Off-grid renewable energy solutions in fragile environments: applications for a sustainable future
- Autores: Andrea A Eras Almeid
- Directores de la Tesis: Miguel Ángel Egido Aguilera (dir. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid ( España ) en 2020
- Idioma: español
- Materias:
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- Resumen
The 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development has highlighted the key role of energy in addressing poverty worldwide. Within this framework, its Goal 7 “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy” is linked to other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by three fundamental dimensions: human development, sustainable economic growth, and environmental sustainability. However, achieving the SDG7 is not an easy task, considering, for example, the great political differences among countries and the limitations in accessing funding by the least developed regions. Even though the tracking of the SDG7 shows great progress, governments still remain far from fulfilling their targets. The global renewable energy share is only 11% and 840 million people still lack access to electricity. These indicators show that the energy transition process is below expectations and commitments. In this regard, special attention is needed for the most disadvantaged environments such as small islands and rural areas in developing countries. Both contexts face great challenges to guarantee the provision of goods and services such as electricity, which, in turn, frustrates their opportunities for sustainable development. In general terms, small islands are highly dependent on fossil-fuel-based generation systems which increases electricity costs; and, rural areas, where an electrical grid extension is often infeasible, thus the areas lack an electricity service. Furthermore, even though small islands and rural areas contribute least to climate change, they are severely impacted by its negative consequences.
The objective of this PhD thesis is to study off-grid renewable energy systems to support the increase in renewable energy share on islands and access to electricity in rural communities. This research is focused on the islands from the Pacific Ocean and the Latin America region, respectively. This thesis aims to prove the feasibility of mature renewable energy technologies to reduce energy vulnerability in these contexts and aims to be a showcase to boost similar actions in other regions. The present PhD thesis is structured as a compendium of articles following the regulation of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Thereby, in the first part of the thesis, the state of the art of hybrid renewable mini-grids of small islands is presented by a comparison among cases studies from the Atlantic and Arctic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. This review also presents new definitions of business models identified to support the introduction of renewable energy in these contexts. The results show that the least developed islands, especially from the Pacific Ocean need an effective regulatory framework and innovative business models for better outcomes in the implementation of renewable energy technologies, which also requires a rethinking of international cooperation.
Secondly, the case of the hybrid power system of Baltra–Santa Cruz from the Galapagos Islands has been studied to verify the findings of the first part of this thesis and to propose new ways of decarbonizing this archipelago. This research has been carried out using an energy system modelling tool, considering specific boundary conditions and regarding the vulnerabilities of this context. As result, it has been determined that this system can increase the renewable energy share from just 18% to 39% by installing PV technology (18.25 MWp) and electromechanical battery systems (20.68 MWh), which would reduce the cost of electricity from 32.06 to 18.95 USc/kWh. Even more, these outcomes would be improved through the parallel implementation of energy efficiency means. Considering the ecological value of these islands and to prevent the possible impact on the environment of large renewable power plants, the feasibility of distributed generation on the island of Santa Cruz has been studied. The findings show that there is a PV potential of 18 MWp at the urban level, and its implementation by residential and commercial users would reduce electricity bills by more than 50%. Thus, a combination of business models for auctions and citizen energy community models has been proposed to accelerate the islands’ decarbonization, which demands extensive governmental commitment, effective regulations and a greater local awareness on the use of energy.
Thirdly, this PhD thesis studies successful off-grid initiatives by focusing on 3rd Generation Solar Home Systems (3G-SHSs) in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. The evidence shows that confidence, commitment, and flexibility are the main pillars of rural electrification. Furthermore, the results reveal that a combination of an energy service company (fee-for-service), Pay-As-You-Go, and microfranchising models with 3G-SHSs allows sustainable electricity provision to be guaranteed to the people at the base of the pyramid. Access to electricity must be established as a state policy to avoid failed experiences in this field, to ensure human wellbeing, attract private funds, involve local communities in projects, and to foster the implementation of innovative partnerships and technologies.
In summary, this thesis concludes that energy transition requires a deep understanding of contexts to design a combination of suitable business models, establish agreements, and promote cooperation between different stakeholders. Most importantly, this thesis states that every renewable energy initiative must pursue the nexus between energy, environment, and society.
