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Title

ASSESSMENT OF MICROGRIDS FOR DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Creator

Vyas, Kohil

Date

2013, 2013-12

Description

Today’s world essentially runs on electricity, in some form or the other. From the introduction of the concept of electricity by William...
Show moreToday’s world essentially runs on electricity, in some form or the other. From the introduction of the concept of electricity by William Gilbert to thousands of invention by Thomas Edison, there have been great changes in the world of electricity. The life of every living being is directly affected by these changes. Various electrical problems have surfaced because of these changes. Microgrids have been considered as a solution to these problems, and have been assessed and evaluated in this research. To realize the effectiveness of microgrids as a solution, initially problems were explored. It was found that there are two perspectives of the problems faced by electrical world. One being: problems seen from the view point of developed countries, and the other: problems seen from the view point of developing countries. Assessment of microgrids was accordingly branched during the research. In the case of the developed countries, the basic infrastructure of electrical system which was built long ago, demands an upgrade now. Problems like blackouts and brownouts have risen and the frequency of their occurrence is growing with time. Owing to these problems, there has been a loss of billions of dollars, as well as critical loads like research facilities, military bases, data centers etc… are severely affected. Microgrids installed in military bases, a university campus and a jail were assessed to analyze how they are implemented, the benefits reaped from them and how they can be a viable solution to the problems faced by the developed countries. In the case of the developing countries, the fact stands that they are yet to reach a state where they can serve their entire load by themselves. This results into regular load shedding. Also, there are some areas where there is no electrical infrastructure and this restricts many from even having xi the access to the electricity. For this research, microgrids installed in villages of Africa, India, and on the islands of Maldives were assessed. Their application and revolutionary impacts on the developing countries were explored. The research indicates that in the developed countries, owing to the gargantuan increase in power consumption, several electrical problems have arisen. Microgrids were able to solve these problems and save millions of dollars. Whereas, in developing countries, people still are in need of a 24-hours access to electricity for their progress. Electricity is required for basic necessities like pumping water, cooking, and activities carried out at night which requires light. Implementation of microgrids by providing electricity removes the bottleneck to their progress.
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, December 2013
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