A Hybrid Microgrid Operated by PV Wind and Diesel Generator with Advanced Control Strategy

All for a local area that gets its power from a solitary diesel generator (DG), this examination presents an efficient power energy choice for a microgrid. A twin feed enlistment generator draws power from a sun oriented photovoltaic (PV) cluster and the breeze to run this microgrid's electrical gear (DFIG). Two voltage source converters (VSCs) are sequentially coupled on the rotor side of the DFIG and share a DC transport that at last prompts the photovoltaic modules. Likewise associated with a similar DC transport as the DFIG stator is a bidirectional buck/help DC converter and a battery energy capacity (BES) to retain any overflow power. Most extreme energy collecting from the breeze and sun is accomplished by regulation of the bidirectional buck/help DC converter and the rotor side VSC. A changed form of the irritate and notice (P&O) technique is introduced for of expanding the energy result of a PV framework. Endeavors are being made to change VSC on the heap side to further develop DG's eco-friendliness. The ideal fuel-use reference DG power result may now be resolved utilizing a new, more broad methodology. Using the Sim Power Systems toolbox in MATLAB, we model and simulate many scenarios, including fluctuating wind speeds, fluctuating insolation, the impact of fluctuating load conditions on a bidirectional converter, and an unbalanced nonlinear load linked at the point of common coupling (PCC). Finding sinusoidal and balanced DG and DFIG stator currents

Energy Production Analysis and Optimization of Mini-Grid in Remote Areas: The Case Study of Habaswein, Kenya

Rural electrification in remote areas of developing countries has several challenges which hinder energy access to the population. For instance, the extension of the national grid to provide electricity in these areas is largely not viable. The Kenyan Government has put a target to achieve universal energy access by the year 2020. To realize this objective, the focus of the program is being shifted to establishing off-grid power stations in rural areas. Among rural areas to be electrified is Habaswein, which is a settlement in Kenya’s northeastern region without connection to the national power grid, and where Kenya Power installed a stand-alone hybrid mini-grid. Based on field observations, power generation data analysis, evaluation of the potential energy resources and simulations, this research intends to evaluate the performance of the Habaswein mini-grid and optimize the existing hybrid generation system to enhance its reliability and reduce the operation costs. The result will be a suggestion of how Kenyan rural areas could be sustainably electrified by using renewable energy based off-grid power stations. It will contribute to bridge the current research gap in this area, and it will be a vital tool to researchers, implementers and the policy makers in energy sector

Sustainability and design assessment of rural hybrid microgrids in Venezuela

Nowadays, 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity, mainly in rural areas of developing countries. In particular, 22 million people do not have electricity in Latin America and many governments are developing rural electrification programs to deal with this situation. Off-grid hybrid microgrids based on renewable energy are an efficient option for providing dispersed rural populations with access to electricity. However, microgrids are still a minority option, as governments of developing countries generally consider them expensive and not effective. In this context, the evaluation of projects based on hybrid microgrids is required in order to improve the knowledge about these technologies. In this paper, 13 microgrid projects in north-western Venezuela are presented and their environmental, technical, socioeconomic and institutional dimensions of sustainability are evaluated. For this purpose, an evaluation methodology based on some ad hoc criteria is developed, assessed by means of technical visits, semi-structured interviews and 106 surveys of technical operators and beneficiaries. The results show that microgrids can satisfy the energy needs of the population, while promoting technological change towards the use of more sustainable technologies. In addition, the key aspects for strengthening projects’ sustainability are highlighted.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Hybrid Electric Power Systems In Remote Arctic Villages: Economic And Environmental Analysis For Monitoring, Optimization, And Control

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2006The need for energy-efficient and reliable electric power in remote arctic communities of Alaska is a driving force for research in this work. Increasing oil prices, high transportation costs for fuels, and new environmental standards have forced many utilities to explore hybrid energy systems in an attempt to reduce the cost of electricity (COE). This research involves the development of a stand-alone hybrid power system model using MATLABRTM SimulinkRTM for synthesizing the power system data and performing the economic and environmental analysis of remote arctic power systems. The hybrid model consists of diesel electric generators (DEGs), a battery bank, a photovoltaic (PV) array, and wind turbine generators (WTGs). The economic part of the model is used to study the sensitivity analysis of fuel cost and the investment rate on the COE, the life cycle cost (LCC) of the system, and the payback time of the system. The environmental part of the model calculates the level of various pollutants including carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and the particulate matter (PM10). The environmental analyses part of the model also calculates the avoided cost of various pollutants. The developed model was used to study the economics and environmental impacts of a stand-alone DEG system installed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Energy Center, the wind-diesel-battery hybrid power system installed at Wales Village, Alaska, and the PV-diesel-battery hybrid power system installed at Lime Village, Alaska. The model was also used to predict the performance of a designed PV-wind-diesel-battery system for Kongiganak Village. The results obtained from the SimulinkRTM model were in close agreement with those predicted by the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software developed at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Techno-Economic Assessment of Renewable Electricity for Rural Electrification and IT Applications in Selected Sites Across the Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria

This study presents an energy resource assessment for six sites, one from each geo-political zone of Nigeria. It assessed the feasibility and economic viability of RE resources that can provide sustainable electricity and enhance ICT development for rural communities cut off from the national grid. Hypothetical rural communities made up of 200 homes, a school and health centre was conceived. Specific electrical load profile was developed to suite the rural communities. The required load was analyzed as 358 kWh per day, with 46 kW primary peak load and 20 kW deferrable peak load. The meteorological data utilized were obtained from the Nigeria Meteorological Department spanning 1987- 2010. Assessment of the design that will optimally meet the daily load demand with LOLP of 0.01 was carried out by considering standalone PV, Wind and Diesel, and a hybrid design of Wind-PV. The Diesel Standalone system was taken as the basis for comparison. The optimization tool employed after the feasibility analysis with RETScreen® software was the HOMER® software. The outcome showed that the most economically viable alternative for power generation at most of the sites is the wind standalone system. It proved to be the optimal means of producing renewable electricity in terms of life cycle cost and levelised cost of energy which ranged between $0.129/kWh for Jos and$0.327/kWh for Benin City. This is very much competitive with grid electricity. Renewable technologies could then become the subject of rigorous pursuit for rural electrification and ICT development in local communities around the sites

Hinterland Electrification Strategy

The Government of Guyana, as part of its socio-economic development and poverty alleviation objective, has embarked on a program to extend electricity to unserved areas where extension of existing distribution networks is deemed to be economically feasible. This document outlines the electrification strategy being used. This strategy includes a description of the potential energy sources in the area (solar, hydropower, wind, biomass, biofuel, diesel) and specifies an approach to test their viability for hinterland electrification

Analysis of the economic feasibility and reduction of a building’s energy consumption and emissions when integrating hybrid solar thermal/PV/micro-CHP systems

The aim of this paper is to assess the performance of several designs of hybrid systems composed of solar thermal collectors, photovoltaic panels and natural gas internal combustion engines. The software TRNSYS 17 has been used to perform all the calculations and data processing, as well as an optimisation of the tank volumes through an add-in coupled with the GENOPT® software. The study is carried out by analysing the behaviour of the designed systems and the conventional case in five different locations of Spain with diverse climatic characteristics, evaluating the same building in all cases. Regulators, manufacturers and energy service engineers are the most interested in these results. Two major contributions in this paper are the calculations of primary energy consumption and emissions and the inclusion of a Life Cycle Cost analysis. A table which shows the order of preference regarding those criteria for each considered case study is also included. This was fulfilled in the interest of comparing between the different configurations and climatic zones so as to obtain conclusions on each of them. The study also illustrates a sensibility analysis regarding energy prices. Finally, the exhaustive literature review, the novel electricity consumption profile of the building and the illustration of the influence of the cogeneration engine working hours are also valuable outputs of this paper, developed in order to address the knowledge gap and the ongoing challenges in the field of distributed generation