Modeling of a Village-Scale Multi-Energy System for the Integrated Supply of Electric and Thermal Energy †.

Featured Application: The tool proposed in this work was conceived in order to serve as a preliminary instrument to size multi-energy rural energy systems, in the context of reaching universal access to energy as part of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). In addition to its main purpose, we believe this tool might be of interest in the study of integrated smart energy districts and in general integrated energy systems with high penetration of renewables, where the interaction among different kinds of energy demands is considered. Energy system models for off-grid systems usually tend to focus solely on the provision of electricity for powering simple appliances, thus neglecting more energy-intensive and critical needs, such as water heating. The adoption of a Multi-Energy System (MES) perspective would allow us not only to provide comprehensive solutions addressing all types of energy demand, but also to exploit synergies between the electric and thermal sectors. To this end, we expand an existing open-source micro-grid optimization model with a complementary thermal model. Results show how the latter achieves optimal solutions that are otherwise restricted, allowing for a reduction in the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of 59% compared to a conventional microgrid, and an increase of reliance on renewable sources of 70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]