Abstract
The Bolivian government’s concerns that are related to reducing the consumption of diesel fuel, which is imported, subsidized, and provided to isolated electric plants in rural communities, have led to the implementation of hybrid power systems. Therefore, this article presents the performance analysis in terms of energy efficiency, economic feasibility, and environmental sustainability of a photovoltaic (PV)/Stirling battery system. The analysis includes the dynamic start-up and cooling phases of the system, and then compares its performance with a hybrid photovoltaic (PV)/diesel/battery system, whose configuration is usually more common. Both systems were initially optimized in size using the well-known energy optimization software tool, HOMER. An estimated demand for a hypothetical case study of electrification for a rural village of 102 households, called “Tacuaral de Mattos”, was also considered. However, since the characteristics of the proposed systems required a detailed analysis of its dynamics, a dynamic model that complemented the HOMER analysis was developed using MATLAB Simulink TM 8.9. The results showed that the PV/Stirling battery system represented a higher performance option to implement in the electrification project, due to its good environmental sustainability (69% savings in CO2 emissions), economic criterion (11% savings in annualized total cost), and energy efficiency (5% savings in fuel energy conversion).
Highlights
The role of electricity is essential for the economic and social development in a community [1].around 850 million people around the world do not have access to electricity
Considering the information provided above, this study aims to evaluate the performance of a hybrid system comprised of PV panels, a Stirling engine, and batteries, and compare it with a typical PV/diesel/battery system in order to provide clean, reliable and low-cost electricity to a rural community in Bolivia
Solar array, a 7.1 kW diesel generator, a 4.62 kW bidirectional inverter, and a 44.88 kWh VRLA gel lead-acid battery bank, which is equivalent to 34 batteries
Summary
The role of electricity is essential for the economic and social development in a community [1].around 850 million people around the world do not have access to electricity. Many more suffer from a low-quality service, generally in rural areas [2]. Under this consideration, developing countries are making strenuous efforts to sponsor the expansion of electricity generation systems in remote areas. A hybrid power system could represent a promising solution for isolated communities. This type of system integrates diverse renewable and non-renewable technologies and storage components with an appropriate operation and control strategy [4,5]. Despite the benefits of hybrid energy systems, they confront several challenges such as the forecasting of uncertain renewable energy potential, the evolution of Energies 2020, 13, 980; doi:10.3390/en13040980 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
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