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Techno-Economic Assessment of Renewable Energy-based Microgrids in the Amazon Remote Communities in Ecuador

Abstract:

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.