Multicriteria-based methodology for the design of rural electrification systems. A case study in Nigeria

Abstract

Electrification with micro-grids is receiving increasing attention to electrify rural areas in developing countries. However, determining the best local supply solution is a complex problem that requires considering different generation technologies (i.e. solar PV, wind or diesel) and different system configurations (off-grid or on-grid). Most existing decision aid tools to assess this design only consider economical and technical issues in a single optimization process. However, social and environmental considerations have been proven key issues to ensure long-term sustainability of the projects. In this context, the objective of this work is to develop a multicriteria procedure to allow comparing electrification designs with on-grid or isolated micro-grids and different technologies considering multiple aspects. This multicriteria procedure is integrated in a two-phased methodology to assist the design of the system to electrification promoters in a structured process. First, different electrification alternatives are generated with an open-source techno-economic optimization model; next, these alternatives are evaluated and ranked with the multicriteria procedure, which considers 12 criteria representing economic, technical, socio-institutional and environmental aspects. The whole design methodology is validated with a real case study of 26 population settlements in Plateau State, Nigeria. Experts in rural electrification within the Nigerian context have been consulted to weight the criteria and particularize their evaluation for the specific case study. Results show that solar PV technology based systems are the most suitable electrification designs for communities in Nigeria, while grid connection feasibility depends on the size of the community and the distance to the closest national grid consumption point. Highlights • Rural electrification designs are compared with a multicriteria procedure. • Economic, technical, social and environmental aspects are considered. • The procedure is validated with a case study of 26 communities in Nigeria. • Experts in rural electrification have been contacted to weight the criteria. • Final results recommend PV technology-based systems.

Potential for Increased Rural Electrification Rate in Sub-Saharan Africa using SWER Power Distribution Networks

“…The reason to select this location is to impart benefits of electrification to the community, which were shown in another similar location in Tanzania (Ngowi et al, 2019), India (Jamasb et al, 2015), and Zimbabwe (Davidson and Mwakasonda, 2004). Further, grid connection feasibility depends on community size and the distance from the closest grid point (Juanpera et al, 2020;Karhammar, 2006), and for the case study of this paper, the community size is sparse populated, about 20 km from the grid, and rural location. Da Silva et al (2001) showed a cost saving of 29% for a RE in Uganda, if SWER is used to connect about 200,000 inhabitants of rural remote areas.…”

Socio-economic impacts of energy access through off-grid systems in rural communities: a case study of southwest Nigeria

“…Conversely, Li et al [ 21 ] reported a BGED of 9.71 km for a remote village in West China which can be potentially powered by biomass, wind and solar energy resources. As a rule of thumb, Juanpera et al [ 22 ] noted that extending the grid to a remote community in Nigeria is only feasible when the community is large and at a distance not longer than 25 km to the national grid.…”

Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review

“…The same goes for taking into account good practices that have been identified in different case studies to make better assumptions when estimating the chances of success of new microgrid projects [69,201]. Finally, some studies go a little deeper by providing complete models for microgrid deployment [202], systemic methods for microgrid design [51,203], or techno-economic optimization frameworks [204,205].…”