Abstract

Subject of this thesis is to study and review the best practices of rural electrification technologies in developing countries and to perform a simulation for the electrification of a small community in the Dejen District of Ethiopia. The Homer program was used for the simulation, optimization and sensitivity analysis of the system. This study is divided into two parts. In the first part an introduction to renewable resources and micro-grids and their use is made. Particularly the techniques that are studied are: Diesel based PV/Wind Hybrid System, PV/Wind Systems with Storage, Micro-Hydro Systems and Biomass Gassification Systems. A review of the methods of rural electrification in developing countries and their best practices is made. In the second part, the program Homer is being presented, that is used for the simulation of an electrification project for a rural village in Ethiopia. All the components of the system are analyzed as well as the possible scenarios from combining Diesel generator, PV, W ind, micro-hydro and battery storage. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the results of the simulation regarding the ideal use of the resources.

Key words: Micro-grids, renewable resources, developing countries, photovoltaic, wind turbines, micro-hydro, biomass, Homer

Author: Katerina Dimitriou

Responsible PhD: Panos Kotsampopoulos / kotsa@power.ece.ntua.gr

Supervising Professor: Nikos Hatziargyriou / nh@power.ece.ntua.gr

PDF: Full version (Greek) and Short version (English)