Feasibility Studies on Deploying a Self-Contained Solar-Hydraulic Pilot Power Plant in a Rural Area in Bangladesh

In October 2017, the World Bank reported that Bangladesh continued to reduce poverty - rural poverty decreased from 35.2 to 26.4 percent between 2010 and 2016, but at a slower pace. It is well-accepted that lack of access to electricity is one of the major impediments to growth and development of the rural economies in developing countries (Khandker et al. 2009). In Bangladesh, only 29% of rural areas were covered by the national grid which took up merely 2.27% of the total energy consumption and almost 94.2% of which came from highly polluting fuelwood and other biomass including leaves, crops and dung (BIDS Survey 2004). The problems rural people face in obtaining safe, clean, and reliable energy supplies represent a significant barrier to rural economic development and social well-being (Barnes et al. 2010). Solar energy is an excellent candidate as it is clean, safe and abundant in Bangladesh. Since early 1990s more than four-million solar home systems (SHS) have been installed in Bangladesh and the number is still increasing. However, batteries, especially lead-acid batteries used as energy storage systems in solar off-grid power plants, are considered highly hazardous to environment due to their chemistry. In an effort to eliminate this hazard a novel design hybridizing solar power with hydro power has been conceptualized. In this design surplus electrical energy generated by the solar plant during daytime is stored as potential energy by pumping water into an overhead tank rather than stored as chemical energy in battery for usage after sunset. A prototype system is being designed to develop the proof of concept where a power plant will be installed in an off-grid area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. For this purpose, several villages in Bandarban and Rangamati districts have been surveyed for estimating the load demand of those villages and the affordability of the potential consumers. Based on the survey results, a village has been selected and a prototype solar-hydro hybrid power plant has been designed. A business model has also been proposed. This report presents the survey methodology, data analysis, and the design for the prototype power plant and the proposal business model

Design and Analysis of an AC Coupled Photovoltaic System for an Off-grid Community in Chittagong Hill Tracts

This paper presents the design of an AC-coupled off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system for a remote village in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh which has no access to national utility grid. A field survey was conducted to collect load demand data of the population for designing an optimal PV system architecture to serve that community. The proposed system consists of 18 kW PV arrays, two 6 kW grid-tied inverters, a 6 kW battery inverter and a 19.2 kWh nominal capacity battery bank. Further, the technical feasibility of the system was evaluated using HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable) Pro software. The analytical results indicate that the proposed AC-coupled stand-alone solar system can meet a load demand of 46.58 kWh at daytime and 7.02 kWh at night in that village. Currently, the infrastructure of proposed PV plant as well as the transmission and distribution network are being developed at the selected site. Moreover, insights into the benefits of AC-coupling over DC-coupling for large off-grid systems in remote hilly areas are provided in the paper

A Review on the Sustainability of Solar Home System for Rural Electrification

For the past 20 years, the solar home system (SHS) has been the dominant means of facilitating energy access for the poorest members of rural communities in the developing world. On paper, SHSs appear to be a sound solution to the difficulties in providing affordable and stable electricity to those likely to be left behind by other approaches. Indeed, evidence to date suggests that use of SHSs has accelerated the global electrification rate. However, there is mounting evidence that the long-term success rate of these systems and their effect on recipient communities is incredibly varied.   Prompted by the results of a survey that uncovered widespread negative experiences amongst SHS users in rural Bangladesh, this study presents the results of a systematic literature review into the existing case studies of global SHS deployments. The search terms and websites used are presented clearly alongside the criteria used to filter results. Having identified a lack of long-term case studies the papers obtained are used to extract insights on the evolving strategy of SHS distribution, the mechanisms of SHS failure and crisis posed therein, and the most exciting areas of research for ensuring that when communities become electrified in future, they stay so. A three-element framework is offered for understanding SHS sustainability; community engagement, affordability, and appropriate maintenance infrastructure

Feasibility Studies on Deploying a Self-Contained Solar-Hydraulic Pilot Power Plant in a Rural Area in Bangladesh

In October 2017, the World Bank reported that Bangladesh continued to reduce poverty - rural poverty decreased from 35.2 to 26.4 percent between 2010 and 2016, but at a slower pace. It is well-accepted that lack of access to electricity is one of the major impediments to growth and development of the rural economies in developing countries (Khandker et al. 2009). In Bangladesh, only 29% of rural areas were covered by the national grid which took up merely 2.27% of the total energy consumption and almost 94.2% of which came from highly polluting fuelwood and other biomass including leaves, crops and dung (BIDS Survey 2004). The problems rural people face in obtaining safe, clean, and reliable energy supplies represent a significant barrier to rural economic development and social well-being (Barnes et al. 2010). Solar energy is an excellent candidate as it is clean, safe and abundant in Bangladesh. Since early 1990s more than four-million solar home systems (SHS) have been installed in Bangladesh and the number is still increasing. However, batteries, especially lead-acid batteries used as energy storage systems in solar off-grid power plants, are considered highly hazardous to environment due to their chemistry. In an effort to eliminate this hazard a novel design hybridizing solar power with hydro power has been conceptualized. In this design surplus electrical energy generated by the solar plant during daytime is stored as potential energy by pumping water into an overhead tank rather than stored as chemical energy in battery for usage after sunset. A prototype system is being designed to develop the proof of concept where a power plant will be installed in an off-grid area of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. For this purpose, several villages in Bandarban and Rangamati districts have been surveyed for estimating the load demand of those villages and the affordability of the potential consumers. Based on the survey results, a village has been selected and a prototype solar-hydro hybrid power plant has been designed. A business model has also been proposed. This report presents the survey methodology, data analysis, and the design for the prototype power plant and the proposal business model