Design and Modeling of a Standalone DC-Microgrid for Off-Grid Schools in Rural Areas of Developing Countries

Abstract

Energy access is critical for health, education and social welfare improvements. In countries like Ethiopia, with a low electrification rate and with the majority of the population located in rural areas, about 76% of primary schools do not have access to electricity. This limits the hours of classes and does not allow the use of basic or modern teaching resources. Off-grid solutions have emerged as potential cost-effective alternatives to electrify rural areas and schools, but the availability of off-grid appliances and the size of the system can lead to different solutions. Therefore, this study proposes a DC microgrid system to supply the electricity demand of a rural school located in Ethiopia, considering load estimation scenarios with standard and high-efficiency appliances. The simulation results show that the designed DC microgrid is a valid option to electrify the rural school under each load and generation scenarios. The system costs were also evaluated, and the high-efficiency appliances option has a 51% lower cost. The study also applies to other sub-Saharan countries in the region with very low energy access rates and abundant solar energy, thus giving a large contribution to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Education Goal 4 (SDG 4).