Miriam Madziga and Abdulla Rahil
The current use and shift from fossil fuels to renewable resources is not the only reason for adopting alternative energy resources. Certain rural communities lack the access to the available resources, due to multiple factors: proximity, technical-skill, access, off-grid systems and socio-economic factors. Even though the most frequently sort out renewable system for electrification is solar energy, particularly for temperate climates with vast abundance and high solar radiation. The contribution of solar energy harnessed using photovoltaic panels has been significantly beneficial to remote areas off-grid with no access to main grid system; other challenges encountered are varied, depending on the project outcome. Some of which are cost optimization and storage units. The demand and supply side response for electrification has largely been determined by the prevailing market rate. A demand side response (DSR) approach is applied to tackle this challenge, this determines the current energy requirements of the community and identifies the optimal hybrid system with or without storage. For this analysis, two systems scenarios were modelled: (1) PV with Diesel Generator System and (2) PV with Battery Storage System. In each system four photovoltaic panels (PV) sizes which were chosen, tested and analysed for optimal sizing. The PV sizes were 0.4 kW, 0.6 kW, 0.8 kW and 1 kW. The optimization between these sizes was built based on three main objectives – (a) Energy Demand Satisfaction /Demand Side Response (b) System Cost and (c) pollution. In both system scenarios, the optimal size was the 1 kW with battery storage and 1 kW with diesel generator. A further comparative analysis was carried out between the two systems; when the diesel generator is used and when the battery is applied. Both scenarios can sufficiently meet the demand without any considerable interruption, but disparities exist between them in relation to cost and technical optimization. A highly significant difference in the costs between the two system scenarios were detected. The total cost in PV-Battery system represents only 26% of the PV system. Also, the PV and Battery system does not release any harmful emissions compared with nearly 6 tCO2 /year in the PV with Diesel system.
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