Abstract
Photovoltaic microgrids provide free renewable energy solutions for Rwandans. Although solar technology keeps on its advancement, hydropower remains the principal power source in Rwanda. Other renewable power sources include wind and geothermal energies that are not yet fully exploited. Nonrenewable sources in Rwanda including methane, peat, thermal, and fuels are also used for providing energy solutions for the citizens. Rwanda Energy Group (REG) sets the energy strategic plan since 2015 for achieving the minimum of 512 MW of energy production in 2024/2025 to meet the total energy demand. The plan predicted 52% for grid-connected and 48% for off-grid (standalone) connections. The literature survey and data analysis collected on site were used to evaluate and determine the best cheaper microgrid model from the three comparison case studies for the household in Rwanda. The study focused on the economic power generation model mainly based on solar resources to minimize the electricity cost and provide income for the excess energy produced. Moreover, the study resulted in a low-cost (four times cheaper), reliable, and affordable grid-connected PV and battery microgrid model for a residential home with a minimum daily load of 5.467 kWh. The simulation results based on economic comparison analysis found the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC) for each power-generated model by using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (Homer) pro software. The results show that the LCOE for electricity production by each of the Grid connected-PV-Battery system, Diesel GenSet-PV-Batteries, and PV-Batteries systems was 0.0645 US$/1 kWh, 1.38 US$/1 kWh and 1.82 US$/1 kWh, respectively, compared with 0.2621 US$/1 kWh, the current residential electricity price (2020) for Rwanda.
Highlights
Photovoltaic technology has been an important topic for researchers from the last decade up to date
With Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (Homer) Pro software, three case studies are analyzed for a residential home of 5,467 kWh/day in Kigali city with the following components: The national utility grid price per unit (0.2621 US$/kWh) [5], Canadian solar superpower CS6K-295MS, Generic 1 kWh Li-ion Battery of advanced kinetic storage model (ASM) model, and the System converter with the model Leonics, MTP-413F
The following are the detailed cost summary results obtained from simulations with Homer Pro for the three respective schematic models
Summary
Photovoltaic technology has been an important topic for researchers from the last decade up to date. Other sources of renewable energy are wind, fuel cells, biogas, tidal, and geothermal that can be produced to generate electricity locally [1]. To avoid the effect of instant varying solar insolation, a backup energy storage system has been provided by so many authors. In Rwanda, a lot of effort is currently made to sensitize private investors on the implementation of solar energy projects to remove the big gap between electricity demand and power generation capacity [4]. This paper starts by Introduction, Literature Survey, Methodology, Optimization Results and Analysis with Homer Pro Software, Comparison of Different State-of-the-Art Results with the Proposed Study, and Conclusion
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