 Considerations for decision-making on distributed power generation in rural areasMelissa L. Holtmeyer, Shuxiao Wang and Richard L. Axelbaum Energy Policy, 2013, vol. 63, issue C, 708-715 Abstract: Energy resources for rural electrification are variable and widely dispersed, such that a solution for one region might not be appropriate for another. This study evaluates the feasibility of renewable energy technologies, centralized grid extension and local coal-fired power for rural areas that currently do not have sufficient access to electricity. The renewable power generation options considered are solar photovoltaic and wind power, with battery storage or fossil fuel generator backup. New local coal-fired power, as well as extension of the grid from an existing centralized power system, are considered to compare the impacts of scale and traditional approaches to power generation. A case study for a rural area in Northwestern China demonstrates the complexity of energy decision-making when faced with low peak demands and non-ideal renewable resource availability. Economic factors, including cost of electricity generation, breakeven grid extension distance, capacity shortage fraction (the ratio of the annual capacity shortage to the annual electric load) and land use are evaluated. Keywords: Distributed generation; Renewable energy; Rural electrification (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:708-715 DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.087 Access Statistics for this article Energy Policy is currently edited by N. France More articles in Energy Policy from Elsevier |
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