to different stake holders such as investors, public utilities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities. Using the data standardization approach developed here, it is possible to create a much-needed first-access electricity system database. This will provide an important resource for project developers and energy companies to assess the potential of a certain unelectrified site, estimating its demand growth in time and establishing universal control systems that can seamlessly communicate with different components