Multi-objective Energy Management Model for Stand-Alone Photovoltaic-Battery Systems: Application to Refugee Camps

Abstract

AbstractDespite the benefits of stand-alone solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the context of refugee camps, these systems fail within the first few years of operations—typically the first three years. The leading causes of the failure of solar PV systems in refugee camps are lack of technical personnel and maintenance, lack of training and education, and demand modification leading to overconsumption of energy from lead-acid batteries. This paper proposes a multi-objective energy management model that aims to increase the longevity of lead-acid batteries while considering the Levelized Cost of Used Energy (LCUE) and user satisfaction. Scenarios incorporating different levels of demand modification are proposed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. A weighted sum approach was applied to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. A sensitivity analysis was performed to illustrate the effect of varying the battery objective weight, on the model’s performance. Results show that the proposed model can increase battery lifetime by up to 9 years with a 33% decrease in LCUE in some cases. The results indicate that the proposed model is likely to be useful for refugee camps that experience rapidly increasing energy demand.