Comparative Analysis of On- and Off-Grid Electrification: The Case of Two South Korean Islands

Abstract

South Korea's main industry is the manufacturing industry, and it requires stable energy. Korea heavily relies on importing oils to produce energy, thus efficient energy management is critical. This is why many renewable and smart energy policies and infrastructure planning are being set up currently. Supplying reliable and sustainable renewable energy to remote areas has especially been questioned; therefore, adopting sustainable and clean energy based on renewable resources cannot be delayed any more. This research examines the most economically, technologically and environmentally suitable energy grid of two South Korean Islands. Several hybrid energy system configurations that analyze and identify the optimal grid-connected and grid-independent hybrid power generation systems are simulated in this study. According to the results of the study, the optimal regionally detached power generation system was the wind-PV-battery-converter hybrid system. At the end of this paper, implications and limitations are discussed.

Renewable Energy Options for a Rural Village in North Korea

“…The capital cost of transmission varies based on geographical features of the location and local labor costs. As this study focuses on a rural electrification project, it references costs from studies on rural electrification projects in South Africa, South Korea, and Myanmar with the range of costs between 18,232 to 43,500 USD/km [8,37,38]. Taking these costs into account, we have measured the distance between the power plants and the village to estimate the distance of transmission lines that need to be extended.…”

“…In Figure 11, Systems 1 through 4 represent an on-grid system using coal generation, an on-grid system using hydro generation, an off-grid system using a lithium-ion ESS, and an off-grid system with a lead-acid battery, respectively. Cases 1, 2, and 3 represent the transmission costs from three different References [8,37,38]. Regardless of the power generation sources and types of transmission cost references, grid extension is more expensive than two off-grid energy systems.…”

Comparative Analysis between the Government Micro-Grid Plan and Computer Simulation Results Based on Real Data: The Practical Case for a South Korean Island

“…Many researchers have dealt with downtown areas and islands [27,28]. Recently, there also has been research on green islands and their influence on both energy independence and hybrid power systems in Southeast Asian countries, especially in South Korea (Table 1) [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. [29] Optimal renewable power generation systems for Busan metropolitan city in South Korea PV-WT-Battery-Converter Using the hybrid renewable energy system in Metropolitan city with 100% of renewable fractions.…”

Decentralised Active Power Control Strategy for Real-Time Power Balance in an Isolated Microgrid with an Energy Storage System and Diesel Generators

“…In [16], a constant-voltage constant-frequency (CVCF) control scheme was adopted for BESSs to maintain frequency and voltages at their rated levels and consequently achieve real-time power balance in an isolated microgrid. In [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], the control scheme was practically applied to isolated microgrids in remote islands (including several islands in South Korea) mainly due to simple implementation and low fluctuations in grid frequency and voltages. However, the scheme requires large capacities of battery and inverters to achieve the real-time power balance under the condition on large variations in load demand and RES power outputs.…”