Search

In recent years, community microgrids have expanded their power systems with many aims. One of the most important goals of microgrids is to increase resiliency. The main objective of this paper is to develop effective planning tools for community microgrids within electrical distribution networks, with a specific focus on ensuring the provision of critical loads during natural disasters. Additionally, this paper emphasized emphasises long-term planning considerations by using DIgSILENT 15.2 tools. The primary goal of this issue is to create the best planning tools for community microgrids in order to increase the network's resilience to natural disasters, with a focus on important loads like hospitals and hotels. Also, the second goal is an optimization that seeks to reduce overall expenses. Finally, we'll talk about how to get two results: one is to choose a few microgrid-based loads to link to the electrical distribution network, and the other is to show that each microgrid has the power needed to support both its local loads and the system's vital loads in the event of a natural disaster. In this paper, the use of community microgrids for energy access against natural disasters in Indonesia is investigated by considering the case study of microgrids on Lombok Island. The study results, using the proposed framework, show that the presence of a microgrid structure in the distribution network expansion planning helps to improve operating conditions and supply critical loads in natural disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising the electrification ratio to 100% is still a formidable challenge in Indonesia, especially in the remote areas of the eastern part of the archipelago. A DC microgrid system is one of the most viable solutions to increase the electricity supply in remote areas, taking advantage of various renewable energy sources that are located near the rural load centers. A DC–DC power converter for a rural DC microgrid system needs to have a high voltage gain to facilitate the power conversion from low-voltage PV output to a high-voltage DC microgrid bus, a very low input ripple current to help maintain the PV or battery lifetime, and be highly modular for ease of transport and assembly. Many topologies have been proposed to obtain high voltage gain, very low ripple current, and modularity. However, they usually use either bulky and lossy magnetic components, are sensitive to component parameter variance and need special voltage-balancing techniques, or have different component ratings for their multilevel configuration which weakens the modularity aspect. This paper proposes a new modular multilevel DC–DC converter that is very suitable for rural DC microgrid applications based on a modified buck–boost topology. The proposed converter is easily stackable to achieve high voltage gain and does not require any voltage balancing techniques, thus enhancing the modularity characteristics and simplifying its control method. Moreover, the ripple current can be reduced by employing a multiphase configuration. This converter can also facilitate bidirectional power flow to serve as a battery charger/discharger. A comprehensive analysis of voltage gain and ripple current are presented to explain the inner workings of this converter. Finally, the performance of this converter is verified through simulation and experiment, showing the converter's modularity, bidirectional power capability, and potential to achieve voltage gain and ripple-current requirements of the DC microgrid system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters (ND) are the main causes of power outages in the electric grid. It is necessary to strengthen the electrical power system's resilience during these catastrophic occurrences, and microgrids may be seen as the best way to achieve this goal. In this paper, two different energy system scenarios were proposed for increasing the resiliency of the electric power system during random outages. In the first scenario, a diesel generator (DG) was used to deliver energy to key loads during grid disruptions, in conjunction with a utility electric grid (UEG) and local electric load (ELL). A grid-connected ad hoc microgrid (MG) with a photovoltaic (PV) system, a battery energy storage (BES) system, and local electric loads made up the second scenario. The PV system and the BES system were used to supply the key loads with electricity during the outage. The major aim of this research was to compare the two resilient-based systems from the perspectives of technology, economics, and the environment. Given that it requires greater resilience than the other loads during severe weather, a hospital load on Indonesia's Lombok Island was chosen as the critical load. The objective function considers the system's predefined constraints to reduce the overall net present cost (NPC) and the cost of energy in order to maximize the system resilience (COE). The Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Grid simulated a 3-day outage in August 2021, and the results demonstrated that the resiliency enhancement for both scenarios was nearly identical. The first scenario resulted in fewer CO2 emissions; however, the second scenario delivered lower operating costs and COE. The simulation's findings showed that system 1 created an annual emission of 216.902 kg/yr while system 2 only produced an emission of 63.292 kg/yr. This study shows that since RES-based MGs don't burn fossil fuels to generate power, they are more environmentally friendly resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the companion paper of Remote Microgrids for Energy Access in Indonesia "Part I: scaling and sustainability challenges and a technology outlook". This part II investigates the issues of photovoltaic (PV) systems with respect to the planning, design, and operation, and maintenance phases in microgrids in Indonesia. The technology outlooks are also included as PV has an important role in providing electricity in the underdeveloped, isolated, and border areas. The data in this paper are from PV microgrids located in Maluku and North Maluku, which are two provinces where there is barely any grid connection available and thus very dependent on remote microgrids. The data are obtained from interviews with Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and NZMATES, which are an Indonesian utility company and a program for supporting role for the PV systems in Maluku funded by New Zealand respectively. Common issues with respect to reliability and sustainability are identified based on the provided data. Advanced technologies to increase reliability and sustainability are also presented in this paper as a technology outlook. Among these solutions are online monitoring systems, PV and battery lifetime estimation, load forecasting strategies, and PV inverters technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Indonesia's electrification ratio reached 99.2% in 2020, it has shown stagnating electrification since 2018. This is because most of the remaining areas that need to be electrified are remote and have unique characteristics that hamper implementation of microgrids for providing energy access. Furthermore, not only the deployment but also the long-term sustainability of microgrids is crucial for ensuring continuity of energy access. This paper aims to investigate the scaling and sustainability challenges of remote microgrid development in Indonesia by analyzing microgrids in the Maluku and North Maluku provinces. This study is a two-part publication; the first part focuses on identifying challenges in Indonesia's remote microgrid development, while the second part focuses on potential technology solutions. In the first part, an assessment of energy access within a multi-tier framework was conducted, which was then analyzed using a multi-dimensional (institutional, social, technical, economic, environmental, and policy) approach adapted from the literature. The framework was expanded by mapping the challenges onto specific phases of the microgrid development, which is intended to be helpful for the parties involved in specific phases. It is shown that the challenges related to unclear land status, lack of social engagement, preliminary survey, technical and practical knowledge, and O&M procedures—especially for remote microgrids with renewable energy sources—are the most prominent issues. Additionally, issues caused by electrical events and environmental conditions such as relatively humid and high-temperatures, and uncontrolled vegetation, rodents, insects, and lizards are often found. Furthermore, a high-level technological outlook to address some of these issues is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most inhabited islands in Indonesia are powered by expensively known diesel generators and isolated from the primary grid due to either geographical or economic reasons. Meanwhile, the diesel generator can be combined with a photovoltaic (PV) system and Battery Energy Storage (BES) system to form a hybrid power generation system to reduce the energy cost and increase renewable energy penetration. For this, proper sizing of each power generation component is required, one of which is influenced by the applied control strategy. This paper proposes an optimal BES dispatch (OBD) control strategy that optimizes the power generation components' sizing. The method examines the shortcomings of the other popular control strategies, such as load following, cycle charging, or combination. The optimization objectives are to minimize the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and maximize the renewable energy (RE) penetration, which can be achieved by prioritizing the BES to supply the load over other available generations and charge the BES every time the generator operates. The proposed method is implemented at two different systems with different load profiles. As a result, the proposed control strategy provides lower LCOE while maintaining higher RE penetration than the other control strategies in both locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of new and renewable energy sources explicitly based on biomass needs to be increased to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. One of the potential biomasses of plantation waste in Indonesia that can be utilized is oil palm plantation waste in the form of fronds and trunks that are converted with multi-stage downdraft gasification technology. This study aimed to conduct a technical analysis, economic analysis, investment risk analysis, social analysis, and an environmental impact assessment of power plants fueled by oil palm plantation waste. The method used was the upscaling of a prototype of a 10 kW power plant to 100 kW. The results showed that it was technically and economically feasible to apply. The economic indicators were a positive NPV of USD 48.846 with an IRR of 9.72% and a B/C ratio of 1.16. The risk analysis predicted a probability of an NPV 49.94% above the base case. The study of the social aspects suggested that the construction of power plants has a positive impact in the form of increased community income and the growth of new economic sectors that utilize electricity as a primary source. An analysis of the environmental effects is critical so that the impacts can be minimized. Overall, the construction of small-scale power plants in oil palm plantations is worth considering as long as it is carried out following the applicable regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]