Methodology for Sizing Hybrid Battery-Backed Power Generation Systems in Off-Grid Areas

Abstract

In developing countries, rural electrification in areas with limited or no access to grid connection is one of the most challenging issues for governments. These areas are partially integrated with the electrical grid. This poor electricity distribution is mainly due to geographical inaccessibility, rugged terrains, lack of electrical infrastructure, and high required economic investment for installing large gridconnected power lines over long distances to provide electricity for regions with a low population. On the other hand, rapid depletion of fossil fuel resources on a global scale and progressive increase of energy demand and fuel price are other motives to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. Hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) can be a suitable option for such remote areas. The objective of this chapter is to develop a methodology for sizing hybrid power generation systems (solardiesel), battery-backed in non-interconnected zones, which minimizes the total cost and maximizes the reliability of supply using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The proposed methodology assists the sizing and designing process of an HRES for an off-grid area minimizing the cost of energy (COE) and maximizing the reliability of the system. Economic incentives offered by the Colombian government are considered in the model.

Sizing Assessment of Islanded Microgrids Considering Total Investment Cost and Tax Benefits in Colombia

“…An hourly power model was adopted for the PV array (E pv t ), which is calculated using Equation (1). A more in-depth description of this model is presented in [39].…”

“…In Equation ( 2), α p is the temperature coefficient of maximum power %/C, T stc is the temperature in standard test conditions and T cell is calculated by Equation (3) [39].…”

“…The maximum flow of energy to avoid overheating when charging or discharging the BESS, labeled as E max , is defined by Equation (10), where C rate is the capacity rate in hours [39].…”

“…Several economic indicators can be implemented when sizing MGs [7,39]. These include: net present cost (NPC), life-cycle cost (LCC), annual system costs (ASC) and levelised cost of energy (LCOE).…”

“…The LCOE can be expressed as the ratio between the total cost and total energy consumed by the load in the project lifetime. The economic model assumes that the yearly load served is constant during the lifetime of the project, as in [39]. This can be calculated by Equation ( 14), where T is the horizon time that needs to be evaluated, Eload t is the energy required by the load at time t and PENS t indicates the energy that is not supplied to the load at time t. In this case, ASC is the summation of capital, replacement, operation and maintenance costs, as indicated by Equation (15).…”