Advanced analysis of load management and environment friendly energy technologies integration in electric power system

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) in the United Kingdom places its primary emphasis on six distinct development-related themes namely, science and technology for development, strengthening health systems, promoting global prosperity, strengthening resilience and response to crises, access, inclusion, and opportunity, and strengthening global peace, security, and governance. My motivation as a Commonwealth scholar, comes from the discussion surrounding the application of science and technology for the development, which is related to the seventh among 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). The endorsed goal aims at ensuring that all people have access to energy that is both clean and affordable. In this context, my research focuses on the advanced analysis of load management and energy conservation strategies in developing countries, with Rwanda as its primary focus. Firstly, this research work supports the development of Rwanda's energy system and addresses gaps in the existing energy data by proposing a set of Future Energy Scenarios (FES). The developed FES are used to estimate the energy consumption and generation capacity until 2050. Secondly, this research analyses the impact of technologies that are adopted in the developed FES on the Rwanda’s power system. As Electric Vehicles (EVs) are highlighted as an important component in decarbonisation of transport, the study analyses the EVs deployment into the country’s transport and electricity networks. Another challenge that this research is addressing, is the impact the proposed FESs imposes on the power system inertia constant as a result of the integration of renewable energy sources. This is because conventional power plants are replaced by renewable generation (e.g., photovoltaics considered in this study) that contribute to the reduction of power system inertia. In addition to the feasibility study for the deployment of EVs in the country’s transport and electricity networks, this research also developed a methodology to estimates the inertia constant for three different periods in future, namely, 2025, 2035 and 2050 based on the produced FESs for Rwandan’s power system. Furthermore, the research evaluates the frequency response dynamics for each scenario. Results show that the highest progression in renewable energy sources penetration results in a larger reduction in the system inertia constant. The largest frequency drop was observed during the high progression scenario in the year 2050 where the PV generation and imported power from neighbouring countries through interconnectors is expected to reach more than 30% of the total installed capacity. Finally, to mitigate this large drop in frequency, the work proposed a method for stabilising grid frequency by considering demand flexibility. With the help of the load aggregator, prosumers receive price incentive signals based on their energy consumption and prepare them for their participation in grid frequency stabilisation. By considering the operation of a wide range of renewable energy sources and load management system, the study investigates the reduction of the total reliance on electricity from the grid, in day-ahead and real-time energy markets, while also balancing an anticipated load. The proposed control framework considers the estimated power availability and it is used in conjunction with the participation of a load aggregator for contributing to the stabilisation of grid frequency

Feasibility study and impacts of EV penetration in Rwanda's MV distribution networks

Road transport has been identified as one of the top contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector in Rwanda [1]. The Ministry of Environment in its Third National Communication Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change proposed different mitigation solutions including the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel efficiency systems. The main motivation is to replace diesel-fuelled cars with EVs starting from 2020 in Rwanda [1]. EVs are projected to replace 150,000 passenger cars by 2050 and according to the projection, these EVs will require an average of 30 kWh per 100 km [1]. In this paper, a feasibility study of introducing EVs in Rwanda’s transport system is investigated. Simulation results show that 1.5% of the registered private vehicles, 10% of the registered buses and 10% of the registered taxis charging at 10 kW can be replaced with EVs with a minimal impact on voltage profiles. This study found that 1%, 8% and 8% of the registered private vehicles, buses and taxis can be supported with 20 kW chargers. However, an addition of two large-scale distributed generation (DG) units is required with 20 kW chargers in the network

Dynamic modeling of energy consumption pattern of a typical Nigerian average urban and rural household for microgrid PV design

The knowledge of consumer electricity consumption is essential for the design of smart grid integration strategies and distributed generation. In recent times, the total energy consumption in the residential sector has continued to increase resulting from economic expansions, population and floor area growth which is an indication of a consistently increasing demand. Energy independence as part of the solution to energy efficiency has become a pressing issue for today's society. Using AutoCAD software alongside with an Excel spreadsheet, the average-demand, load factor, demand-factor and unit power density of the designed building were computed for an average urban and rural household. The hourly load profile of the building and percentage energy usage across both locations for the various seasons were determined. Lastly, a comparative performance of LED and Incandescent Lighting schemes were examined. It is hoped that the results of this study would help the decisions of the residential energy users