Standalone Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Supply to Rural Household in Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Limited access to electricity is a prevalent challenge in rural areas of most developing countries. This is majorly a result of economic, logistic and topographic challenges that limit the extension of grid network to such areas. The use of renewable energy sources (RES) to supply electricity to individual home is considered to be the best rural electrification approach since these resources are readily available and their sustainability can be ensured. Technical and non-technical analyses are carried out in hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources (HOMER) pro software to determine optimal configuration of renewable energy sources. The Particle swarm optimization (PSO) method has been implemented in MATLAB for the minimization of net present cost (NPC) under the given scenarios. In HOMER, total NPCs for solar photovoltaic system (SPV) and diesel generator (DG) of the same capacities are $ 3,013 and $ 28,116, respectively. In the PSO technique, costs are reduced to $ 2,089 and $ 19,488, respectively. This study will be a milestone for rural electrification.

KEYWORDS:

• Diesel generator
• HOMER
• PSO
• Rural electrification
• Solar PV
• Tanzania Electric Supply Company

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) under the Africa Scholarship Scheme for the support of this research [F. NO. ASS/51/2018]. They also recognize the support from the management of Delhi Technological University (DTU). Appreciation is also extended to Regional Commissioner’s Office in Mbeya region for giving the permission of doing research in Mbeya Rural District.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Isaka J. Mwakitalima

Isaka J Mwakitalima received a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from St. Joseph College of Engineering and Technology. He is also a holder of a full technician certificate in electrical engineering from Arusha Technical College and Diploma in Education from Klerruu Teachers College. He acquired masters in sustainable energy science and engineering from Nelson Mandela African Institutions of Science and Technology. He is a PhD student in electrical engineering at Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India. His research interests include power/renewable energy systems and optimization techniques.

Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan is a holder of Postdoc (Virginia Tech-USA), PhD, MTech, B Tech in electrical engineering. Mohammad Rizwan is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, and Delhi, India. He has long teaching and research experience along with numerous publications and presentations of papers in reputed journals and conference proceedings. His areas of interest include power/renewable energy systems, building energy management and soft computing applications in power systems. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, ISTE, etc. Email: [email protected]

Narendra Kumar

Narendra Kumar is a holder of BE (Electrical Engg.): IIT-Roorkee, ME (Power System): PEC Chandigarh, PhD (Instrumentation and Control): DCE Delhi. Narendra Kumar is professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India. Narendra Kumar has published and presented many research papers in various journals and conferences. He has also supervised numerous PhD and MTech students. His areas of interest include instrumentation and power electronics and control applications. He is a senior member of member of IEEE ISTE. Email: [email protected]