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Energies
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Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects
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Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D: Energy Storage and Application".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2022) | Viewed by 25083
Please submit your paper and select the Journal "Energies" and the Special Issue "Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects" via: https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=energies. Please contact the journal editor Adele Min ([email protected]) before submitting.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Laia Ferrer-Martí

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament of Mechanical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya—BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: multicriteria decision-making; quantitative methods; energy systems; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Bruno Domenech

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: optimization of energy systems, multicriteria decision analysis, supply chain design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Alberto García-Villoria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya- BarcelonaTech, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: rural electrification; renewable energy; microgrids; developing countries; multicriteria; design optimization; sustainability assessment; energy planning; decision aid tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electricity access is still a challenge in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, particularly in rural and isolated regions. Many government and private institutions are involved in national and/or regional programs aiming to extend electricity using different strategies. Among these, renewable energy-based projects have proven an appropriate option in areas far from the national grid. Unfortunately, lack of confidence in such technologies among some rural electrification promoters is creating a policy barrier to their dissemination and the achievement of universal electricity access.

In this context, this Special Issue aims to gather and compile experiences on sustainability assessment, analysis, and planning of renewable-based electrification projects worldwide in order to overcome the existing barriers. The objective is to provide institutions involved on rural electrification with appropriate tools for implementing sustainable initiatives in the medium and long term. Papers are invited in all different areas of electricity access, since it has become a global challenge recognized by the United Nations (Sustainability Development Goal #7) and involves technical, economic, social, environmental, and institutional issues. Both theoretical and experimental work and, especially, the combination of these are welcomed. Recent progresses on electricity access at some countries have attracted attention with regard to the interconnection of isolated projects with the national grid, so papers addressing such a challenge are also encouraged.

Topics of interest for publication include but are not limited to the following:

  • Local-scale renewable-based electrification projects;
  • Regional-scale renewable-based electrification programs;
  • Sustainability assessment of electricity access experiences;
  • Use of multicriteria tools for decision analysis;
  • Use of optimization techniques as a design support;
  • Social impacts assessment;
  • Management models.

Prof. Dr. Laia Ferrer-Martí
Dr. Bruno Domenech
Prof. Dr. Alberto García-Villoria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rural electrification
  • renewable energy
  • microgrids
  • developing countries
  • multicriteria decision analysis
  • energy policy
  • energy planning
  • sustainability assessment
  • design tools

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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31 pages, 39391 KiB  
Article
A Rising Role for Decentralized Solar Minigrids in Integrated Rural Electrification Planning? Large-Scale, Least-Cost, and Customer-Wise Design of Grid and Off-Grid Supply Systems in Uganda
by Andrés González-García, Pedro Ciller, Stephen Lee, Rafael Palacios, Fernando de Cuadra García and José Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga
Energies 2022, 15(13), 4517; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134517 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3014
Abstract
Increasing Uganda’s low electrification rate is one of the country’s major challenges. Power service is essential to achieve socioeconomic development and poverty reduction, especially in rural areas. This paper shows the advantages of using an integrated (grid and off-grid) electrification model with high [...] Read more.
Increasing Uganda’s low electrification rate is one of the country’s major challenges. Power service is essential to achieve socioeconomic development and poverty reduction, especially in rural areas. This paper shows the advantages of using an integrated (grid and off-grid) electrification model with high geospatial, temporal, and customer-class granularity as the Reference Electrification Model (REM). In universal electrification strategies, REM will help better ascertain the role of minigrids, jointly with grid extension, solar kits, and stand-alone systems. REM has been applied to the Southern Service Territory (SST) to determine the least-cost mix of electrification modes—grid extension, off-grid minigrids, and standalone systems—that satisfies the hourly demand requirements of each customer—residential, commercial, or industrial—considering its individual location. REM incorporates the existing grid layout, the hourly solar local profile, and the catalogs of actual components for network and generation designs. The paper shows that minigrids can provide grid-like service at a significantly lower cost in many circumstances and to a considerable extent. Therefore, minigrid strategies should play a more important role in electrification planning, both transitorily and on a permanent basis, particularly when the central grid suffers from frequent and prolonged blackouts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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15 pages, 6662 KiB  
Article
Potential Electricity Production by Installing Photovoltaic Systems on the Rooftops of Residential Buildings in Jordan: An Approach to Climate Change Mitigation
by Sameh Monna, Ramez Abdallah, Adel Juaidi, Aiman Albatayneh, Antonio Jesús Zapata-Sierra and Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro
Energies 2022, 15(2), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020496 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 2968
Abstract
Countries with limited natural resources and high energy prices, such as Jordan, face significant challenges concerning energy consumption and energy efficiency, particularly in the context of climate change. Residential buildings are the most energy-consuming sector in Jordan. Photovoltaic (PV) systems on the rooftops [...] Read more.
Countries with limited natural resources and high energy prices, such as Jordan, face significant challenges concerning energy consumption and energy efficiency, particularly in the context of climate change. Residential buildings are the most energy-consuming sector in Jordan. Photovoltaic (PV) systems on the rooftops of residential buildings can solve the problem of increasing electricity demands and address the need for more sustainable energy systems. This study calculated the potential electricity production from PV systems installed on the available rooftops of residential buildings and compared this production with current and future electricity consumption for residential households. A simulation tool using PV*SOL 2021 was used to estimate electricity production and a comparative method was used to compare electricity production and consumption. The results indicated that electricity production from PV systems installed on single houses and villas can cover, depending on the tilt angle and location of the properties, three to eight times their estimated future and current electricity use. PV installation on apartment buildings can cover 0.65 to 1.3 times their future and current electricity use. The surplus electricity produced can be used to mitigate urban energy demands and achieve energy sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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23 pages, 6739 KiB  
Article
Improving the Load Estimation Process in the Design of Rural Electrification Systems
by Jane Namaganda-Kiyimba, Joseph Mutale and Brian Azzopardi
Energies 2021, 14(17), 5505; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14175505 - 3 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3334
Abstract
The design of reliable and sustainable rural electrification systems relies on accurate prediction of the electrical load. This paper evaluates the current methods for load estimation and proposes an improved approach for load estimation for off-grid unelectrified rural communities that yields more accurate [...] Read more.
The design of reliable and sustainable rural electrification systems relies on accurate prediction of the electrical load. This paper evaluates the current methods for load estimation and proposes an improved approach for load estimation for off-grid unelectrified rural communities that yields more accurate estimates. Improved accuracy is mainly due to better modelling of the influence of customer habits and gender on the estimated current and future load using the Markov chain process. A program was developed using MATLAB software to generate load profiles. The results show that gender considerations have a significant impact on load profiles and that the Markov chain process can suitably be used to determine year-to-year load profiles by incorporating the effect of changes in customer habits on the estimated load. The results from the case study on energy consumption in rural community households showed an increase in average daily consumption when gender was considered during load estimation. The peak consumption when gender was considered was about 50% higher than the value for when gender was not considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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17 pages, 3671 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Evaluation of Rural Electrification in Cuba: From Fossil Fuels to Modular Photovoltaic Systems: Case Studies from Sancti Spiritus Province
by Alejandro López-González, Bruno Domenech and Laia Ferrer-Martí
Energies 2021, 14(9), 2480; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14092480 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2784
Abstract
In the last ten years, there has been a progressive improvement in rural electrification indexes in developing countries, and renewable energies are progressively being integrated into electrification programs. In Cuba, the government has set a target of 700 MW in solar photovoltaic energy [...] Read more.
In the last ten years, there has been a progressive improvement in rural electrification indexes in developing countries, and renewable energies are progressively being integrated into electrification programs. In Cuba, the government has set a target of 700 MW in solar photovoltaic energy by 2030, including rural electrification and off-grid systems. Within this framework, 10,000 modular systems of 300 Wp are being installed in isolated communities. Nowadays, previously diesel-electrified settlements are migrating into renewable energy technologies projects in rural Cuba. The objective of this research is to evaluate the sustainability of these changes in order to identify the implications for other developing countries, taking four different dimensions into account: environmental, technical, socioeconomic, and institutional. For this purpose, the rural communities of Yaguá (diesel-based) and Río Abajo (solar-based) in the province of Sancti Spiritus are visited and studied. Results show that the institutional dimension of sustainability is positive thanks to improvements in energy security and promotion of the Cuban national plan goals. Moreover, results confirm that the energy transition from diesel-based to solar PV is environmentally sustainable in Cuba, but improvements are still necessary in the power capacity of solar modules to strengthen the socioeconomic and technical dimensions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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18 pages, 10034 KiB  
Article
Clustering Techniques for Secondary Substations Siting
by Silvia Corigliano, Federico Rosato, Carla Ortiz Dominguez and Marco Merlo
Energies 2021, 14(4), 1028; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14041028 - 16 Feb 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2816
Abstract
The scientific community is active in developing new models and methods to help reach the ambitious target set by UN SDGs7: universal access to electricity by 2030. Efficient planning of distribution networks is a complex and multivariate task, which is usually split into [...] Read more.
The scientific community is active in developing new models and methods to help reach the ambitious target set by UN SDGs7: universal access to electricity by 2030. Efficient planning of distribution networks is a complex and multivariate task, which is usually split into multiple subproblems to reduce the number of variables. The present work addresses the problem of optimal secondary substation siting, by means of different clustering techniques. In contrast with the majority of approaches found in the literature, which are devoted to the planning of MV grids in already electrified urban areas, this work focuses on greenfield planning in rural areas. K-means algorithm, hierarchical agglomerative clustering, and a method based on optimal weighted tree partitioning are adapted to the problem and run on two real case studies, with different population densities. The algorithms are compared in terms of different indicators useful to assess the feasibility of the solutions found. The algorithms have proven to be effective in addressing some of the crucial aspects of substations siting and to constitute relevant improvements to the classic K-means approach found in the literature. However, it is found that it is very challenging to conjugate an acceptable geographical span of the area served by a single substation with a substation power high enough to justify the installation when the load density is very low. In other words, well known standards adopted in industrialized countries do not fit with developing countries’ requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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29 pages, 657 KiB  
Review
Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review
by Antoine Boche, Clément Foucher and Luiz Fernando Lavado Villa
Energies 2022, 15(8), 2906; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15082906 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4036
Abstract
There is a growing research interest in studying microgrids as a way to overcome the lack of access to energy. These microgrids could be the key to global energy access because of their many advantages related to flexibility, efficiency, and reliability. Despite all [...] Read more.
There is a growing research interest in studying microgrids as a way to overcome the lack of access to energy. These microgrids could be the key to global energy access because of their many advantages related to flexibility, efficiency, and reliability. Despite all these qualities, microgrids remain challenging to implement in a sustainable and resilient way without a clear consensus on what causes these failures. To this end, this work proposes a new paradigm to make a multidisciplinary and comprehensive review of the operation of microgrids. By reconciling the different fields inherent to microgrids, this review enables the study of microgrids within a unified framework. Microgrids will be presented through energy, information, financial, and social fields to provide the necessary elements for their systemic understanding. Each field will be presented with its internal elements, architecture, and significant issues. By elaborating on this new vision of microgrids, this article hopes to open the way to a deeper understanding of their systemic operation and diagnose their long-term sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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21 pages, 1206 KiB  
Review
Stationary Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Railway Electrification: A Review
by Sergey V. Mitrofanov, Natalya G. Kiryanova and Anna M. Gorlova
Energies 2021, 14(18), 5946; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14185946 - 18 Sep 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4941
Abstract
This article provides an overview of modern technologies and implemented projects in the field of renewable energy systems for the electrification of railway transport. In the first part, the relevance of the use of renewable energy on the railways is discussed. Various types [...] Read more.
This article provides an overview of modern technologies and implemented projects in the field of renewable energy systems for the electrification of railway transport. In the first part, the relevance of the use of renewable energy on the railways is discussed. Various types of power-generating systems in railway stations and platforms along the track, as well as in separate areas, are considered. The focus is on wind and solar energy conversion systems. The second part is devoted to the analysis of various types of energy storage devices used in projects for the electrification of railway transport since the energy storage system is one of the key elements in a hybrid renewable energy system. Systems with kinetic storage, electrochemical storage batteries, supercapacitors, hydrogen energy storage are considered. Particular attention is paid to technologies for accumulating and converting hydrogen into electrical energy, as well as hybrid systems that combine several types of storage devices with different ranges of charge/discharge rates. A comparative analysis of various hybrid electric power plant configurations, depending on the functions they perform in the electrification systems of railway transport, has been carried out. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessment, Analysis and Planning of Renewable-Based Electrification Projects)
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