Design of an Off-grid PV System for Households in Perú and Sweden

Abstract: Because of global warming and the Paris agreement from 2015, countries need to switch their energy sources into clean sources. For some countries, like Perú, electricity produced from renewable energy sources is still a new technology. Its electricity demand depends entirely on traditional hydropower and thermal plants. Despite the high solar radiation in the coast and Andes (mountain range that passes through the entire South American continent), solar electricity is not developed and it fairly reaches the 1% of the national electricity production. Sweden, similarly, also produces its highest share on electricity from hydropower. However, nuclear energy and renewables like biomass and wind cover the rest of the demand, compared to thermal plants for Perú. On the other hand, most of the poor citizens of Perú live in the Andes, especially in remote villages, disconnected from the national grid and suffering from the cold during winter. Because their energy demand is low, it is not profitable for the electrical companies to give them electricity. The Swedish population, however, has 100% access to electricity. Despite that, high prices on maintaining the connection to the electricity network, and constant failures because of bad weather (more common nowadays because of global warming), brings the idea to disconnect from the grid and produce one´s own electricity, with, for example, photovoltaic systems. These problems occur not exclusively in Sweden. The work done on this thesis consists on a design of an off-grid solar PV system using batteries for energy storage, both for a remote farmer village in the high Andes in Perú (Ungalluta 2) and for a rural, low populated village in the center of Sweden (Gåsborn). The design is done manually and by software (PVSyst), with real life components, analyzing costs and the possibility to live entirely on solar power. The priority when choosing the components is the lowest price. For Ungalluta 2, with a demand of 17.1kWh/d (11 people), 13 PV modules and 1600Ah of battery capacity (Lead Acid) are needed, with a payback in approximately 40 years, renewing the PV panels on year 25 because of degradation. The initial investment is 21540EUR. For Gåsborn, with a demand of 36.44kWh/d (average Swedish family with children), 42 PV modules and 2850Ah of battery capacity (Lithium) are needed, with a negative payback, even increasing the PV modules to cover the entire year (more than 400). This is because the solar irradiation is quite low during winter and the load demand needs to be satisfied with considerable amounts of Diesel with a backup generator. After analyzing the results, it is possible and viable to build PV systems for the villagers in the Andes of Perú, but they will need monetary help of the government (high initial cost). For Sweden, it is not profitable to depend entirely on PV power. Other renewable sources must complement it, such as wind, to compensate the low solar irradiation and reduce the diesel consumption.