Design and Modeling of a Standalone DC-Microgrid for Off-Grid Schools in Rural Areas of Developing Countries

Yohannes Biru Aemro, Pedro Moura and Aníbal T. de Almeida
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Yohannes Biru Aemro: Energy for Sustainability Initiative, MIT-Portugal Program, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
Pedro Moura: Institute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
Aníbal T. de Almeida: Institute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: Energy access is critical for health, education and social welfare improvements. In countries like Ethiopia, with a low electrification rate and with the majority of the population located in rural areas, about 76% of primary schools do not have access to electricity. This limits the hours of classes and does not allow the use of basic or modern teaching resources. Off-grid solutions have emerged as potential cost-effective alternatives to electrify rural areas and schools, but the availability of off-grid appliances and the size of the system can lead to different solutions. Therefore, this study proposes a DC microgrid system to supply the electricity demand of a rural school located in Ethiopia, considering load estimation scenarios with standard and high-efficiency appliances. The simulation results show that the designed DC microgrid is a valid option to electrify the rural school under each load and generation scenarios. The system costs were also evaluated, and the high-efficiency appliances option has a 51% lower cost. The study also applies to other sub-Saharan countries in the region with very low energy access rates and abundant solar energy, thus giving a large contribution to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Education Goal 4 (SDG 4).

Keywords: energy access; DC microgrid; solar photovoltaic (PV); battery storage system; off-grid efficient appliances; school energy; UN2030 agenda for sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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