Prospects and Design Assessment of a Hybrid Renewable Energy Microgrid for an Indigenous Community in Bangladesh

Abstract

The Thuisa Para indigenous community living in the hill tracts of Bandarban, Bangladesh, has never experienced the miracles of electricity, as most of the remote hilly areas of Bandarban are still not under the National Energy Grid coverage. These indigenous people are deprived of the blessings of electricity and, their socio-economic advancement is being obstructed. The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) program under the UN aims to diminish such energy access inequalities. It is possible for communities like Thuisa Para, which are located in remote areas, to acquire an adequate supply of electricity by utilizing the available renewable energy resources. But before implementation, thorough analyses regarding the geographical factors, cost-effectiveness and durability for a particular location is required to ensure that the energy system fulfills the demands adequately. Therefore, this paper aims to propose the most affordable and most reliable hybrid renewable energy microgrid design for the Thuisa Para Community upon completion of thorough comparative analyses of the available design options. For design and simulation purposes, HOMER software has been used. Elements considered for this microgrid are specifically solar-PV panels, kinetic batteries, wind turbine, diesel generator and converter. The results obtained from the simulation were used to compare the viable design choices in terms of their respective energy production capabilities, per-unit electricity costs, net present costs (NPC) and a few other important factors. Additionally, a multiyear sensitivity analysis regarding the net present cost has been conducted for the ease of choosing the suitable project lifetime of the Thuisa Para microgrid.