scholarly journals Standalone and Minigrid-Connected Solar Energy Systems for Rural Application in Rwanda: An In Situ Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Kuo-Chi Chang ◽  
Noel Hagumimana ◽  
Jishi Zheng ◽  
Godwin Norense Osarumwense Asemota ◽  
Jean De Dieu Niyonteze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Generation Model ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Product Price

In recent years, several factors such as environmental pollution, declining fossil fuel supplies, and product price volatility have led to most countries investing in renewable energy sources. In particular, the development of photovoltaic (PV) microgrids, which can be standalone, off-grid connected or grid-connected, is seen as one of the most viable solutions that could help developing countries such as Rwanda to minimize problems related to energy shortage. The country’s current electrification rate is estimated to be 59.7%, and hydropower remains Rwanda’s primary source of energy (with over 43.8% of its total energy supplies) despite advances in solar technology. In order to provide affordable electricity to low-income households, the government of Rwanda has pledged to achieve 48% of its overal electrification goals from off-grid solar systems by 2024. In this paper, we develop a cost-effective power generation model for a solar PV system to power households in rural areas in Rwanda at a reduced cost. A performance comparison between a single household and a microgrid PV system is conducted by developing efficient and low-cost off-grid PV systems. The battery model for these two systems is 1.6 kWh daily load with 0.30 kW peak load for a single household and 193.05 kWh/day with 20.64 kW peak load for an off-grid PV microgrid. The hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) software is used to determine the system size and its life cycle cost including the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC) for each of these power generation models. The analysis shows that the optimal system’s NPC, LCOE, electricity production, and operating cost are estimated to 1,166,898.0 USD, 1.28 (USD/kWh), 221, and 715.0 (kWh per year, 37,965.91 (USD per year), respectively, for microgrid and 9284.4(USD), 1.23 (USD/kWh), and 2426.0 (kWh per year, 428.08 (USD per year), respectively, for a single household (standalone). The LCOE of a standalone PV system of an independent household was found to be cost-effective compared with a microgrid PV system that supplies electricity to a rural community in Rwanda.

scholarly journals Design and Modelling of PV Power Plant for Rural Electrification in Kayonza, Rwanda

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-55
Author(s):  
Alexis Bakundukize ◽  
Maurice Twizerimana ◽  
Dushengere Bernadette ◽  
Bizabakoraho Jean Pierre ◽  
Nsekambabaye Theoneste
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Mean Power ◽  
Pv Modules ◽  
The Cost

Aims: This study aimed to design and model an off-grid SPV power plant with a storage system to meet the load required in Rwisirabo village. Study Design:  PV modules, inverter, charge controller, and Batteries have been designed, reproduced/simulated, and optimized for the rural area of Rwisirabo village in Kayonza district, Eastern Province, Rwanda. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment has been done in the University of Rwanda/ African Centre of Excellence in Energy Studies for Sustainable Development (UR/ACE-ESD) High E-Tech Smart Grid Laboratory, Kigali, Rwanda between October 2020 and February 2021. Methodology: Different methodologies have been applied to address the objective of this work. The site was identified, problems of the community were clearly stated, data required for the work was collected through various data collection mechanisms, and different literature was reviewed to identify the way to do this work. The data were collected from different sources and were analysed using a software tool (HOMER software) and simulated for getting a solution for the problems and challenged accordingly. An Off-grid Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant was established in Rwisirabo village in Kayonza District, Rwanda. This site has been chosen because, in the Mwiri sector, Kageyo cellule in Rwisirabo (Rwisirabo II) village is listed by National Electrification Plan (NEP) as the site to construct an off-grid solar PV Power Plant. Results: Based on the load assessment and the design of the SPV system, the primary AC load of the village was 551,718 kWh/day with a peak load of 85.10 kW, the deferrable load was about 9.99 kWh/day and a deferrable peak load of 2.00 kW with the cost of energy (COE) $0.200/kWh were involved during optimization of the power plant. It also found that the peak demand of the community occurs from 18:00 to 20:00 hours because most of the household members would expect to be at their homes. The system items such as PV module, batteries, and inverter size have been found as an optimum system with 220 kW, 860 BAE PVS 210 batteries, and 110 kW respectively with a lifespan of 25 years of the project. The total net present cost (NPC), initial capital, operating cost, and Levelized COE for this off-grid SPV system were $903,829, $517,000, $17,522, and $0.200/kWh respectively. The monthly results of power generation in kW obtained after stimulation with software showed that the solar radiation is high in March, July, August, and September which brings more electric power generation. However, all months the power electricity remain generated. Results from simulation showed that this system generated mean power output of 220 kW and total production of 297,291 kWh/year. It approved that the system converter contributed the lowest NPC with $52,888.25 (6%), followed by PV modules that cost $244,284.28 (27%) and battery bank the first for this SPV system with a cost of $606,656.60 (67%). This optimal system uses 100% renewable energy. Conclusion: It found that the implementation of an SPV system with battery storage in residential, commercial, and institutions in the area where the solar irradiance is concentrated across a country will reduce the cost of electricity and power interruption on the national grid. Therefore, further work is needed to optimize this system for rural electrification as well by integrating with other renewable sources available in the country and also extend the electrification to another area that is detached from the national grid.

scholarly journals Inverter Control Performance Study on Solar PV Systems and Its Effect on Power Quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandana Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Photovoltaic System ◽  
Energy Curve ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Grid Connection

Power generation faces a major challenge in meeting peak load requirements. Energy suppliers are highly dependent on fossil fuels due to the limited resources of non-renewable energy production. Therefore, researchers and scientists are looking for distributed generators (DGs) to provide additional power during peak periods of the energy curve. Solar energy gives them an extra twist to meet the load demand during this time. As a result, the grid-based solar photovoltaic (PV) system is attracting particular attention from researchers and industry in order to reduce the burden of fossil fuel power generation. Single-stage and two-stage photovoltaic systems are suitable for grid connection with or without battery holder. This article provides a comprehensive overview of a grid connected solar system. The entire architecture of the on-grid photovoltaic system includes the construction of a photovoltaic generator, MPPT methods and DC-DC converters.

scholarly journals Battery Sizing for Different Loads and RES Production Scenarios through Unsupervised Clustering Methods

Forecasting ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-681
Author(s):  
Alfredo Nespoli ◽  
Andrea Matteri ◽  
Silvia Pretto ◽  
Luca De De Ciechi ◽  
Emanuele Ogliari
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Hybrid Plant ◽  
Unsupervised Clustering ◽  
Clustering Methods ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Feasible Solutions ◽  
Battery Energy

The increasing penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) in the energy mix is determining an energy scenario characterized by decentralized power production. Between RESs power generation technologies, solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) systems constitute a very promising option, but their production is not programmable due to the intermittent nature of solar energy. The coupling between a PV facility and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) allows to achieve a greater flexibility in power generation. However, the design phase of a PV+BESS hybrid plant is challenging due to the large number of possible configurations. The present paper proposes a preliminary procedure aimed at predicting a family of batteries which is suitable to be coupled with a given PV plant configuration. The proposed procedure is applied to new hypothetical plants built to fulfill the energy requirements of a commercial and an industrial load. The energy produced by the PV system is estimated on the basis of a performance analysis carried out on similar real plants. The battery operations are established through two decision-tree-like structures regulating charge and discharge respectively. Finally, an unsupervised clustering is applied to all the possible PV+BESS configurations in order to identify the family of feasible solutions.

Cost Effective Design & Control of DC-DC Converter for Solar PV System with MPPT

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhajit Roy ◽  
Rishabh Dev Shukla ◽  
Rupendranath Chakrabarti ◽  
Sudeshna Nath ◽  
Ananya De ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Solar Pv System ◽  
Effective Design

Impact of Storage Integrated Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Power System on Utility Peak Loads

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Agyenim-Boateng ◽  
R. F. Boehm
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Transient Behavior ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Photovoltaic System ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Grid Load ◽  
The Impact

The promise of large-scale use of renewables such as wind and solar for supplying electrical power is tempered by the sources’ transient behavior and the impact this would have on the operation of the grid. One way of addressing this is through the use of supplemental energy storage. While the technology for the latter has not been proven on a large scale or to be economical at the present time, some assessments of what magnitude is required can be made. In performing this work we have used NREL’s Solar Advisor Model (SAM 2010) with TMY3 solar data to estimate the photovoltaic system power generation. Climatic conditions close to load centers were chosen for the simulations. Then the PV output for varying sizes of arrays were examined and the impact of varying amounts of storage investigated. The storage was characterized by maximum limiting energy and power capacities based on annual hourly peak load, as well as its charging and discharging efficiencies. The simulations were performed using hourly time steps with energy withdrawn from, or input to, storage only after considering base generation and the PV system output in serving the grid load. In this work, we examined the load matching capability of solar PV generation (orientated for maximum summer output) for a sample Southwestern US utility grid load of 2008. Specifically we evaluated the daily and seasonal peak load shifting with employing varying storage capacities. The annual average energy penetration based on the usable solar PV output is also examined under these conditions and at different levels of system flexibility.

Solar PV Power Generation Forecasting and O&M Management Applications: A Review

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Tao Yang ◽  
Wei Gao ◽  
Yong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Electricity Market ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Complex Data ◽  
Paper Machine ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Complex Data Sets ◽  
Pv Power Generation

Abstract The growing resource shortage and environmental concerns have forced mankind to develop and utilize renewable energy sources. The penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the electricity market has been increasing over the past few decades due to its low construction costs, zero pollution nature, and enormous support from governments. However, the intermittency and randomness of PV power also cause huge grid fluctuations which limit its integration in the system. An accurate forecasting of solar PV power generation and optimization of operation and maintenance (O&M) management are essential for further development of the solar PV farms. A great number of related researches have been done in recent years. A review of PV power generation forecasting techniques together with their brief applications on the optimization of O&M management is presented in this paper. Machine learning methods are thought to be the most suitable at the present stage because of their ease of implementation and their capability in processing non-linear, complex data sets. Typical forecasting accuracy measures are summarized and further applications of PV power forecasting on the O&M management are also presented.

scholarly journals METHOD FOR HARVESTING SOLAR ENERGY

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Hussain Bassi
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pictorial Representation ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Degradation Rates ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Efficient Power

The cooling of the surface of the solar photovoltaic (PV) system is a major operative factor in achieving greater efficiency. Correct cooling can improve electrical efficiency and reduce cell degradation rates over time. This results in increasing the life of the solar PV modules. In industrial and domestic utilization, the cooling system is used for the removal of excess heat. This paper presents a new method for cooling systems for solar PV. The additional feature of the method has been the tracking of sunlight for efficient power generation. Further, the extra heat can be utilized for other purposes including heating and power generation through thermal means. The concept of the proposed system has been explained in detail with the pictorial representation. Also, for the validation of the improved performance of the proposed system, a detailed comparison with the conventional methods have been provided for five different cities of Saudi Arabia. The proposed system shows improved performance for all operating conditions.

scholarly journals Interpretation of MPPT Techniques in Grid Connected Solar PV Array System

IJOSTHE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Neha Singh ◽  
Prof. Govind Prasad Pandiya
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Partial Shading ◽  
System Architectures ◽  
Pv Systems ◽  
Pv Array ◽  
Uniform Condition

Solar energy is one of the most used and readily available renewable energy sources among the other energy sources. The power generated by PV systems is dependent on solar irradiance and temperature parameters. In the literature, many researchers and studies are interested in estimating true maximum efficiency point for the PV systems. Due to that fact, MPPT applications and techniques become an important issue for PV systems under both uniform and non uniform conditions. Although, PV system under uniform environment has only one maxima point on P-V curve which is simple to estimate correctly by conventional MPPT techniques, it is not as simple as under non-uniform condition such as partial shading and mismatch effects. To overcome the drawbacks of the conventional MPPTs under non uniform condition, researchers has been investigated new soft computing MPPTs, PV array configurations, system architectures and topologies.

scholarly journals Optimal Operation of Microgrid considering Renewable Energy Sources, Electric Vehicles and Demand Response

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 01007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surender Reddy Salkuti
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Demand Response ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
The Cost

This paper proposes a new optimal operation of Microgrids (MGs) in a distribution system with wind energy generators (WEGs), solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems, battery energy storage (BES) systems, electric vehicles (EVs) and demand response (DR). To reduce the fluctuations of wind, solar PV powers and load demands, the BES systems and DR are utilized in the proposed hybrid system. The detailed modeling of WEGs, solar PV units, load demands, BES systems and EVs has been presented in this paper. The objective considered here is the minimization of total operating cost of microgrid, and it is formulated by considering the cost of power exchange between the main power grid and microgrid, cost of wind and solar PV energy systems, cost of BES systems, EVs and the cost due to the DR in the system. Simulations are performed on a test microgrid, and they are implemented using GAMS software. Various case studies are performed with and without considering the proposed hybrid system.

Using Homer Software for Cost Analysis of Stand-Alone Power Generation for Small Scale Industry in Nigeria: A Case Study Lumatec Aluminium Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-102
Author(s):  
Luqman Raji ◽  
Zhigilla Y.I ◽  
Wadai J
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Small Scale Industry ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Small Scale Industries

Nigeria is one of developing countries in the world that experience shortage of electricity for her economic and social development. In Nigeria, most of the small-scale industries use diesel/petrol-based systems to generate their electricity. However, due to the cost fluctuation of oil and gas fuel, an alternative power generation should be considered. This paper targets to examine the cost analysis of system for supplying electricity to LUMATEC Aluminium products shop in Mubi, Adamawa state Nigeria. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) is used as a tool for cost analysis. The scenario consider in this study was only stand-alone with battery system. Results revealed that the system have 10kW PV with cost of electricity (COE) of $0.312/kW. The initial capital cost and total net present cost (NPC) are $21.775 and $26.148 respectively, with payback period of 5.8years. In conclusion, this study provides the solution of power supply to the small-scale industries at cost effective and available throughout the year and it is feasible to solve the small-scale industries, rural and urban electricity supplying in this country (Nigeria). It is recommended that Nigerian Government & Law makers should promotes the use of standalone PV system for domestic and small-scale industry by providing financial assistance through soft loans, subsides and grants.

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