Rural electrification in Bolivia through solar powered Stirling engines

Abstract: This study focuses on the rural areas of Bolivia. The village investigated is assumed to have 70 households and one school. Electrical supply will be covered with the help of solar powered Stirling engines. A Stirling engine is an engine with an external heat source, which could be fuel or biomass for example. The model calculates the electrical demand for two different cases. One low level demand and one high level demand. By studying the total electrical demand of the village, the model can calculate a sizing for the Stirling system. However, for the sizing to be more accurate, more research needs to be done with regards to the demand of the village and the incoming parameters of the model.