Browsing by Autor "Ida Fuchs"

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Local electricity market designs for interconnected nanogrids: Impact on rural electrification in Madagascar
(Elsevier BV, 2024) Lea Bertram; Ida Fuchs; Victor Banuls Ramirez; Pedro Crespo del Granado; Sergio Balderrama
Sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy access is a major challenge in many parts of the world. The paper addresses this challenge by proposing a local electricity market (LEM) design for nanogrids deployed in Madagascar. Each nanogrid shares a solar PV and battery system, and it meets demand locally before trading surplus energy with other nanogrids on a microgrid bus, facilitated through the creation of a LEM. Two distinct market approaches are investigated and compared: central clearing and bilateral trading. Bilateral trading generates trading prices through direct interaction between consumers and producers, whereas central clearing sets a single trading price based on the cost-ordered supply curve. Our study shows that central clearing generates more consumer-friendly prices and facilitates the trading of all technically feasible energy, while bilateral trading may results in unmatched trading capacity. We find an average price for central trading of 0.49 €/kWh compared to 1.24 €/kWh with a bilateral trading mechanism. To promote the low market prices, a bottom-up retail tariff structure is proposed. The aim of this simplified tariff is to promote initial electrification by minimizing entry prices for end-users’ first electricity access to 0.89 €/kWh compared to the current average of 2.11 €/kWh. The discussed results were evaluated in consultation with the local company in Madagascar to ensure practical suitability and to achieve maximum significance.
Surplus energy in solar home systems as driver for bottom-up grids: When grids emerge from the edge
(2023) Ida Fuchs; Sergio Balderrama; Pedro Crespo del Granado; Sylvain Quoilin; Jayaprakash Rajasekharan
In this paper, surplus energy (SE) from solar home systems (SHS) with energy storage is studied from the perspective of bottom-up grids. The paper addresses two central research questions: 1) How much SE do SHS generate depending on system size parameters and load metrics? and 2) Can SE provide the basis for bottom-up grids in rural swarm electrification? We first analyze different SE profiles for different stochastic demands from three households with various PV and battery system sizes. Next, we analyze how these SE profiles can be used to supply additional households with lower or equal demand. We find that the SE is highly dependent on PV size and cannot be significantly reduced by increasing battery size. Demand profiles with high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) and low Load at Day Time Ratio (LDTR) are shown to have the highest levels of SE. Simulations show that households with PV and battery system can supply several other households with its SE only. This study shows excellent potential for developing a framework model for bottom-up grids through SHS sizing and bottom-up planning of interconnections in rural communities.
Swarm electrification for Raqaypampa: Impact of different battery control setpoints on energy sharing in interconnected solar homes systems
(Elsevier BV, 2024) Ida Fuchs; Claudia Sanchez-Solis; Sergio Balderrama; Govert Valkenburg
In rural electrification, decentralized systems have proven to bring fast, affordable, and sustainable electricity supply for the last mile of energy access. Especially, solar home systems (SHS) have lately increased in number and impact. Recently, a new concept promises even better utilization of SHS and the potential for higher access to electricity. This concept is found under the name of swarm electrification, also known as interconnected SHS, nanogrids, or decentralized DC systems in rural areas. This paper studies the benefits of such interconnected SHS for a case study in the indigenous rural Highlands of Bolivia, an area called Raqaypampa. Our study emphasizes analyzing the energy sharing setpoints for the decentralized battery control and how the choice of these values influences energy distribution in the community. We draw concepts of energy justice into our discussion to evaluate different combinations of battery state of charge setpoints. Our study finds four types of households in Raqaypampa based on their demand for electricity. The modeled and simulated results of a potential energy sharing through interconnected SHS reveal three outcomes for the households based on the battery state of charge setpoints: Outcome I - Improving households, Outcome II - Depending households, and Outcome III - Deteriorating households. We conclude that a common approach of e.g. minimization of total unmet demand alone will not necessarily lead to just energy distribution, and it is crucial to integrate discussions about justice and community goals into the design process from the beginning. • A real case study of electricity access from Bolivian Highlands • Electricity demand study, modelling and clustering in four household types • A multi-model simulation of energy sharing between interconnected SHS • Energy sharing outcomes vary with battery control setpoints • Energy justice discussion of outcomes for individuals and community.
Swarm electrification: Harnessing surplus energy in off-grid solar home systems for universal electricity access
(Elsevier BV, 2023) Ida Fuchs; Sergio Balderrama; Sylvain Quoilin; Pedro Crespo del Granado; Jayaprakash Rajasekharan