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Techno‐Economic Assessment of Renewable Energy‐based Microgrids in the Amazon Remote Communities in Ecuador
Author(s) -
Clairand Jean-Michel,
Serrano-Guerrero Xavier,
González-Zumba Andrés,
Escrivá-Escrivá Guillermo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.202100746
Subject(s) - microgrid , renewable energy , diesel fuel , photovoltaic system , environmental economics , electricity , amazon rainforest , environmental science , fossil fuel , electricity generation , cost of electricity by source , natural resource economics , business , waste management , engineering , economics , power (physics) , electrical engineering , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Several remote communities have limited electricity access and are mainly dependent on environmentally damaging fossil fuels. The installation of microgrid networks and green energy initiatives are currently addressing this issue. Thus, the techno‐economic assessment of a microgrid that comprises photovoltaic arrays, a micro‐hydro turbine, and diesel generation is proposed herein. Two scenarios are evaluated considering the inclusion or not of diesel generation. This model is performed in HOMER. The results demonstrate that the best option in economics is to invest in a PV/hydro/diesel microgrid, resulting in an net present cost of 2.33 M$, and a cost of energy of 0.194 $ kWh −1 . Furthermore, to address diesel price uncertainties, a sensitivity analysis is carried out based on three different projected diesel prices.