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

Author(s):  
Alexis Bakundukize ◽  
Maurice Twizerimana ◽  
Dushengere Bernadette ◽  
Bizabakoraho Jean Pierre ◽  
Nsekambabaye Theoneste

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.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Kuo-Chi Chang ◽  
Noel Hagumimana ◽  
Jishi Zheng ◽  
Godwin Norense Osarumwense Asemota ◽  
Jean De Dieu Niyonteze ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
Sivaraman P. ◽  
Sharmeela C.

A solar micro inverter is a small-size inverter designed for single solar PV module instead of group of solar PV modules. Each module is equipped with a micro inverter to convert the DC electricity into AC electricity and the micro inverter is placed/installed below the module. The advantages of micro inverters are: reduced effect of shading losses, module degradation and soiling losses, enabled module independence, different rating of micro inverter can be connected in parallel to achieve the desired capacity, additional modules can be included at time which allows the good scalability, string design and sizing are avoided, failure of any micro inverter does not affect the overall power generation, individual MPPT controller for each module increases the power generation, any orientation and tilt angle allows higher design flexibility, lower DC voltage increasing the safety, easy to design, handle and install, requires less maintenance, draws attention of design engineers, contractors, etc.


2018 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 227-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feixiang Peng ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
Xin Sui ◽  
Shubo Hu ◽  
Hui Sun ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Marcos Aurelio Lopes ◽  
Flavio De Moraes ◽  
Francisval Melo Carvalho ◽  
Fabio Raphael Pascotti Bruhn ◽  
Andre Luis Ribeiro Lima ◽  
...  

This study aimed to analyze the effect of each workforce type on the cost-effectiveness of 20 dairy farms participating in the “Full Bucket” program, from January to December 2011, in the State of Rio de Janeiro. A stepwise multiple linear regression was used to identify the production cost components that most affected net margin, profitability, and cost-effectiveness. Workforce type influenced both profitability and cost-effectiveness, as well as total production cost. Economic analysis showed that farms with a hired workforce had the lowest total unit costs and a positive result. This way, the activity is able to produce in the long term and farmers are capitalizing. The farms that adopted mixed and family workforce had a positive net margin and a negative result, obtaining conditions to produce in the medium term. The highest representativeness on the items of effective operating cost in the family workforce stratum, in a descending order, were food, miscellaneous expenses, and energy. The most representative items in the mixed and hired workforce strata were food, workforce, and miscellaneous expenses.


2003 ◽  
pp. 226-233
Author(s):  
Ferenc Apáti

Hungary lies on the northern edge of rice production area. According to this, the climatic conditions area not perfect for this species. The production area of rice involves typically the poorer quality soils, however these meet the requirements of rice. In Hungary exclusively domestic types are grown which have high yield and good quality and these are usually wore successful than foreign types. On the other hand, these Hungarian types should be improved considering safety in production. Nowadays, rice is grown in large scale companies with 300-1400 hectares, where production technology already exists, machinery is suitable, however the latter one a little bit old.The average yields of the analysed companies were 3-4 t/ha in the past few years, which were a little bit above the national averages. The operating cost per hectare is almost 200 thousand HUF, from which the main part is the cost of machinery (35%) and the material cost (34%). The main part of the latter one is the irrigation costs (30%). The average cost, calculated from the total production cost, is 80 thousand HUF/t. Considering the above-mentioned costs and the price of rice (75 thousand HUF/t) it can be stated that the profitability of the rice sector is not the best, the cost rated profitability is -6.6%. According to the results of this analysis possibilities for the increase in profitability and improvement are increased subsidies and market price, as well as genetic improvement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 01007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surender Reddy Salkuti

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.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behnaz Behi ◽  
Ali Baniasadi ◽  
Ali Arefi ◽  
Arian Gorjy ◽  
Philip Jennings ◽  
...  

Achieving the renewable energy integration target will require the extensive engagement of consumers and the private sector in investment and operation of renewable-based energy systems. Virtual power plants are an efficient way to implement this engagement. In this paper, the detailed costs and benefits of implementing a realistic virtual power plant (VPP) in Western Australia, comprising 67 dwellings, are calculated. The VPP is designed to integrate and coordinate rooftop solar photovoltaic panels (PV), vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), heat pump hot water systems (HWSs), and demand management mechanisms. An 810-kW rooftop solar PV system is designed and located using the HelioScope software. The charging and the discharging of a 700-kWh VRFB are scheduled for everyday use over a year using an optimization algorithm, to maximize the benefit of it for the VPP owners and for the residents. The use of heat pump HWSs provides a unique opportunity for the residents to save energy and reduce the total cost of electricity along with demand management on some appliances. The cost-and-benefit analysis shows that the cost of energy will be reduced by 24% per dwelling in the context of the VPP. Moreover, the internal rate of return for the VPP owner is at least 11% with a payback period of about 8.5 years, which is a promising financial outcome.


2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waqasullah Khan Shinwari ◽  
Fahd Ali ◽  
A. H. Nayyar

Solar photovoltaic systems are prohibitively expensive in terms of installation costs. Power from them is also available intermittently—only when energy from the sun is available. On the other hand, PV systems are free of the ever-rising costs of input fuel. They also incur much less operation and maintenance costs and are supposed to have a longer lifetime than, for example, a fossil fuel power plant. Thus using solar-PV power looks uneconomical in the short term, but may be profitable in the long term. It is, therefore, interesting to identify the factors that can make investment in solar PV power generation acceptable. This paper carries out a financial analysis of installing a 10 MW solar photovoltaic power generation plant for sale of electricity to a grid. It compares the levelised cost of this mode of energy generation as compared to a fossil fuel plant. It also calculates the cost of electricity generation and tariff for power from this plant. It then identifies the factors that can make the investment in a grid-scale solar PV plant more favourable than investment in other conventional and non-renewable sources.


The main aim of this work is to check the bio fouling in cooling tower and its effect on power generation. The way to reduce bio fouling is necessary issue within the thermal power station, as it results in reduction of the heat transfer rate and ultimately reduction in the power generation rate of plant. So as to attenuate the energy consumption in process plant equipped with device network. In various branches of chemical industries fouling builds up on heat transfer surfaces is a heat transfer equipment burning extra fuel to compensate for a reduced heat recovery accepting reduction of plant output due to periodic equipment cleaning and recovering the cost of cleaning interventions. Microbiological fouling can cause energy losses and loss of tower efficiency. The pilot plant is very useful in the thermal power plant to test the cooling water and then it is used in the thermal power plant to reduce the losses due to the bio fouling. In large power plant they having pilot plant with PLC system and microprocessor with highly accurate sensors. It will give very accurate and direct digital readings on screen


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Pragya Singh ◽  
Aayushi Priya

Economic Load Dispatch, ELD can be defined as the way of allocating the load level to the generators of the power plant in such a way that the total demand would be supplied in a most economic manner and completely. In a practical power system, the power plants are not located at the same distance from the centre of loads and their fuel costs are different. Also, under normal operating conditions, the generation capacity is more than the total load demand and losses. Thus, there are many options for scheduling generation. In an interconnected power system, the objective is to find the real and reactive power scheduling of each power plant in such a way as to minimize the operating cost. This means that the generator‟s real and reactive powers are allowed to vary within certain limits so as to meet a particular load demand with minimum fuel cost. This is called optimal power flow problem. In this paper, Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) of real power generation is considered. Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) is the scheduling of generators to minimize total operating cost of generator units subjected to equality constraint of power balance within the minimum and maximum operating limits of the generating units. This paper gives a survey of research work covering the concept of economic load dispatch. Economic load dispatch gives the best saving in cost for any power generation plant operation in which the methodology can be applied by various means from conventional to the advanced. In the past years up to 90s, the conventional techniques were used to make this happen but in the past decades AI techniques have fulfilled the requirements with satisfactory results that are being reviewed.


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