Abstract
Rural electrification programs usually do not consider the impact that the increment of demand has on the reliability of off-grid photovoltaic (PV)/battery systems. Based on meteorological data and electricity consumption profiles from the highlands of Bolivian Altiplano, this paper presents a modelling and simulation framework for analysing the performance and reliability of such systems. Reliability, as loss of power supply probability (LPSP), and cost were calculated using simulated PV power output and battery state of charge profiles. The effect of increasing the suppressed demand (SD) by 20% and 50% was studied to determine how reliable and resilient the system designs are. Simulations were performed for three rural application scenarios: a household, a school, and a health centre. Results for the household and school scenarios indicate that, to overcome the SD effect, it is more cost-effective to increase the PV power rather than to increase the battery capacity. However, with an increased PV-size, the battery ageing rate would be higher since the cycles are performed at high state of charge (SOC). For the health centre application, on the other hand, an increase in battery capacity prevents the risk of electricity blackouts while increasing the energy reliability of the system. These results provide important insights for the application design of off-grid PV-battery systems in rural electrification projects, enabling a more efficient and reliable source of electricity.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.