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IEEE
VOL. 3, NO. 1
MARCH 2015
ISSN 2325-5987
WWW.IEEE-PES.ORG/
___________
MAGAZINE
F E AT U R E S
Rural Electrification
Goes Local
56
Islands in the Sun
68
Locally Manufactured
Small Wind Turbines
Recent innovations in
renewable generation,
energy efficiency, and
grid modernization.
25
Advanced Control
Solutions for Operating
Isolated Power Systems
The solar power deployment

initiative at the University
of the Virgin Islands.
IMAGE LICENSED BY INGRAM PUBLISHING.
16
Empowering communities
for sustainable rural
electrification.
Examining the Portuguese

islands.
Rural Electrification Goes Local.
36
79
An Overview of Rural
Electrification in China
History, technology,
and emerging trends.
48
The Tianjin 2014

Symposium on
Microgrids
A meeting of the minds
for international
microgrid experts.
Building Resilient
Integrated Grids
One neighborhood
at a time.
D E PA R T M E N T S & C O L U M N S
2
7
86
90
96
ABOUT THIS ISSUE

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
DATES AHEAD
NEWSFEED
VIEWPOINT
A PowerBox similar to this one in Narok County,

Kenya, provides free nighttime lighting to landowners
in Ololailumtia. (Source: PowerGen.)
MISSION STATEMENT: IEEE Electrification

Magazine is dedicated to disseminating information on all matters related to microgrids
onboard electric vehicles, ships, trains, planes,
and off-grid applications. Microgrids refer to an
electric network in a car, a ship, a plane or an
electric train, which has a limited number of
sources and multiple loads. Off-grid applications include small scale electricity supply in
areas away from high voltage power networks.
Feature articles focus on advanced concepts,
technologies, and practices associated with all
aspects of electrification in the transportation
and off-grid sectors from a technical perspective in synergy with nontechnical areas such as
business, environmental, and social concerns.
IEEE Electrification Magazine (ISSN 2325-5987)
(IEMECM) is published quarterly by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Headquarters: 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY
10016-5997 USA. Responsibility for the contents
rests upon the authors and not upon the IEEE, the
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Subscription rates available upon request. Copyright
and reprint permissions: Abstracting is permitted with
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PRINTED IN U.S.A.
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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL BOARD
Saifur Rahman
Editor-in-Chief
Virginia Tech
Virginia, USA
srahman@vt.edu
_________
Microgrids,
Modernization, and
Rural Electrification
Iqbal Husain
Editor, Electric Vehicles
North Carolina State
University
North Carolina, USA
ihusain2@ncsu.edu
___________
By Mohammad Shahidehpour
and Steve Pullins
Eduard Muljadi
Coeditor, Electric Vehicles
NREL: Wind Research
Colorado, USA
eduard.muljadi@nrel.gov
______________
T IS OUR PLEASURE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THIS SPECIAL

issue of IEEE Electrification Magazine on microgrids for
rural electrification. There are a total of nine articles (seven
features and two columns) included in this issue with a global perspective on microgrids, grid modernization, and rural electrification.
The Technology Leaders column, Rural Off-Grid Electricity
Service in Sub-Saharan Africa, by Henry Louie, Elizabeth OGrady,
Vincent Van Acker, Steve Szablya, Nirupama Prakash Kumar, and
Robin Podmore, presents two examples of microgrid installations in
Africa. The first one is the Ololailumtia Village microgrid in Kenya.
The village has a population of about 1,000 people and is home to
roughly 100 businesses. In general, the shops and households use
kerosene for their lighting, and a few businesses have small gasoline generators (13 kW), which they use to power appliances such
as refrigerators, blow dryers, televisions, and sound systems. Two
microgrids were installed in Ololailumtia in 2014 by PowerGen Renewable Energya Kenya-based company providing renewable energy services to residential, commercial, and community-based
The electricity itself
clients in addition to installing
and operating microgrids. The miis not a panacea for
crogrids in Ololailumtia connect
poverty, but it can be
30 customers in the community,
thoughtfully coupled
including several small businesses
with education, job
such as phone charging kiosks,
restaurants, hair salons, and gencreation, and
eral stores. The second case study
empowerment to
focuses on an energy kiosk that
achieve benefits
was installed in August 2014 in
beyond the light bulb.
Muhuru Bay, Kenya. Muhuru Bay
is located on the shores of Lake
Victoria, close to the Tanzanian
border. Although a few small shops in the business district of Muhuru Bay are connected to the national grid, the vast majority of
households are not. As in Ololailumtia, most people rely on
Herb Ginn
Editor, Electric Ships
Universitiy of
South Carolina
South Carolina, USA
ginnhl@cec.sc.edu
__________
Robert Cuzner
Coeditor, Electric Ships
DRS Power and Control
Technologies
Wisconsin, USA
RobertMCuzner@drs.
___________
com
__
Eduardo Pilo de la
Fuente
Editor, Electric Trains
EPRail Research
and Consulting
Spain
eduardo.pilo@eprail.com
_____________
Jose Conrado Martinez
Coeditor, Electric Trains
Directcion de Estrategia
y Desarrollo
Spain
jcmartinez@adif.es
___________
Bulent Sarlioglu
Editor, Electric Planes
University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, USA
bulent@engr.wisc.edu
____________
Mohammad
Shahidehpour
Editor, Off-Grid
Illinois Institute
of Technology
Chicago, USA
ms@iit.edu
______
Steve Pullins
Coeditor, Off-Grid
Horizon Energy Group
Tennessee, USA
spullins@horizonenergy
_____________
group.com
IEEE PERIODICALS
M AG A Z I N E S
D E PA R T M E N T
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Piscataway, NJ 08854
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Assistant Art Director
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Manager
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Staff Director,
Publishing Operations
A DV E R T I S I N G
SALES
Erik Henson
Naylor Association
Solutions
Tel: +1 352 333 3443
Fax: +1 352 331 3525
____________
ehenson@naylor.com

Date of publication: 27 February 2015
I E E E E l e c t r i f i c a t i o n M a ga z i n e / M A R C H 2 0 1 5
IEEE
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kerosene lamps and flashlights for

Yuan points out that the biggest challighting. The authors point out that
lenge for rural electrification is the
Sub-Saharan Africa presents obstahigh cost associated with building and
cles and opportunities
maintaining generation
for electrification. The
and transmission and
There is no
architectures, technoldistribution lines. Comquestion that
ogies, and business
pared with urban and
models presented here
suburban areas, rural
rural electrification
are but some of those
areas have the fewest
will undergo a
found on this dynamic
customers per mile and
generational
and rapidly evolving
the lowest energy contransformation
continent. The electricsumption and revenue
ity itself is not a panainto a more reliable, per mile, providing few
cea for poverty, but it
incentives for business
affordable, and
can be thoughtfully
development in rural
sustainable state.
coupled with educaelectrification. Due to
tion, job creation, and
these unfavorable ecoempowerment to
nomic factors, governachieve benefits beyond the light bulb.
ment subsidies (and/or mandates)
In the first feature article, Rural
have been the primary resources for
Electrification Goes Local, Guohui
building rural electric infrastructure.
When the subsidies are not available,

rural areas are left without electricity.
Yuan also states that this is an exciting time for rural electrification.
Recent innovations in renewable
generation, energy efficiency, and grid
modernization offer tremendous opportunities for the development of
new rural electric infrastructures that
will leapfrog the traditional centralized power systems, much like the
way digital networks vaulted over the
plain old telephone system during the
telecom boom in the 1990s. The abundance of sun, wind, water, and land
resources in rural areas, combined
with these new methods of generating, storing, delivering, and consuming energy, holds the promise that rural areas are not only able to meet its
own electricity demand through local
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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
generation but are also able to export

of innovative technological solutions
surplus energy to urban areas wherfor islanded power systems, the
ever necessary. Further research, deauthors discuss a laboratory setup
velopment, demonstration, and debased on scaled test systems, which
ployment will be needed, however,
includes a set of applications specifibecause rural electrification is a comcally developed for such autonomous
plex multidisciplinary problem that
power systems. The laboratorial infrarequires a proper balance of technolostructure allows the testing of
gy, market mechanisms, human capisolutions and prototypes, both for
tal, and effective regulatory policies.
hardware and software modules relatBut there is no question that rural
ed to microgrid applications.
electrification will undergo a generaThe third feature, An Overview of
tional transformation into a more
Rural Electrification in China, is coaureliable, affordable, and
thored by Zhaohong Bie
sustainable state in
and Yanling Lin. The auwhich new technologies
thors state that rural
Rural electrification
and new business modelectrification in China
is a complex
els are fully embraced.
has gone through a long
multidisciplinary
The second feature,
history, experiencing
problem that requires ministry changes and
Advanced Control
Solutions for Operating
policy modifications.
a proper balance of
Isolated Power SysUsing primarily locally
technology, market
tems, is coauthored by
developed and manmechanisms, human
Helena Vasconcelos,
aged resources, this syscapital, and effective tem has gradually
Carlos Moreira, Andr
Madureira, Joo Peas
evolved to a dynamic
regulatory policies.
Lopes, and Vladimiro
combination of grid exMiranda. The authors
tension and exploitause the Portuguese
tion of decentralized loislands as a case study. Portugal has
cal grids, with strong state support.
two main groups of islands: the
Currently, approximately 98% of
Madeira and the Azores archipelagos.
the villages in China are electrified.
Madeira is located in the North AtlanThe usual manner for rural electrificatic Ocean, in front of Morocco, about
tion in most developing countries has
1,000 km from the Portuguese contibeen grid extension. However, China
nental coast. The archipelago is one of
has experienced alternative solutions
the two autonomous regions of Portuincluding grid extension from the
gal and includes the islands of Madeistate power company and distributed
ra, Porto Santo, and Desertas. These
local generation run by decentralized
islands are famous as year-round
power companies as well as supply by
resorts visited by many tourists, in
decentralized power companies
particular, in the main Madeira Island,
(DPCs) for remote or smaller townwhere many cruise ships dock. The
ships outside the regional grid. Out of
authors discuss the sizing of a fly2,400 rural counties in China, 716
wheel energy storage system for Porto
(30%) are supplied directly by the state
Santo Island and the exploitation of
power company, which owns and ophydro resources through the quantifierates regional or provincial networks.
cation of the technical benefits resultCertain DPCs interconnected with
ing from variable speed hydro
large grids serve 1,004 counties (42%).
pumping stations in Madeira Island.
The other 800 DPCs generate at least
In addition, the authors address the
70% of their energy using small hybenefits of introducing electric vehidroelectric power units and small
cles in Flores Island, in the archipelago
thermal, wind, solar power, or hybrid
of Azores. To support the development
systems, incorporating multiple
technologies, which serve 652 counties (27%).

The fourth feature, Building Resilient Integrated Grids, by Shay Bahramirad, Amin Khodaei, Joseph
Svachula, and Julio Romero Aguero,
asserts that community microgrids,
with the aim of supplying electricity
for a group of consumers in a neighborhood or several connected neighborhoods with close proximity, have
emerged as an alternative to address
the rising societal demands for electric infrastructures that are able to
provide premium reliability and
power quality levels while being economic and environmentally friendly.
The authors discuss the components
of community microgrids and elaborate on the benefits and issues with
the development of community
microgrids. The authors advocate that
community microgrids could be
deliberated as viable solutions to
pressing challenges of economy, reliability, and environment while providing unprecedented benefits for
local consumers as well as the power
system as a whole. Community
microgrids would be built upon the
existing utility distribution network;
hence, these deployments would not
be successful unless fully supported
by utility companies. As microgrid
technology becomes more viable and
advantageous, utility companies will
need to be more involved to ensure
sustainable deployment, to the point
that utilities could ensure benefits
and become promoters of community microgrids.
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd),
the electric utility company in the
greater Chicago area, has been recently
awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a microgrid
master controller with applications to
community microgrids. A selected
group of leading authorities from manufacturers, consulting firms, software
developers, universities, and national
labs active in the power and energy
industry will be led by ComEd in this
effort. This work not only provides
IEEE
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ComEd with an invaluable experience

in transforming the traditional way of
electricity supply and delivery and
gaining first-hand knowledge
on future integrated grids but also
paves the way for other utilities that
understand the urge to adopt new
business models and are ready to
embrace changes.
The fifth feature, Islands in the
Sun, is coauthored by Wayne
Archibald, Zuyi Li, Mohammad Shahidehpour, Steve Johanns, and Tom Levitsky. The authors are the architects
for deploying 3.3 MW of solar power at
the University of the Virgin Islands
(UVI). UVIs two campuses considered
for the installation include the
St. Thomas campus and the Albert A.
Sheen campus on St. Croix. This solar
power deployment initiative will
reduce UVIs dependence on fossil
fuel by 50% by 2015. The photovoltaic
system will use approximately 5.7
acres on the St. Thomas campus and
3.9 acres on the Albert A. Sheen campus on St. Croix. This system is
expected to produce 5.9 million kWh
annually at the St. Thomas facility and
2.4 million kWh annually at the St.
Croix facility.
The U.S. Virgin Islands has 110,000
residents, but its energy prices are four
to five times higher than those in the
continental United States. Like many
islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands is
almost 100% dependent on imported
oil for electricity and water generation.
Residents pay about US$0.57/kWh to
light their homes and run their appliances, which is higher than 275% of
the national average per unit cost
benchmark of US$0.33/kWh. The solar
power deployment initiative will
reduce UVIs electricity price to
US$0.34/kWh (33% reduction) via distributed solar power and an advanced
storage system. The avoided electricity
cost is expected to be about US$11
million for the first eight years (39%
reduction) and about US$37 million for
the first 25 years (52% reduction). The
total budget of the solar power deployment initiative is US$13.136 million,
out of which US$3 million is sponlocally manufactured small wind tursored by a U.S. Department of Agriculbines, creating local training and manture grant, and the remaining
ufacturing centers close to the areas
US$10.136 million is the cost shared by
where the technology will be impleVeriown. Upon the completion of the
mented is the next step, with some
initiative, 3.3 MW of solar photovoltaorganizations already working toward
ics will be installed and operational at
the materialization of this vision. Such
the UVIs two campuses. Veriown will
centers of information sharing will
enter into a power purchase agreeenable local and international practitioment (PPA) with UVI. PPA is a financners to meet in person and better adapt
ing arrangement that allows UVI to
already-existing designs to the electrifipurchase solar electricity with little to
cation needs of remote communities in
no upfront capital cost.
the area. At the same time, the developThe sixth feature, Locally Manument of appropriate business models
factured Small Wind Turbines, is
and practices that strengthen local ecocoauthored by Kostas Latoufis, Thomnomic networks through rural electrifias Pazios, and Nikos Hatziargyriou.
cation will further encourage local
The authors state that low-cost
participation and ensure the economic
renewable energy technologies can
viability of such projects.
make small-scale electricity producThe seventh feature, The Tianjin
tion more accessible to rural commu2014 Symposium on Microgrids, is
nities. The local manufacturing of such
coauthored by Chris Marnay, Benjamin
technologies can significantly reduce
Kroposki, Meiqin Mao, Honghua Xu,
initial costs with the use of locally
Alex Chong, Se-Kyo Chung, Ryoichi
available materials,
Hara, Toshifumi Ise,
tools, and manufacturReza Iravani, Farid
In Greece, opening techniques, and at
Katiraei, Mihaela
the same time, it can
Albu, Nikos Hatziarsource technologies
reduce maintenance
gyriou, Toshihisa
are developed by
costs by providing
Funabashi, Jim Reilly,
communities of
appropriate training to
Johan Driesen, Guilldesigners and users,
the user community.
ermo Jimenez, and
with the distinction
The authors add that
Xavier Vallve. The
locally manufactured
between the two often authors report on the
small wind turbines,
success of the tenth
being nonexistent.
and open-source hardMicrogrid Sympoware technologies in
sium, which was held
general, provide a very
in 2014 at the Geneva
promising technological approach
Grand Hotel in Tianjin. Broad internathat can support sustainable rural
tional participation was achieved,
electrification schemes for remote
with 106 attendees from 18 countries.
parts of the world.
There were 26 technical presentaIn Greece, open-source technolotions by speakers from around the
gies are developed by communities of
globe as well as a panel session on
designers and users, with the distincstandards development and technition between the two often being
cal tours to the Tianjin Eco-City susnonexistent. Through such design
tainable city development, Tianjin
approaches, highly flexible, reliable,
Universitys Microgrid Laboratory, and
and scalable technologies are develthe Yanqing dc microgrid near
oped that provide low-cost products
Beijing. The next symposium, the
that are easy to maintain and repair
Aalborg 2015 Symposium on
and are well adapted to the social and
Microgrids, will be held in Denmark
environmental systems in which they
on 23 September, followed by two
operate. Looking into the future of
days of technical visits.
IEEE
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The Viewpoint colthat more than 70% of

It is confident
umn, Electricite Du Laos
the population had acthat it will achieve
Builds the Electric Syscess to electricity, and
its objectives
tem of the Future, is auplans called for that to be
and facilitate
thored by Patrick Avery.
increased to more than
Avery states that over
80% by 2014. This growth
the continued
the past ten years, Elechas dramatically imimprovement
tricite du Laos (EDL) has
proved citizens quality
of its customers
experienced significant
of life in Laos, but the
quality of life.
load growth on its elecload has grown faster
tric system, resulting in a
than EDL could upgrade
2012 unemployment
its electrical system, rerate of only 1.3%, according to Factfish. In
sulting in frequent, prolonged power
2011, the Laotian government reported
outages. This column reports on how
EDL is in the process of transforming

the Laos power system from a traditional manually operated power system
with frequent prolonged power outages
to an innovative self-healing automated
grid. Although it will take EDL about
three years to fully implement its new
system, it is confident that it will
achieve its objectives and facilitate the
continued improvement of its customers quality of life.
We hope that you enjoy the variety
of articles included in this special issue.
Advertise in
Electrication
Magazine
Reach Key Decision-Makers in Transportation
Electrication and Microgrid Technology
To Advertise, please contact:
IEEE Electrication Magazine is sponsored by
Erik Henson
Naylor Association Solutions

ehenson@naylor.com
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TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
Rural Off-Grid Electricity Service

in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Henry Louie, Elizabeth OGrady, Vincent Van Acker, Steve Szablya,
Nirupama Prakash Kumar, and Robin Podmore
CCESS TO ELECTRICITY IS A
money while steeply improving qualpersistent, endemic chality of life and supporting incomelenge impeding developgenerating activities.
ment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Decades
As an illustration, consider that
of postcolonial underinvestment have
1 kWh can power two light-emitting diresulted in just 80 GW of installed genode (LED) bulbs each supplying 90 lm of
eration capacityless than that of the
high-quality lighting for about 100 days
United Kingdomin a region with over
based on typical daily usage. A single860 million people. Of the 20 countries
wick-type kerosene lamp commonly
with the lowest elecfound in rural Africa
trification rates in the
would optimistically
Of the 20 countries
world, 19 are found in
consume about 2.5 L of
with the lowest
Sub-Saharan Africa,
fuel over the same peelectrification rates
where, on average,
riod at a cost of apin the world, 19 are
fewer than one in
proximately US$1.5/L,
three people have
while supplying lowfound in Sub-Saharan
access to electricity. In
quality lighting of perAfrica, where on
rural areas, electrificahaps 20 lm. In this exaverage less than one
tion rates plummet to
ample, which ignores
in three people have
less than 15%.
the health and safety
Although the stabenefits of electric
access to electricity.
tistics are desperate,
lighting, electricity
there are reasons to be
could be competitively
hopeful. Unencumbered by a legacy
priced at US$4.5/kWh or morea rate
power grid, free from strict regulatory
nearly two orders of magnitude greater
oversight, and serving a customer base
than in parts of the United States.
that highly values even modest
The high value placed on electricity
amounts of electricity, rural Sub-Sahacoupled with the relatively dim prosran Africa is fertile ground to re-envision
pects of national grid expansion into
how electricity can be provided.
the most remote areas has spurred
Perhaps the greatest opportunity
innovation in technology and business
is the appealing value proposition
models for providing off-grid electrical
that electricity offers the rural villagservice. Sub-Saharan Africa has
er. Even modest amounts of electricibecome a hotbed for new energy
ty can save significant time and
entrepreneurs working in the space of
isolated rural microgrids, and the market potential is immense. The InternaDigital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2014.2380111
tional Energy Agency estimates that
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Stand-Alone Electrical
System Architectures
Figure 1 shows three common standalone electrical system architectures
that are distinguished by their energy delivery mode. Microgrids, sometimes referred to as mini-grids, use
wired connections to serve multiple
customers in a limited geographic
area. Energy kiosks, also known as
community charging stations, rely
on the physical transportation of
batteries to deliver the energy they
produce. Solar home systems (SHSs)
often serve a single household and
may or may not have an explicit distribution system.
Microgrids
Microgrids can be implemented in a
variety of ways, with differing power
generation technologies, voltage
level and type (ac or dc), method of
distribution, and metering and payment systems.
Design Considerations
The most appropriate power generation technology for a microgrid
2325-5987/152015IEEE
IEEE
additional investments of US$20 billion

per year are needed in rural off-grid
systems by 2030 to achieve universal
access to electricity. If realized, it could
mean that over 100 million people in
Sub-Saharan Africa would be supplied
electricity by some form of standalone energy system.
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many mass-manufactured and readily

available appliances are designed to
'%rid
. ' ()'ib*) %n
operate at this voltage level.
.Tr*$!$'$%'*$&%!e
Recently, some small microgrid
La-%*)
developers have explored using low. %w-V%")%'Tr$(# (( %$
.$#%)"-&')
voltage dc distribution systems. This
enera)i%n
$')
%$
. ' $'-((Tier
strategy can reduce connection costs
% $)
while enabling basic functions like
$'- %(!
. $'-Tr$(&%')by))'y
lighting and mobile phone charging
.% "%$ ")'%$ vice%'
rather than an electricity service com )%r)"))'- )' $
parable to the national grid.
.&')by)
. %,%&'%$)& )"by*()%#'
With an eye toward scalability,
$') %$
G$')
%n
. %,' $'-((Tier
microgrid
developers are deploying
% $)
systems that can be remotely and

automatically operated and man.%,'by
. $"%'#""*#'%%*(%"(
aged. In addition to providing valu 'ved
able data on system performance, it
. %,' $'-((Tier
avoids having to find local employees
with sufficient technical and business
expertise. Cloud-connected meters
Figure 1. Common stand-alone electricity system architectures.
and other data acquisition systems
are used to monitor the microgrid,
collect payments, connect or discondepends heavily on the location and
and batteries, allowing the microgrid
nect customers, and even identify
size of the grid. Hydro turbines are
developer to install less battery and
theft of electricity. Data transmission
one of the lowest-cost options for
solar capacity. This is a useful strateand routing are important considergrids of at least a few hundred kilogy since PV and storage systems
ations in rural microgrids, and they can
watts of capacity in areas that are
without a backup generator need to
even influence the layout of the elecnear suitable rivers. Biomass systems
be sized to accommodate the worsttricity distribution system.
are capable of producing low-cost
case days and months, making
Distribution wires are laid in either a
energy and can be sized as small as a
them oversized for a typical day.
traditional trunk-and-branch layout,
few dozen kilowatts, but they require
Alternatively, some microgridstypiwhich is used on national grids, or a
management of feedstock to ensure
cally those on the scale of hundreds of
hub-and-spoke pattern, as shown in Figconsistent power generation. Managkilowattsmay run dieure 2. Sometimes, a
ing the feedstock adds complexity to
sel generators as their
hybrid of the two is
Sub-Saharan Africa
microgrid projects, which already
prime source of power.
used. The hub-andtend to be quite complicated.
In these systems, PV
spoke pattern allows
has become a hotbed
Wind turbines can be practical for
panels can be integratfor the monitoring of
for new energy
areas with suitable wind resources,
ed into the microgrid
all lines to occur at a
entrepreneurs
although the recent dramatic drop in
without battery storage
central point, which
working in the space
photovoltaic (PV) prices has made PVs a
to displace some of the
has two advantages.
more economical option in most areas.
load on the generators
First, it makes energy
of isolated rural
In general, the solar resources across the
during the day and,
theft difficult because
microgrids, and
entire African continent are very strong.
thus, reduce fuel conall of the power lines
the market potential
An installed kilowatt of PV panels will
sumption.
are monitored at the
is immense.
often yield more than 4 kWh per day. PV
There are several
source. Second, data
systems also have the advantages of
pricing options for
transmission is simple
flexibility in scale and location.
distributing electricibecause the data can
Finally, traditional diesel generaty in microgrids. Most microgrids,
be broadcast from a single point. Howevtors can play an important role in
and all large grids over a few kiloer, hub-and-spoke architecture requires
microgrids, particularly in systems
watts in size, use ac distribution. Wirfar more wire than trunk-and-branch
that involve battery storage. A genering costs are reduced because higher
layouts, driving up the cost. For this reaator can provide standby backup
voltagestypically 220240 Vcan be
son, hub-and-spoke grids tend to be no
power when paired with a PV system
used. Customers also benefit because
more than about 10 kW in capacity.
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The more traditional trunk-andbranch method allows many connections to share one main trunk line but
requires a meter at each end user so
that the energy usage is measured
separately. While this layout approach
benefits from more grid size flexibility
and lower distribution costs, it also
presents a heightened risk of energy
theft and a somewhat more challenging data transfer situation.
To solve the energy theft issue in
trunk-and-branch systems, some monitoring systems regularly reconcile the
total energy generated with the total
energy consumed. If there are discrepancies, the grid operator can investigate
to ensure that users are not bypassing
their in-home meters. To solve the data
transfer challenge, each meter can be
equipped with a subscriber identity
module (SIM) card and global system for
mobile communications (GSM) functionality. Alternatively, the meters may
use power line carriers or a wireless network to communicate information back
to a central point where it can then be
transmitted to the cloud. In general,
connectivity to a GSM network is not an
issue, even in very remote locations.
Payment and Billing

Microgrid developers must also
determine which billing and payment systems to use. Prepay systems
are common since they avoid having
to collect from customers in arrears.
Additionally, customers are able to
easily control how much they spend
and are very comfortable with prepay
systems as they are prevalent in the
mobile phone industry.
One type of prepaid system requires
compatible meters that are activated
by codes. Local agents sell scratch cards
with the codes that the customers
must then send in an short message
service (SMS) to add credit to their
accountsimilar to prepaid mobile
phone airtime. Another similar system
in use eliminates the scratch cards by
having the local agent send an SMS to
the microgrid developer when a customer pays. The agent receives a
Trunk and Branch
Hub and Spoke
Generation
Point
Generation
Point
Figure 2. Trunk-and-branch and hub-and-spoke are two distribution line options for microgrids.
unique code in return that the customer then enters manually into his or her
in-home meter.
More advanced meters integrate
with the very prevalent existing
mobile money platforms. In these
systems, when customers make a
payment, their account balance is
updated and their line turns on automatically, eliminating the need for
any local agents. Meters are the fastest-evolving technology in microgrids,
with new companies regularly entering the market and experimenting
with new approaches.
Other Considerations
Microgrid developers also need to identify suitable sites and ensure that they
are compliant with the local regulators,
who often have strong opinions about
how electricity tariffs should be set. For
all of these reasons, the process of
developing and operating microgrids is
a challenging one that requires comprehensive local knowledge and
experience to navigate.
Energy Kiosks
Energy kiosks operate more like a
retail store than a traditional utility. A
typical energy kiosk serves walk-up
customers and is equipped to
recharge mobile phones, repurposed
automobile batteries, and, in some
cases, dedicated portable battery kits
(PBKs). Energy kiosks bridge the gap

between having no electricity at all and
having wired electricity in a home.
While larger batteries are capable of
lighting a household for over a week,
they require time and sometimes cost
to transport in addition to time spent
waiting for charging to complete.
As with microgrids, a variety of
sources can be used to power an energy kiosk. There are important technical differences, however. Energy kiosks
require energy primarily during business hours, so 24-h service and reliability may not be necessary, although
overnight battery charging is sometimes offered. Whereas microgrids can
be designed to require little on-site
presence, energy kiosks require
customer-facing personnel. This reduces the technical complexity of the
system but increases the organization
complexity, as the staff must be hired,
trained, and managed.
Collecting payments is straightforward since customers can simply pay
cash at the kiosk under pre- or postpay schemes. Payments are generally
not tied to the amount of energy supplied; rather, the assessed fee is based
on battery size or charging timefor
example a flat fee, usually around
US$0.25, is assessed for recharging a
mobile phone regardless of the battery size or initial state of charge.
Although rather unsophisticated, this
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TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
in Narok County, Kenya. The village

has a population of about 1,000 people and is home to roughly 100 busiPortable Battery Kits
Solar Home Systems
nesses. In general, the shops and
Dedicated PBKs can be incorporated
SHSs, along with solar lanterns, have
households utilize kerosene for their
with energy kiosks. A PBK typically conbecome a significant part of the solulighting, and a few businesses have
sists of a rechargeable battery in a rugtion space for rural electrification
small gasoline generators (13 kW)
gedized case with several access ports
needs. SHSs typically consist of PV
that they use to power appliances
to allow for mobile phone charging,
panel(s); battery; charge controller; and
such as refrigerators, blow dryers, telelighting, or plug-in inverters. Larger
ports for lights, mobile phone charging,
visions, and sound systems. While the
PBKs also come with outlets for runand other appliances. SHSs come in a
national grid in Kenya has been
ning small home appliances like fans
wide range of capacitiestypically
expanding fairly aggressively over the
and radios, although they are usually
fewer than several hundred watts
past years, the town of Ololailumtia is
not included as part of the kit. PBKs are
and most use battery chemistries that
75 km from the nearest Kenya Power
available in different capacities and
are similar to those in PBKs.
and Light lines and is at least several
chemistries. Sizes from 3 to 18 Ah up to
In contrast to PBKs with PV panels,
years from any grid connectivity.
even 48 Ah are available depending on
SHSs are designed to be stationary, with
Two microgrids were installed in
design and usage concept. The nominal
larger capacities, and sometimes serve
Ololailumtia in 2014 by PowerGen
up to ten households. Because of this,
voltage is usually 6 or 12 V. The most
Renewable Energya Kenya-based
SHSs are sometimes interchangeably
common PBK battery chemistries are
company providing renewable energy
called mini dc microgrids. However,
sealed lead acid and lithium iron phosservices to residential, commercial,
some SHSs can also be ac based with the
phate. PBKs can cost anywhere from
and community-based clients in addiaddition of an inverter. DC SHSs are more
US$15 for the smaller 3-Ah battery systional to installing and operating
popular due to lower operation and
tems to roughly about US$160 for larger
microgrids. The microgrids in Olo20-Ah systems. Most PBK syslailumtia connect 30 customtems cost between US$5/Ah
ers in the community, includand US$8/Ah.
ing several small businesses
Most PBKs can be charged
such as phone-charging
from a small PV panel, which
kiosks, restaurants, hair salons,
can be purchased from the
and general stores. The grids
PBK manufacturer. Thus, most
do not connect everyone in the
PBKs can be used indepencommunity but instead focus
dently of an energy kiosk. The
on connecting pockets of
upfront cost of purchasing a
households and businesses
PBK with a solar panel and the
that expressed a high level of
perceived risk of the investinterest in, need for, and willment are real obstacles for vilingness to pay for electricity.
lagers, making rental or lease Figure 3. The steel PowerBox housing the power components
The second grid, Ololailumtia
programs from an energy with the 1.5 kW of PV panels on top. (Source: PowerGen.)
Microgrid 2, was added to the
kiosk an attractive alternative.
community after demand
maintenance costs. However, they can
Some PBKs can be recharged from
from the first grid proved strong. As
only run dc appliances, which tend to be
a standard outlet through an ac/dc
demand increases further, additional
more expensive than their masspower supply. This method is often
grids may be added or the capacity
produced ac counterparts.
preferred over direct charging by PV if
and customers connected to the curPayment schemes vary for SHS. Renta suitable ac supply is available, for
rent grids may increase depending on
to-own schemes, metered pre- or postexample by an inverter. The PBK
where the demand is geographically.
pay schemes, and schemes based on the
industry is trending toward so-called
The two grids installed in the
capacity of appliances connected to the
smart PBKs that can be remotely
community each incorporate 2.1 kW
SHS exist.
monitored, disabled, and even located.
of PV and a 9.6-kWh sealed lead-acid
PBKs are mostly manufactured in
battery bank. Although sealed leadCase Study:
China and to a lesser extent in India.
acid batteries are more expensive on
Ololailumtia Village Microgrid
Most of these PBKs are retailed in
a watt-hour basis, the remoteness of
Ololailumtia Village is located adjaAfrica where they are being used
Ololailumtia placed a premium on
cent to the Maasai Mara game reserve
extensively independently or along
lower-maintenance equipment.
pricing model avoids meters and can
be more intuitive to customers.
10
with the energy kiosks for rural electrification needs.
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The Ololailumtia grids each use a

such as kerosene, candles, and small
3-kW inverter to generate ac electricigenerators while still offering a return
ty from the battery bank. The inverton investment for PowerGen.
ers are high quality and produce a
The metering technology has a circlean sinewave output, which enables
cuit board with a SIM card that sends
the use of a broad range of appliances.
periodic status updates on each cusEach microgrid, including the distributomers energy consumption to the
tion wiring and installation, cost
cloud. The metering system also
about US$15,000.
interfaces with a relay on each line to
The components are housed in steel
enable automatic shutoff of the lines.
enclosures (PowerBoxes), which
When a customers balance goes to
Figure 4. The distribution cabinet with the
require a key to access, as shown in
zero, the cloud-based account manbreakers, meters, and relays. (Source: PowerGen.)
Figure 3. The PV panels are mounted
agement system sends a signal back
atop the boxes roughly 3 m above the
to the metering system in the Powerground. Barbed wire and locking bolts
designed as a starter kit so that cusBox to shut off that customers line
are used on the PV panels to deter theft.
tomers could immediately begin using
until he/she tops up their account
The PowerBoxes have cabinets built
electricity. The customers were free to
again. All of this information is disinto their exterior walls that house the
further wire their premises from the
played on an online interface for the
distribution boards and breakers from
breaker on the POU boardand most
convenience of the grid operator.
the grid, as shown in Figure 4. These
of them did.
The metering technology also colcabinets allow a local electrician to
Once connected, customers prepay
lects data on the battery voltage
access these components without havfor their energy through the ubiquitous
throughout the day as an indication of
ing full access to the power electronics
mobile money platform used throughthe state of charge, allowing the batinside the PowerBoxes.
out Kenya called M-Pesa (M for mobile
tery condition to be monitored. If the
The PowerBoxes have small footand pesa meaning money in Swahili).
voltage drops too low, the inverters in
prints and are located on land rented
This service allows customers to deposthe PowerBox will stop producing
from private landowners. The landit cash into their M-Pesa account
power until the voltage rises again to a
owners are paid rent on a monthly
through a local agent and then send
preset level. During the rainy season in
basis and receive free nighttime LED
this cash to other M-Pesa users or busiJune, PowerGen upgraded the original
lighting from the PowerBoxes, as
nesses. In this case, they send money to
1.5-kW PV arrays at both grids to
shown in Figure 5.
PowerGens business till number to pre2.1 kW to compensate for lower insoArmored cables run from the dispay for electricity. Customers are
lation levels. The average load profile
tribution boards to the dozens of
charged between US$2 and US$5/kWh,
and battery voltage are shown for
customers of the two microgrids in
with the lower rates applying when
both grids in Figure 6. Interesting to
Ololailumtia through trenches that
larger quantities of energy are purnote is the different pattern of energy
run along the streets in the village.
chased. The energy is priced to be less
usage at the two grids. Ololailumtia
The grids are of the hub-and-spoke
expensive than existing alternatives
Microgrid 1 has a higher number of
type and, thus, only serve
shops, phone-charging busicustomers within a radius of
nesses, and salons contributroughly 150 m.
ing to high daytime loads.
Customers paid a small
In contrast, Ololailumtia
connection fee of roughly
Microgrid 2 has several bars,
US$12. This fee was low
a video hall, and a lodging, all
enough to not pose a signifiof which use power predomicant barrier to connectivity
nantly at night.
for residents of Ololailumtia
It is estimated that the
but high enough to represent
microgrids are capable of
some level of commitment
p ro d u c i n g m o re t h a n
to demand for energy.
8 kWh of energy per day
Each customer was proeach. However, only 3-4 kWh
vided with a point-of-use
per day is being consumed.
(POU) board that included a
PowerGen is taking steps to
Figure 5. A PowerBox similar to this one in Narok County, Kenya,
breaker, a light bulb, and a provides free nighttime lighting to landowners in Ololailumtia.
find ways to stimulate
standard wall socket. It was (Source: PowerGen.)
demand to sell more of the
11
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600
32
250
30
500
30
200
28
400
28
150
26
300
26
100
24
200
24
50
22
100
22
0
0
12
16
Hour of Day
(a)
20
20
24
0
0
12
16
Hour of Day
(b)
Bus Voltage (V)
32
Power (W)
300
Bus Voltage (V)
Power (W)
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
20
24
20
Figure 6. The average load profile (green) and battery voltage (red) for (a) Microgrid 1 and (b) Microgrid 2 in Ololailumtia, Kenya.
available energy from the grids while

not compromising reliability. This is a
delicate balance, and so far PowerGen
has erred on the side of keeping utilization factors lower in favor of maintaining a high level of grid uptime.
Even operating at this roughly 50%
utilization factor on both grids, the revenues collected through the sale of
energy are sufficient to pay for capital,
installation, battery replacement every
few years, and operating costs (property rental, metering system fees, and
maintenance). With each microgrid
installation, the development process
becomes more streamlined and efficient, bringing costs down. As the economic profile of microgrids becomes
more attractive, more and more funding will be accessible, making
significant progress toward solving the

energy access challenge in SubSaharan Africa.
Case Study 2: Muhuru

Bay Energy Kiosk
The second case study focuses on an
energy kiosk that was installed in
August 2014 in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.
Muhuru Bay is located on the shores of
Lake Victoria, close to the Tanzanian
border. Although a few small shops in
the business district of Muhuru Bay are
connected to the national grid, the vast
majority of households are not. As in
Ololailumtia, most people rely on kerosene lamps and flashlights for lighting.
The energy kiosk is located about
5 km from the business district,
beyond the reach of the grid. The
Figure 7. An energy kiosk (foreground) and the headmasters house (background). (Source: Eli
Patten.)
12
kiosk provides modest amounts of

energy to about 70 families through a
PBK rental program. Customers pay a
monthly fee that entitles them to the
use of a 17-Ah (204 Wh) PBK and two
energy-efficient 1-W, 90-lm LED bulbs.
The PBK can be recharged at the
kiosk as often as needed.
The PBKs feature USB ports for
charging mobile phones and ports for
lights and other devices. A low-voltage disconnect protects the battery
from excessive discharge. The kiosk
sells radios, lamps, and cold sodas
and offers a popular mobile-phonecharging service that serves about 35
customers each day.
The kiosk operates as a social
enterprise whose start-up funds were
supplied by international donors. The
technical design and business plan
were developed by volunteers and students and faculty at Seattle University.
The dual goals of the kiosk are to supply electricity to the community and to
support Kristys Cape Academy (KCA),
a local private primary school, by providing electricity as well as financial
support from surplus revenue. The
kiosk is securely located within the
headmasters compound, about
40 m from the headmasters house.
The kiosk is shown in Figure 7, with
a schematic depicted in Figure 8. The
kiosk is blessed with considerable solar
and wind resources due to its equatorial
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1 kW
Station
Batteries
Controller
400 Ah, 48 Vdc

(19.20 kWh)
1 kW
Power
Supplies
Diversion
Load
Inverter
3 kW, 230 Vac, 50 Hz
Portable
Battery Kits
17 Ah (208 Wh) Each
Charge
Controllers
w/MPPT
Energy Kiosk
Loads
1.41 kW
North Facing
1.41 kW
East Facing
Headmaster
Loads
Data Acquisition,
Broadcast
48-Vdc Bus
230-Vac Bus
Figure 8. A schematic of the energy kiosk in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.
location and proximity to Lake Victoria.

Two 1-kW wind turbines and 12 235-W
PV panels supply electricity through
separate charge controllers to a 48-V,
400-Ah (19.2-kWh) stationary flooded
lead-acid battery bank. The wind turbines are made in Kenya and sit atop
12-m tilt-up guyed towers.
A 3-kW inverter (230 Vac, 50 Hz)
distributes power to two locations:
the energy kiosk and the headmasters house. Supplying power to a residence in addition to the kiosk is
somewhat unusual for an energy
kiosk, but in this case it reinforces
the dual goals of electricity provision
and support of KCA.
The PBKs are recharged in the
kiosk using an external off-the-shelf
power supply that converts the ac
from the inverter to approximately
16 Vdc. The dc output of each power
supply is connected to a PBK, which
uses its own internal charge controller
to recharge its battery (see Figure 9). A
PBK discharged deep enough for its
low-voltage disconnect to actuate
requires approximately 330 Wh over
Figure 9. The portable battery kits are charged on shelves inside the energy kiosk. (Source:
Eli Patten).
9 h to charge, including external

power supply losses. Figure 10 shows
the charging profile measured at the
dc side of the power supply.
The design of an energy kiosk can
be challenging as it is difficult to predict how frequently and in what
state of charge the PBKs will be

returned. A number of local factors
influence this, such as the distance
that customers must travel to reach
the kiosk and their electricity demand
patterns. An energy kiosk must be
designed to have appropriate power
13
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TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
Power (W)
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
1.5 3 4.5 6 7.5 9

Charging Time (h)
Figure 10. The charging characteristic of a

PBK.
400
60
300
55
200
50
100
45
0
0
40
8 12 16 20 24
Hour of Day
Bus Voltage (V)
Power (W)
and energy capabilities. In Muhuru

Bay, 1020 PBKs are returned each day.
Because most of the customers have
students attending KCA, the PBKs are
usually returned in the early morning, coinciding with the start of the
school day. Customers are encouraged to return the PBK while there is
still appreciable charge remaining (as
indicated on the front panel of the
PBK) as this prolongs battery life and
decreases the time to recharge. Most
have a 40% state of charge when
returned. Based on these figures, a
reasonable estimate is that each PBK
will provide about 510 kWh per year,
which corresponds to Tier 1 electricity
access, as defined by the World Bank.
However, it is anticipated that the
energy consumption will grow as electronic devices proliferate throughout
the community.
Certain data from the kiosk are
automatically sampled and sent to a
server using the local cellular network. The data sent includes current
Figure 11. The average energy usage and

battery voltage daily profile for the energy
kiosk in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.
14
from the PV panels and wind turbines; current to the diversion load;
DC bus voltage; inverter current, voltage, frequency, real power, and power
factor; cumulative energy into the station batteries; and control room temperature and humidity. The quantities
are sampled and transmitted each
minute using general packet radio
service, where they can be monitored
from anywhere in the world. Of particular interest in this installation is
the balance of energy. Over time, the
collected data will be used to determine if the kiosk can support additional PBKs.
The typical energy consumption
profile and dc bus voltage are shown
in Figure 11. The dc bus voltage, nominally 48 Vdc, is strongly influenced by
the production of power from the PV
panels and the load profile and to a
lesser extent the production from the
wind turbines. The coordination of the
diversion load and solar charge controller voltage set-points requires care.
When the station batteries approach a
fully charged state, the solar charge
controllers must disconnect before the
diversion load is connected to the dc
bus. This avoids a potentially hazardous condition in which the power
from both the wind turbines and PV
panels are diverted to the diversion
load, possibly overheating it.
The overnight consumption averages 200 W, mostly due to exterior
lighting and any PBKs left to
recharge overnight. There is a drop in
consumption around 8 a.m.after
the sun has risen but before the
kiosk is open for business. The consumption fluctuates during the day
as PBKs are returned and recharged.
Consumption due to interior lighting
and small appliances is clearly seen
starting around 8 p.m. The load profile has changed over the course of
the few months that the energy
kiosk has been in operation and will
likely further evolve as PBK and local
usage patterns evolve. For example, a
refrigerator was recently purchased
so that the kiosk could sell cold soda,
7%
27%
33%
15%
18%
Energy Kiosk Structure
PBKs
Wind Turbines
Solar Panels
Microgrid Equipment
Figure 12. A breakdown of the capital
costs for the energy kiosk.
a highly desirable product in many

rural areas.
The energy kiosk and associated
components cost about US$37,000.
The cost per family is around
US$500, which is comparable to the
unsubsidized cost of a grid connection in Kenya. Figure 12 provides a
breakdown of the capital costs. PBKs
comprise a large portion of the
capital costs. They are also the components with shortest life span, typically lasting around two years. Each
month, about US$620 must be saved
to pay for the eventual replacement
of the PBKs and other equipment, as
2%
18%
80%
Maintenance
Salary
Equipment Replacement
Figure 13. A breakdown of the monthly
expenses for the energy kiosk.
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like to thank the volunteers from

kiloWatts for Humanity (kWH) for
their dedication to the Muhuru Bay
energy kiosk.
For Further Reading
Figure 14. The PBK being picked up after being charged. (Source: Steve Szablya.)
shown in Figure 13. The salary is paid

to two employees who manage and
operate the kiosk (Figure 14).
The fee structure for the PBK program must be sufficient to pay for the
expenses. The price point for the PBK
rental is 1,100 Kenyan shillings (KES)
(US$12.50) per month with an enrollment fee of 500 KES (US$5.68). These
price points were informed by a preinstallation survey, community focus
groups, and financial projections for
the business. Again, the price per kilowatt hour of electricity is high by
American and European standards,
but it is only somewhat above what
an average Kenyan household spends
on kerosene, candles, and small dry
cell batteries of 933 KES (US$10.61)
each month. If the projections hold
true in the long term, an average surplus of US$160 per month will be
given to the school.
Upfront monthly subscription fees
were somewhat unusual to the local
community. However this model has
several advantages over a pay-as-yougo structure: there is no incentive to
limit the number of recharges by
deeply discharging the battery; it
streamlines the bookkeeping and
reduces the number of financial
transactions that must be tracked.
The long-term sustainability of

the Muhuru Bay energy kiosk, like
any development project, will
depend on several factors. The technical and economic details discussed
here are only pieces of the comprehensive sustainability plan for the
energy kiosk. Organizations and individuals seeking to become involved
in energy development are strongly
encouraged to plan for sustainability
at the outset of any project to have
an enduring impact on the lives of
the people it is intended to serve.
Conclusions
Sub-Saharan Africa presents obstacles
and opportunities for electrification.
The architectures, technologies, and
business models presented in this
article are but some of those found in
this dynamic and rapidly evolving
space. The electricity itself is not a
panacea for poverty, but it can be
thoughtfully coupled with education,
job creation, and empowerment to
achieve benefits beyond the light bulb.
Acknowledgments
Portions of this work were supported by the Alstom Foundation for the
Environment, IEEE Smart Villages,
and Seattle University. We would
International Energy Agency, Energy

for all: Financing access for the poor,
in World Energy Outlook, Oct. 2011.
H. Louie, P. Dauenhauer, M. Wilson,
and A. Zomers, Eternal light: Ingredients for sustainable off-grid energy
development, IEEE Power Energy Mag.,
vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 7078, July 2014.
V. Van Acker, S. J. Szablya, H. Louie,
J. McLean Sloughter, and A. S. Pirbhai,
Survey of energy use and costs in
rural Kenya for community microgrid
business model development, in Proc.
2014 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conf. (GHTC), 1013 Oct. 2014, pp.
166173.
W. Maathai, The Challenge for Africa.
New York: Pantheon Books, 2009.
Biographies
Henry Louie (hlouie@ieee.org)
___________ is an
associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Seattle University,
Washington.
Elizabeth OGrady (eogrady@
_______
powergen-re.com) is a business
development associate at PowerGen
Renewable Energy in Nairobi, Kenya.
Vincent Van Acker (vincent.van.
________
acker@alstom.com) is a lead delivery
_____________
engineer in distribution automation at
Alstom Grid in Redmond, Washington.
Steve Szablya (s.szablya@ieee.org)
____________
is an adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Seattle University,
Washington.
Nirupama Prakash Kumar (niru____
pama.pkumar@yahoo.com) is a
____________________
senior operations engineer at Wind
Logics, a subsidiary of Next Era Energy, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Robin Podmore (robin@incsys.com)
___________ is
the president of Incremental Systems
Corporation, Seattle, Washington.
15
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By Guohui Yuan
Recent innovations in renewable generation,

energy efficiency, and grid modernization.
HE DEFINITION OF RURAL AREAS HAS
evolved over time because of the urbanization movement. Today, rural areas are
typically defined as all territories outside
urban or suburban areas, where farming
is still the main economic activity. The U.S Census
Bureau defines a rural area as any area outside of an
urbanized area whose population is greater than 50,000
and whose core population density is greater than 1,000
persons per square mile (or 386 persons per square kilometer). There are many other definitions by different
countries and even by different government agencies
within the same country. Regardless, the common attributes of rural areas are the small population clusters
and low population density. These two characteristics
dictate that there are tremendous challenges to building infrastructure in the geographically disperse rural
areas, which constrains economic activities and household incomes.
Historical Background
Rural electrification has come a long way since the early
days of electric power systems. In the United States, by the
end of 1920s, electricity was generally accessible to the
average citizens in cities like New York, but most of the

16
rural areas were without

electricity. An executive
order was signed by
President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 establishing the Rural Electrification Administration, and
by 1975, more than 99%
of all farms had electricity. The National Academy of Engineering ranks
electrification as one of
the greatest engineering
achievements in the
20th century.
Similarly, in other developed countries, the rural electrification rate is 99% or greater. In the developing world,
however, rural electrification has lagged by several
decades but has grown rapidly in recent years, particularly
in China (>99%) and India (>90%). Still, as of 2009, over a
billion people, or 20% of the worlds population, do not
have access to electricity. The majority live in rural areas.
Rural Electrification Mission

People living in rural areas use electricity beyond the basic
needs of lighting and watching TV. To improve their standard of living at home, they need electricity for heating and
cooling and for home appliances for daily chores. To
achieve higher productivity at work, they need electricity
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Current Solutions
Broadly speaking, there are two rural electrification models today. In developed countries, centralized power systems have been built in rural areas over the years with
long transmission and distribution lines. The infrastructure is aging. The costly system upkeep, lack of flexibility,
and reliance on largely fossil fuel-based power generation
are some of the reasons that the existing systems are not
sustainable. Renewable generation such as wind and solar
photovoltaics (PVs) is emerging but still constitutes a tiny
fraction of the generation mix.
In the developing world, off-grid diesel generation and
primitive distribution lines have been the most popular
alternative for rural electrification. (Some island areas in
developed countries, such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico, also
rely on diesel generators but have a more mature distribution grid.) In the short term, diesel generation provides a
decent solution to meet the day-to-day electricity needs of
people living in rural and remote areas. There are some
advantages with diesel: it is modular, quick to set up, and
easy to operate. But for the long term, diesel generation is
not sustainable because it is expensive, less efficient, less
reliable, noisy, and polluting. Diesel generation is highly
sensitive to fluctuations in fuel supply and prices. Transportation safety is also a big concern.
Challenges Facing Current Systems
IMAGE LICENSED BY INGRAM PUBLISHING
for farming, pumping, and food processing. For trade and

commerce, they need communication, transportation, and
finance. They also need 21st-century services such as distance learning, telemedicine, and broadband Internet. All
require electricity.
Technology advancements have been able to close the
gap between urban and rural infrastructures, thereby narrowing the difference between the standards of living. The
most recent examples are the wireless communication and
Internet technologies, which enable rural areas to skip the
traditional wired infrastructures and leap into the digital
wireless era. There is no doubt that the emerging technologies in renewable generation, the smart grid, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency will revolutionize rural electrification once again.
The biggest challenge for rural electrification is the high cost

associated with building and maintaining generation, transmission, and distribution lines. In the traditional centralized
power system, large generation plants are usually built near
urban population centers so as to reduce the cost of building
transmission lines. They are not optimally designed in terms
of size and location for geographically dispersed rural areas.
In many cases, the transmission lines simply pass through
rural areas without providing electricity to the communities
down below. Studies have shown that it typically costs millions of dollars per mile to build transmission lines and hundreds of thousands of dollars for distribution lines. The fossil
fuel-based power plants tend to be built as large as possible
to recoup the huge capital cost and make a profit for the
investors. Compared with urban and suburban areas, rural
areas have the fewest customers per mile and energy consumption and energy revenue per mile, providing few incentives for business development in rural electrification.
Because of these unfavorable economic factors, government
subsidies (and/or mandates) have been the primary resources for building rural electric infrastructure. When the subsidies are not available, rural people are left without electricity.
In most countries, electricity markets and policy mechanisms also play a critical role in influencing the end consumers behavior and, in turn, the investment decisions by
the service providers on long-term infrastructures. Market
mechanisms work best when generation and demand
respond elastically to the pricing curve. Today, neither generation nor loads are dynamic enough to respond to pricing
17
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signals. Another major challenge is the cost allocation of

infrastructure investment among key market participants.
For example, to integrate large amounts of renewable generation into the grid, transmission and distribution
upgrades are needed in most cases. How to fund these
upgrades has been debated for years, and there does not
seem to be a clear solution.
In addition to the economic challenges, there are many
technical and operational challenges as well. By the laws
of physics, the fundamental challenge of power systems is
the balance of supply and demand while complying with
system performance and reliability standards. Electricity
cannot yet be stored as easily and affordably as gasoline,
but we are getting there. Therefore, generation and consumption have to be balanced in real time. Most of the
world uses ac synchronous systems, which require all
generators to operate at the same
voltage, frequency, and phase angle
to within an allowable margin.
Compared with a small system in
which generation and load are colocated and the number of nodes in the
network is modest, it is much harder
and more complex to balance a large
interconnected power system in
which hundreds of large generators
are connected through thousands of
miles of transmission lines to serve
millions of people. The locations, network topologies, and dynamics and
variability of generation and load are
all contributing factors that determine how supply and demand are
balanced within a specific service
area as well as in the entire power
system. In the United States, regional
system operators and independent
system operators have the most challenging job of balancing tens to hundreds of gigawatts of electric powersecond
by second, minute by minute, and hour by hourin a geographic area that usually covers multiple states. Some of
their major tasks include generator control and dispatch,
frequency and voltage regulation, load forecasting and unit
commitment, system protection and recovery, and metering and account settlement.
The centralized ac power system model is neither flexible nor resilient. The generation plants are not flexible
because of their sheer size and the time it takes to ramp up
and down. The smaller gas-fired peaker units have faster
ramp rates, but they do not run all the time because of
higher operation costs. (The current natural gas production
boom and low price have made gas-fired power plants
more competitive. However, it remains to be seen whether
the low gas price is sustainable.) The load is not flexible
either. Most of the electric loads today are passive, meaning
that they are unaware of the generation supply situation
and the electricity pricing. For example, on a hot summer

day, the air-conditioning systems will operate at full duty
cycle while the power system is stressed to its limit. The
dynamic pricing response is only limited to those loads that
are retrofitted with demand response control systems.
In the distribution system, reverse power flow is a
major challenge as the penetration of distributed renewable generation such as rooftop PV increases. The current
ac power system has been designed and optimized for
power flow in one direction: from central generation to
end consumers. It is anticipated that at higher penetration, distributed wind, solar, and other small generation
can exceed power consumption needs at certain interconnection points, and, therefore, reverse power flows
can occur in the direction from consumers back to the
distribution grid and possibly back into the bulk power
system. Grid planners and operators
need to make sure that the protection equipment recognizes bidirectional power flows and that equipment ratings and settings properly
account for the total fault currents
coming from all sources. Another
key challenge in the distribution grid
is the management of variability
from wind and solar generation so
that it does not cause voltage variations to exceed the American
National Standards Institute limits.
Without proper management, the
variability can cause excessive operation and premature failure of
voltage-regulation equipment such
as load tap changers, voltage regulators, and capacitor banks. A third
challenge is the complexity involved
in the coordinated system operation
through the integration of sensors, power-flow controllers, communications, supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA), and operation software such as Distribution Management System (DMS). The integration of
information technology (IT) and operation technology
(OT) are becoming more and more important for grid
operation, but the existing solutions tend to be quite
complex and expensive.
These technical and operational challenges are particularly difficult for the rural electric system because of its
long distribution feeders and distance from the transmission lines. When renewable generation plants are built in
rural areas, they tend to be large due to the availability of
land. As a result, reverse power flow, voltage regulation,
and wear and tear of equipment are all real problems for
the relatively weak rural electric grid. Reconfiguring and
upgrading the system hardware and software adds significant cost, and the integration of IT and OT is technically
nontrivial.
The costly system

upkeep, lack of
flexibility, and
reliance on largely
fossil fuel-based
power generation
are some of the
reasons that the
existing systems
are not sustainable.
18
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Most of these challenges mentioned apply to the rural

off-grid power systems as well. There, the power quality
and reliability issues are even more pronounced because
of the lack of sophistication in system planning and operation. While most of the discussions in this and the following sections are based on the U.S. electric power
system, the general principles also apply to other countries and other types of electric power systems.
Sustainable Rural Electric

InfrastructuresA New Era
The challenges facing todays centralized electric power
system are the results of the over 100 years of legacy. They
also reflect the lack of viable alternative solutions up until
now. Today, the entire energy industry, of which rural electrification is an integral part, is undergoing a transformation that only happens once in a lifetime. Numerous
breakthroughs are happening in renewable generation, the
smart grid, energy storage, electric vehicles, and energy
efficiency that will fundamentally change the way we
generate, store, deliver, and consume
electricity. The convergence of energy
and information technologies (or OT
and IT) is also a signature of this
transformation. There is already a
critical mass to integrate these technologies into a new, affordable, and
sustainable energy systemrural
electrification included.
I propose a model rural electric
system, where the ingredients of this
model system include mostly local
renewable generation (solar, wind,
and biomass), a local power-delivery
network (no transmission or substation), an optimal amount of energy storage, energy-efficient
and flexible loads, and operation management to self-balance the local generation and demand. The size of this
model system can range from a few kilowatts to several
megawatts, powering anywhere from a single home to an
entire rural community.
This model elegantly addresses the many challenges
discussed earlier. Using local renewable resources brings
generation closer to the load and eliminates the need for
building long transmission and distribution lines. Selfbalancing at a smaller footprint makes system planning
and operation simpler and more resilient. By dynamically
managing the flexible load, it is possible to optimize the
supply and demand curve at the same time. It is worth
pointing out that market mechanisms and business models need a paradigm change as well to go local and
distributed. Deregulated retail energy services, nontraditional utilities, prosumers (i.e., producer and consumer),
transactive energy, cooperatives, peer-to-peer energy sharing, and other ideas have shown promises. There is no
one-size-fits-all solution. This is a fertile ground for inno-
vation as the energy transformation unfolds. The following sections will discuss the proposed model rural electric
system in more detail.
Local Renewable Generation

The advancement in renewable generation technologies and
the rapid decline in costs have become game changers for
the electric industry, and rural electrification is no exception.
The vast area covered by rural communities used to be a disadvantage, but it now becomes a huge advantage because
renewable generation, which is the distributed energy
resource, needs a lot of land space. In ideal cases, the rural
areas will be net electricity exporters because their wind,
water, and solar resources exceed what can be consumed
locally. David Mackay well articulated this point by plotting
the per capita energy consumption (i.e., energy consumption
intensity) for most of the countries in the world alongside
the available renewable energy resources per square meter.
Note that this is the total energy consumed for transportation, heating, and electricity. (The average energy consumption in the United States is the equivalent of 250 kWh/day per person.) It can
be seen from Figure 1 that in most of
the world (including the United
States), the average energy intensity is
below the 0.5-W/m2 line. Comparing
this to the wind power line of 2.5 W/m2
and the PV solar line of 10 W/m2, it is
reasonable to conclude that in most
places, local wind, solar, and other
renewable resources are sufficient to
meet the demand with acceptable
land use ratio. Other studies have
reached similar conclusions.
We can extend this analysis to
rural areas using the same methodology and U.S. census
and Energy Information Administration data. Figure 2
shows a plot of some representative samples of state- and
city-level electricity consumption versus the population
density. On average, the per capita electricity consumption
is about one-third of the total energy consumption. Without
any surprise, we found that there is a wide distribution of
population density and per capital electricity consumption
among the states and major cities. We carefully researched
and plotted the United States Rural data point, which is
calculated using data from the National Rural Electric Coorperative Association (NRECA) fact sheets, and the Tri-State
data point, which is calculated from the annual report of
the Tri-State cooperative utility in the western region. These
indicate that the average rural energy consumption per
person is much lower than the U.S. average. Regardless of
urban or rural, the per capita electricity consumption
across the United States is quite high (close to 100 kWh/
day/person).
Almost all of the states and cities plotted (except for the
densely populated areas of New Jersey, New York City, and
The current natural

gas production boom
and low price have
made gas-fired
power plants more
competitive.
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ce
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an
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10
10,000
Figure 1. The power consumption per person versus the population density in 2005. The point size is proportional to the land area (except for
areas under 38,000 km2, which are shown by a fixed smallest point size to ensure visibility). Both axes are logarithms. (Figure courtesy of David
J.C. MacKay, www.withouthotair.com.)
_____________
Washington, D.C.) are well below the 10-W/m2 solar power

resource line, which means that local PV generation can meet
a significant portion of the total electricity demand. (Note that
a simple calculation using the National Renewable Energy
Laboratorys PV watts shows that PV power output ranges
from 10 to 30 W/m2, depending on geographic location, climate zone, module technology, and system configuration. For
the analysis in this article, we use 10 W/m2 to simply illustrate
its order of magnitude.) In rural areas, the energy consumption density is several times lower than the national average
and well below 0.1 W/m2; therefore, the local supply-anddemand picture looks much more favorable.
Countries and regions can be grouped into four categories with distinct energy consumption profiles: rural
developed, urban developed, rural developing, and urban
developing (Figure 3). Clearly, both rural-developed and
rural-developing regions can rely on local renewable
resources to meet the energy demand. The urban areas
will need more energy-dense local generation or will need
to import from other regions.
Local Grid Infrastructure

The traditional centralized ac power system is built and optimized for one-way power flow: generation, transmission,
20
distribution, and consumer. For future rural electrification,

this can be replaced by a local power delivery network (no
transmission or substation) that integrates an optimal
amount of energy storage, energy-efficient and flexible loads,
and uses operation management tools to self-balance the
local generation and demand. Communications, SCADA, and
information technologies will be critical parts of this new
system. The size of this model system can range from a few
kilowatts to several megawatts in size, representing an
individual home up to a small community of several thousands. This model system, essentially a microgrid, offers an
excellent solution for the future rural electrification because
it is 1) distributed and local, 2) clean and sustainable, 3) modular and scalable, 4) reliable and resilient, and 5) cost-effective. See Figure 4 for the rural electric model system and various microgrid configurations.
If the model system were built from scratch, it would
have been built from the bottom up, and from the edge to
the center, without centralized planning. It can start from a
single prosumer microgrid, in which rooftop PV, for example, will produce all of the energy needed for the household
consumption. An energy storage system will be needed for
nighttime use and for smoothing out the PV variability. A
home energy management system will monitor and
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Per Capita Electricity ConsumptionGeneration Resources

1,000
0.001 W/m2
0.01 W/m2
Electricity Consumption (kWh/d/p)
Wyoming
0.1 W/m2
1 W/m2
PV10 W/m2
United States and States
Iowa
Texas
100
Hawaii
Colorado
New York
Washington, D.C.
New Jersey
Los Angeles
United States
Tri-State
California
New York City
United States
Rural
10
1
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
Population Density (People/km2)
Figure 2. The U.S. state- and city-level per capita electricity consumption in relation to population density and available renewable energy
resources per square kilometer.
Per Capita Energy

Consumption Versus Generation Resources
1,000
Energy Consumption (kWh/d/p)
control both the generation and load for system balancing.

This is the zero net energy (ZNE) home model and can be
achieved with existing technologies. If the costs continue to
come down as in recent years, the single prosumer
microgrid will be very popular in rural areas.
Next is the neighborhood microgrid, in which a few
homes can pool together the generation resources to meet
their demands. A modest investment in electric wiring is
needed to connect the homes together. The neighborhood
energy management system will be a little more sophisticated to balance the generation and load for the collection of
homes. The generators and storage might not be colocated
in the homes but will be close by. The neighborhood
microgrid can have both ZNE and non-ZNE homes. But it is
a ZNE neighborhood and does not import or export energy
across the neighborhood boundary.
Next is the community microgrid, in which tens to hundreds of homes and buildings are connected together. Larger
solar systems might be built and shared in the community.
More electric wirings are built to connect the homes together. More sophistication is needed in the energy management
system. The community microgrid is a ZNE community that
includes both ZNE and non-ZNE homes and both ZNE and
non-ZNE neighborhoods. It does not import or export energy
across the community boundary.
Up to this point, the microgrid systems are mostly peer to
peer, without the need for a substation and transmission. The
substation microgrid looks more like a traditional distribution
system operating in island mode. If transmission is expanded
Urban,
Developed 2
Rural,
Developed 1
100
Urban,
Developing 4
Rural,
Developing 3
10
1
1
10
100
0.001 W/m2
0.01 W/m2
0.1 W/m2
1,000
1 W/m2
PV10 W/m2
Figure 3. The grouping of countries and regions into four categories

with distinct energy consumption profiles.
to the region and connected, then the substation microgrid

can operate in both grid-connected and island mode.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of microgrid configurations but just some examples to highlight the key message that microgrid-based systems can be built modularly. At
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[Figure 5(a)]. The large, interconnected

system needs to be designed and
operated to meet the diverse and
sometimes conflicting needs of each
local area, and in many cases, the system has to compromise to a nonoptimal design. With the microgrid, each
local area is its own BA and is independent of the others. Therefore, the system design can be optimized to the
particular energy consumption profile
for each local area [Figure 5(b)].
Transmission
Distribution
Full Substation Microgrid
Community Microgrid
DG
DG
ES
ES
DG ES
ES
DG
Neighborhood
Neighborhood
Microgrid
Microgrid
Single
Prosumer
Microgrid
Local Business Models
The existing electricity markets

and utility business models have
become barriers to the deployment of
ES
ES
new technologies, whether it is wind
and solar renewable generation, energy efficiency, or the smart grid. They
also hinder the investment in the traFigure 4. The rural electric model system and various microgrid configurations. ES: energy storage.
ditional way because of the huge upfront costs, market complexity (regulated versus deregulated, federal vereach level, the individual network nodes can operate as
sus state jurisdiction), and cost allocation issues. As a result,
automatons. For the system components to work seamlessly
investment decisions on electric infrastructure tend to be
together, the intelligence has to be distributed and the integravery conservative and take a long time, leaving the existing
tion interfaces have to be well defined.
grid quickly aging, less reliable, and less resilient.
The microgrids can also be viewed from the balance area
Technology advancements have leveled the playing field
(BA) perspective. In todays centralized ac system, a large balwhere smaller, local, and nonutility entities can safely and
ancing area (such as the California Independent System
efficiently generate and deliver electricity and become elecOperator service territory) usually consists of smaller local
tricity service providers, breaking open the natural monopoly
regions having distinct energy consumption profiles
of the utility industry. The ubiquitous communication and
DG
DG
Per Capita Energy

Consumption-Generation Resources
Per Capita Energy

Consumption-Generation Resources
1,000
1,000
100
1
BA0
4
10
3
BA2
100
BA1
BA4
10
BA3
1
1
10
100
(a)
0.001 W/m2
1,000
0.01 W/m2
0.1 W/m2
10
100
(b)
1 W/m2
1,000
PV10W/m2
Figure 5. (a) A large BA typically consists of smaller regions with varying energy density profiles. (b) A large BA can be broken down into smaller
BAs for better operation.
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information technologies are also key enablers for these

emerging energy service providers and will revolutionize the
energy service industry like they did for other industries,
including commercial retail, travel, and health care.
The traditional utilities need to be incentivized to invest
in new technologies through a decoupling mechanism,
meaning that the utilities revenue and profit are not tied to
the number of kilowatt hours sold but cover a whole range of
services. Utilities should be allowed to engage in deregulated
electric retail services. In the United States, the rural utilities
have long adopted the cooperative model, which has been
very successful in keeping the electricity costs down.
Both traditional and nontraditional electricity service
providers can adopt the concept of transactive energy that,
according to the GridWise Architecture Council, refers to
techniques for managing the generation, consumption, or
flow of electric power within an electric power system
through the use of economic or market-based constructs
while considering grid reliability constraints. The term
transactive comes from considering that decisions are
made based on a value. These decisions may be analogous
to or literally economic transactions.
Case Study 1: Cost of Distributed

Generation Integration in California
Southern California Edison (SCE) is an investor-owned public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying
and delivering electricity to an approximately 50,000-mi2 area of southern
California. The SCE serves a population of nearly 14 million people
through approximately 5 million customer accounts. SCEs service area
covers a diverse geography of urban,
suburban, and rural areas including
desert and mountain regions. Approximately 75% of SCEs customers reside
in urban and suburban communities
covering 1520% of the service territory, while the remaining 25% of customers live in rural areas spread
across 8085% of the service territory.
Out of the total 4,500 feeder circuits,
3,626 are urban and 874 are rural. Figure 6 shows the geographic locations
of the urban and rural areas in the SCE service territory.
Two separate studies were conducted by SCE and the
California Energy Commission to estimate the cost of integrating 4,800 MW of distributed generation, which is SCEs
share of the 12,000-MW California statewide local energy
resource/distributed generation (DG) capacity target and is
primarily achieved through distributed PV. SCE has a peak
load of about 22.5 GW; therefore, the 4,800 MW of DG represents approximately 20% of DG penetration by capacity.
The studies conclude that the costs of the transmission
and distribution system upgrade for DG integration
Rural
Urban
Figure 6. The urban and rural areas in the SCE service territory.
[Image courtesy of a CEC study (CEC-200-2013-007) prepared
by Navigant.]
ranged from a low of US$1 billion for DG installed mostly

in urban areas to a high of US$4.5 billion for DG installed
mostly in rural areas. This indicates that the integration
cost for local DG could be as high as US$1/W if the distributed PVs were installed in rural areas.
The SCEs DG integration challenges and associated
costs are largely due to the incompatibility of the existing
grid infrastructure and the dramatic
change in power flows when many
distributed generators are interconnected. The distribution upgrade
need is driven by the voltage impact
from the DGs. Without any surprise,
the studies found that voltage violations are lower when DG is installed
in urban areas, where feeders are
shorter and cables are thicker, and
much higher when DG is installed in
rural areas, where feeders are longer
and cables are thinner. Voltage violations are lower when DGs are evenly
distributed and higher when they are
clustered in one place, the worst
being at the end of a long feeder.
In 2013, SCE announced the permanent retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 2 and 3, which reduces the total generation in
the Los Angeles, California, area by a little more than 2 GW.
Unfortunately, this capacity gap cannot be filled completely
by distributed PV. Even though the grid is able to handle higher DG penetrations, there is not a sufficient PV resource locally in the Los Angeles urban areas (see the Los Angeles data
point in Figure 2). Therefore, the lower-cost solution is not
achievable if PV is the primary resource. Other high-energydensity generation needs to be built locally, or it will be
necessary to import electricity. In rural areas, the distributed
The advancement
in renewable
generation
technologies and
the rapid decline in
costs have become
game changers for
the electric industry.
23
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PV should be able to meet 100% of the electricity need. The

DG integration costs will be lower if the distributed PV can be
evenly distributed along the feeder and sized to be comparable with the loads.
Case Study 2: PV Microgrids in

Developing Countries
A recently published United Nations Foundation report
assessed the current state of rural microgrid best practices
in developing countries. The research team visited
12 microgrids in India, Malaysia, and Haiti and interviewed
seven developers. The report concludes that while adequately financed and operated microgrids based on renewable and appropriate resources can overcome many of the
challenges faced by traditional strategies of extending the
central grid, these projects can enter into virtuous or
vicious cycles. It further concludes that best practice with
respect to design is that developers should not design the
system based on pure technological considerations, but
instead adapt to the specific social and economic characteristics of the rural community.
These rural microgrids typically provide electricity services with limited power and duration. In one example, the
standard microgrid service is two compact fluorescent
lights and one cell phone per household. A similar
microgrid project in India provides 6 h of street-lighting and
charging services using PV and battery backup systems. In
this project, the levelized cost of electricity of the PV-battery
microgrid was estimated to be US$0.64/kWh compared
with US$1.35/kWh for diesel generation. The rural
microgrids are still expensive but are cheaper than the
alternatives. They are usually subsidized by governments or
nongovernment organizations. These microgrid projects
provide bare minimum services in remote rural places
where the centralized grid is not available or electricity is
not reliable even when there is centralized grid.
But it can be better. The model rural electric system proposed earlier should be self-sustainable from both an energy
resource and economic perspective. The prices of PV, battery,
lighting, energy-efficient appliances, and communication are
all coming down rapidly, leveling the playing field for rural
communities. In addition to technologies and financing, education is the key. The local community members will need to
learn and grasp the working knowledge of electricity generation, distribution, and balancing the load. They will need to
be savvy enough to operate and maintain the microgrid just
like the skilled workers in large utilities. And finally, they will
need to have the pride to keep the lights on.
Looking Forward
This is an exciting time for rural electrification. Recent
innovations in renewable generation, energy efficiency, and
grid modernization offer tremendous opportunities for the
development of new rural electric infrastructures that will
leapfrog the traditional centralized power systems, much
like the way digital networks leapt over the plain old
24
telephone system during the telecom boom in the 1990s.

The abundance of sun, wind, water, and land resources in
rural areas, combined with these new methods of
generating, storing, delivering, and consuming energy, hold
the promise that rural areas are not only able to meet their
own electricity demand through local generation but are
also able to export surplus energy to urban areas wherever
necessary. Further research, development, demonstration,
and deployment will be needed, however, because rural
electrification is a complex multidisciplinary problem that
requires a proper balance of technology, market mechanisms, human capital, and effective regulatory policies. But
there is no question that rural electrification will undergo a
generational transformation into a more reliable, affordable,
and sustainable state in which new technologies and new
business models are fully embraced.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official
policy or position of any agency of the U.S. government.
For Further Reading

National Academy of Engineering (NAE). (2014, Nov.). Greatest
engineering achievements of the 20th century. [Online]. Available: www.greatachievements.org
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2011, Nov.). World energy
outlook 2011. [Online]. Available: www.worldenergyoutlook.
org
__
NRECA. (2014, Nov.). Co-op facts and figures. [Online]. Available: http://www.nreca.coop/about-electric-cooperatives/
co-op-facts-figures/
____________
D. J. C. MacKay, Solar energy in the context of energy use,
energy transportation and energy storage, Philosoph. Trans. R.
Soc. A, vol. 371, p. 20110431, July 2013.
T. l. Mai, D. Sandor, R. Wiser, and T. Schneider, Renewable
electricity futures study: executive summary, National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Tech, Rep. NREL/TP6A20-52409-ES, 2012.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Annual energy outlook 2014 (AEO2014), Tech. Rep. DOE/EIA-0383, May 2014.
E. Shlatz, N. Buch, and M. Chan, Distributed generation
integration cost study: Analytical framework, California Energy Commission, Tech. Rep. CEC-200-2013-007, 2013.
GridWise Architecture Council, Gridwise transactive energy
framework DRAFT version, Tech. Rep. PNNL-22946, Oct. 2013.
D. Schnitzer, D. S. Lounsbury, J. P. Carvallo, R. Deshmukh, J.
Apt, and D. M. Kammen. (2013, Feb.). Microgrids for rural electrification: A critical review of best practices based on seven
case studies. UN Foundation Rep. [Online]. Available: http://
____
www.energyaccess.org/resources/key-documents
A. Skumanich, K. Polsani, P. Loka, S. Fulton, S. Reddy, S. Moola,
and S. P. Singh, A microgrid case study: Lessons learned from a
rural electrification project in India, in Proc. Renewable Energy
World Conf. Expo, Orlando, FL, Nov. 1214, 2013, p. 20.
Biography
Guohui Yuan (Guohui.Yuan@ee.doe.gov)
________________ is with ManTech
International, supporting the Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, Washington, D.C.
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Helena Vasconcelos, Carlos Moreira,

Andr Madureira, Joo Peas Lopes,
and Vladimiro Miranda
HE OPERATION OF REMOTE AND

isolated or islanded power systems
is often very challenging because of
their small system inertia. Moreover,
economic and environmental pressure has led to an increasing renewable power penetration, particularly in wind generation and solar photovoltaics (PV). Simultaneously, significant technological progress has been made in terms of control
capability of grid assets [generators, controllable loads
such as electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage systems], mostly exploiting the capabilities of power
electronics. In this context, several advanced control
solutions can be implemented, supporting and
improving the robustness of the operation in terms of
fast frequency and voltage control responses. In this
article, the Portuguese islands are taken as a case
study. Within the Madeira archipelago (Porto Santo
and Madeira islands), two approaches were envisioned. For Porto Santo Island, the main goal is the sizing of a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) to avoid
frequency stability problems. For Madeira Island, the
objective relies on the exploitation of hydro resources
through the quantification of the technical benefits
resulting from variable speed hydro pumping stations
that are able to provide primary frequency regulation
services in the pump operation mode. In addition, this
article also addresses the benefits of introducing EVs
in Flores Island in the Azores Archipelago. Finally, to
support the development of innovative technological
solutions for this type of power system, a laboratory
setup based on scaled test systems was also set up
and is described. A set of applications was specifically
developed for such autonomous power systems. The
laboratorial infrastructure allowed the testing of
Examining the Portuguese islands.

IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/NMNOGUEIRA
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solutions and prototypes for hardware and software modules related to those applications.
Since the 1950s, the evolution of power systems has
evolved toward the deployment of long, interconnected
transmission networks fed by large conventional generators (mostly thermal or hydro), which would serve to deliver
power to the consumers. In this case, power system operation is pretty straightforward, given the reconfiguration
capability of the transmission grid coupled with the large
inertia of central generators. As a consequence, most of
these systems are characterized by high reliability and good
quality of service. At the end of the 20th century, renewable
power penetration, specifically, wind generation and solar
PV, began increasing due mostly to environmental pressure.
However, the variable nature of power from renewable
sources stressed the power system
operation, while in large systems
where renewable penetration levels
are still quite low, no significant problems were encountered.
In the case of smaller isolated
(noninterconnected) or islanded
power systems, the operation can
often be very challenging because of
the small inertia of the spinning
machines together with the limited
control and lack of flexibility of most
grid assets, in particular, the generating units. Also, in the case of remote
power systems, specifically in
islands, economic concerns are particularly important. Power production costs are usually very high as
they depend on fuel transportation.
This led to the option of increasing renewable generation
in this type of system. Since the power produced by such
renewable sources has a variable nature, not only can frequency stability problems occur in weak grids but also
voltage fluctuations may significantly deteriorate the
quality of service. Consequently, the operation of these
systems can be severely compromised since most conventional generation units (usually thermal and hydro) are
not able to cope with such power variability. Even in situations where enough conventional spinning reserve exists,
the automatic frequency control of these units may not be
robust enough given the slow response of the mechanical
power output of these machines.
On the other hand, in recent years, there has been significant technological progress in terms of control capability of
grid assets (of generators, controllable loads such as EVs, and
energy storage systems) as a result of a development in
power electronics. These advances allow overcoming some of
the technical problems that may arise in operating isolated
power systems in terms of fast frequency and voltage control
response by supporting and improving the robustness of
operation. Some of these advanced control solutions include
installing energy storage systems such as flywheels or batteries, enhancing the capability of renewable generation to
participate in grid operation, and exploiting the potential of
new emergent technologies such as EVs.
In this article, several studies that have been performed
for some of the Portuguese islands are described that
involved the simulation of the impact of introducing new
control solutions in these isolated systems as well as the
assessment of the benefits that the deployment of new technologies and more advanced control strategies may bring.
Portugal has two main groups of islands: the Madeira
Archipelago and the Azores Archipelago (see Figure 1).
Madeira is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, near
Morocco, about 1,000 km from the Portuguese continental
coast. The archipelago is one of the two autonomous
regions of Portugal and includes the
islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and
Desertas. These islands are famous
as year-round resorts visited by
many tourists, in particular, in the
main Madeira Island, where there is
a large harbor that receives a considerable number of cruise ships.
Azores is the other autonomous
region of Portugal, composed of several
volcanic islands situated in the North
Atlantic, right on the Atlantic Ridge,
located about 1,350 km west of continental Portugal and about 900 km
northwest of Madeira. There are nine
major islands and an islet cluster
divided into three main groups: Flores
and Corvo to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, So Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the
center; and So Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas Reef
to the east. The Azores islands extend more than 600 km in
the northwestsoutheast direction. The Azores rely on agriculture, dairy farming, livestock ranching, fishing, and tourism, which is starting to become the major service activity in
the region. Smart charging schemes are identified to manage
the demand from EVs according to network limitations and
in close coordination with the presence of renewable generation. The benefits from an EV contribution to improve the
grid stability are also addressed through the definition of
strategies for EV participation in primary frequency control.
To support the development of innovative technological
solutions for this type of power system, a laboratory setup
based on scaled test systems is described in the Proof of
Concept of New Management Solutions for Autonomous
Power Systems: Laboratory Setup section. This enables the
testing of solutions and prototypes, both for hardware and
software modules related to applications for autonomous
power systems. Acting as a complementary verification to
simulation-based studies, the laboratory provides the necessary conditions for a proof of concept of new management solutions for electric grids, in scenarios characterized
Economic and
environmental
pressure has led
to an increasing
renewable power
penetration,
particularly in wind
generation and
solar photovoltaics.
26
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Analyzed Scenario
For FESS sizing purposes, only the operating conditions that
provide the largest transient frequency variations need to be
analyzed. To include a maximum PV penetration, only the
expected load at noon was considered. Summer was
excluded since, during this season, the load is typically higher due to tourist activities. The PV generation was assumed
to be at 100% of the installed power, and 90% of the load was
considered for the wind parks, totaling 2 and 1 MW of PV
and wind power generation, respectively. In the analyzed
scenario, this production represents 65% of renewable power
penetration. Because of security operating procedures, a
minimum of two diesel units were required to be in operation, providing a total thermal spinning reserve of 7 MW.
Analyzed Disturbances
In this study, the foreseen power variations include not
only the most severe major power loss, caused by a sudden
FR
Por tu
ga
Azores (PT.)
Spain
d.
Me
Madeira (PT.)
ro
Mo
ah
Canary
(ES.)
ara
Algeria
nS
Atlantic
Ocean
cco
ARONES
MAC
IA
Porto Santo is the northernmost and easternmost island of

the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean
southwest of Europe and west of Africa. It is over 14 km in
length and a bit under 8 km in width. With a total area of
42 km2, it is home to about 5,500 residents. The power system of Porto Santo is based on a thermal power station running on fuel (four groups with a total installed capacity of 20
MVA), two wind farms comprising squirrel cage induction
generators with a total installed capacity of 1.11 MVA, and
two PV power plants with 1 MWp installed capacity each.
Presently, there are some low load scenarios in this
power system that may create a high penetration of
wind and solar PV power production. To prevent frequency stability problems for these expected scenarios, a fastacting frequency control system was considered to be
installed in Porto Santo Island. This control system must
be able to provide a large amount of power during a short
period of time (from seconds to a few minutes) by some
energy storage system having a high power capacity and
no special site requirements such as flywheels, batteries,
or supercapacitors. Flywheels present a long life (around
20 years) even under operating scenarios where they
have to constantly provide control actions, being therefore a more cost-effective solution than batteries. Like
flywheels, supercapacitors have a long life with negligible deterioration. However, increasing the supercapacitor
low energy density is still a challenge for developers. In
the present work, an FESS solution was adopted because
of its technology maturity and market availability for
performing frequency control in power systems.
In the proposed methodology, for the control actions of
the FESS, a primary frequency control action was considered, defined by a speed-droop characteristic, as presented
in Figure 2. In such a model, the inverter operates with a
unitary power factor; the system frequency deviation Tf
is used to adapt the active power charging/discharging of
the FESS. The FESS sizing comprises defining the minimum necessary values of storing energy capacity (En in
megajoules) and the nominal value for the production/
consumption of active power (Pn in megawatts), and also
coping with the values of the FESS control parameters,
such as frequency deadband (FDB in hertz) and speed
droop (R in hertz per megawatt), to ensure system security.
The FESS sizing was obtained from the dynamic simulation of the power system for expected operating conditions with a high penetration of renewables, considering
the foreseen wind and PV power variations and different
possibilities for the FESS under operation. These possibilities comprise the set of En/Pn values available in the market that are appropriate to perform automatic frequency
ter
Sizing of an FESS for Porto Santo Island
control in power systems. Each single FESS was considered to have a storing energy capacity of 15 MJ and the
following alternative nominal active power values:
{0.5; 1; 1.5; 2} MW. A typical value of 0.1 Hz was considered
for the FDB, and the range [0.5/Pn; 2/Pn] Hz/MW was considered for the value of the R parameter. Because of the
small size of this power system, the electrical location of
the FESS was not an issue for this study.
We
s
by a progressive integration of renewables and EVs. Within

this scenario, the identified solutions, both hardware and
software, constitute products with high technological value
to be transferred to the industry.
Mauritania
Mali
Senegal
Cape Verde
G.
Figure 1. The location of the archipelagos of Madeira and Azores in

the North Atlantic. (Adapted from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Macaronesia.)
__________
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bus-bar or line section disconnection, but also frequent and

short-term typical power fluctuations from the renewable
power sources. The expected major renewable power loss
disturbance was considered to be the sudden disconnection
of all the PV power production (i.e., a 2-MW power loss). To
define the most typical severe values for the frequent and
short-term renewable power variations, some wind and PV
power production time series were analyzed for this power
system, having a resolution in the range of seconds. From
this analysis, a 20% and 50% change within 5 s was considered for the frequent power variations of wind and PV,
resulting in the time evolutions presented in Figure 3.
FESS Sizing for Major Renewable Power Losses

This power system was considered to lose security if,
after a major power loss, the transient frequency drop
provokes an automatic load shedding. Under this definition, the security criterion was that the maximum value
of transient frequency drop, obtained from a power loss
simulation, must not decay more than 1.3 Hz.
To find the minimum FESS Pn value that ensures the system security in the case of the major expected renewable
power loss, the dynamic simulation of this disturbance was
performed without an FESS and also by considering the
control action of an FESS with alternative Pn values. A
Pg (MW)
Pn
FESS Sizing for Frequent Renewable Power Variations

Line Slope = 1/R
f (Hz)
FDB
Pn
(MW)
Figure 2. The FESS frequency droop characteristic.
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
20
40
60
80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Time (s)
Total PV Power Production

Total Wind Power Production
Figure 3. The frequent renewable power variation disturbance considered for FESS sizing.
28
typical value of 1/Pn Hz/MW was considered for the R

parameter. The simulation results are presented in
Figure 4. In these simulations, the loss of power was considered to appear at 10 s.
These results comprise the evolution of the system frequency deviation (Tf ) and of the FESS stored energy (E) for
all of the sizing alternatives. The results without an FESS
present a transient frequency drop with a maximum value
around 2 Hz. This result reveals that, although having in the
analyzed scenario enough diesel spinning reserve to accommodate a 2-MW power loss, this loss of renewable power,
without an FESS, may jeopardize the power system security
by provoking large transient frequency drops. The obtained
results also show that, from the tested situations, a 1-MW
FESS has the minimum required Pn value to avoid violating
the previously described security criterion.
By examining the results obtained with a higher Pn
value, it is interesting to realize that, for the sake of system security, it is not recommended to oversize the FESS
Pn value. In fact, although providing a better frequency
performance in the first postdisturbance seconds, the 1.5and 2-MW FESS suffer from a faster draining out of their
stored energy, leading to an early end of the FESS control
action. This Pn oversize may deteriorate the postdisturbance behavior by presenting transient frequency deviations with increased magnitude (like the ones obtained
with a 2-MW FESS). The same effect of early draining out
of the FESS stored energy was observed for an undersizing
of the R parameter value.
The security criterion regarding frequent renewable power

variations was that system frequency deviations should
not systematically violate the range of 0.3 Hz. Under this
criterion, the capability of the 15-MJ/1-MW FESS sized for a
major expected power loss was evaluated to guard security for frequent renewable power variations (those presented in Figure 3). This disturbance was simulated without an
FESS and also considering the control action of a 1- or
1.5-MW FESS, having a 1/Pn Hz/MW value for the
R parameter. The results obtained are shown in Figure 5.
The results without an FESS yield transient frequency
variations that systematically reach +0.5 Hz and 0.6 Hz
and, therefore, violate the security criterion defined for
frequent renewable variations. On the other hand, the
15-MJ/1-MW FESS was, in the dynamic simulation, able to
guard the system security for frequent renewable
variations since the obtained transient frequency variations are, after the first postdisturbance seconds, stabilized within 0.3 Hz. These results also show that, before
this disturbance, the required stored energy in the FESS
must be around 12 MJ.
Once again, the results obtained with a 15-MJ/1.5-MW FESS
exemplify the problems that may arise from oversizing the
FESS Pn value. In fact, although showing to provide the best
frequency performance in the first 100 disturbed seconds, the
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The FESS sizing

was obtained from
the dynamic
simulation of the
power system for
expected operating
conditions with a
high penetration
of renewables.
stored energy in the FESS runs out after

this time, leading to a sudden end of
the FESS control action.
Final FESS Sizing Results
also comprises several hydro power

plants, having a total installed capacity
around 60 MVA, and some minihydro
plants with a maximum total production of 0.9 MW. The largest hydro
power plant is also equipped with four
pumped units that, when connected,
have a constant consumption of
3.7 MW each. Wind power production
is provided from ten wind parks, comprising different technologies such as
squirrel-cage or doubly fed induction
generators and permanent magnet
synchronous generators. These provide a total wind power installed
capacity of approximately 45 MW.
There are still two PV power plants,
totaling 15 MW of maximum PV power production.
In a near-future scenario, a significant increase of
renewable generation is expected for Madeira Island,
mainly provided by wind and solar PV power plants. To
reach feasible dispatch solutions for these future scenarios, having high wind/PV power penetration, new pumped
hydro power plants are also planned to be installed. However, this high wind/PV power penetration will also create
new expected power disturbances that may jeopardize the
security of this power system by provoking frequency stability problems.
In this study, fast frequency control functionalities are
considered for the new expected pumped hydro power
plants by assuming that these will be variable-speed units
The results demonstrate that an FESS

of 15 MJ/1 MW with an FDB of 0.1 Hz
and a speed droop of 1 Hz/MW provides the necessary control action to
avoid security problems in the power
system under study. They also reveal
that having an oversizing value for
the FESS active nominal power, or an
undersized value for the speed droop,
is not recommended: this may lead
to a faster draining off of the FESS
stored energy during the time when
it is still performing crucial frequency control actions.
Including Variable Speed and Frequency Control

in Pumped Hydro Units of Madeira Island
Madeira is the largest island of its archipelago with an
area of about 750 km2, a length of about 60 km, and a
width of 20 km. It has around 260,000 inhabitants, but the
population increases considerably with the coming of
tourists during the New Year festivities and the summer
months. The capital, Funchal, is home to almost half of
the islands total population.
Presently, the power system of Madeira comprises several
thermal power stations with a total installed capacity
around 200 MVA, including a waste-to-energy power plant. It
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.7
1.9
FESS (Pn = 1 MW)

FESS (Pn = 1.5 MW)
FESS (Pn = 2 MW)
f (Hz)
f (Hz)
Without FESS
FESS (Pn = 0.5 MW)
FESS (Pn = 1 MW)
20
40
60
80
100
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
20
40
E (MJ)
60
80
100
t(s)
(b)
t(s)
(a)
15
10
5
0
FESS (Pn = 0.5 MW)

FESS (Pn = 1 MW)
FESS (Pn = 1.5 MW)
FESS (Pn = 2 MW)
0
20
40
60
80
100
t (s)
(c)
Figure 4. The dynamic simulation results for the major power loss, with/without an FESS with En = 15 MJ, R = 1 Hz/Pn, and FDB = 0.1 Hz,
including different Pn values: (a) the time evolution of system frequency deviation without an FESS, or with an FESS of 0.5 MW or 1 MW; (b) the
time evolution of system frequency deviation with an FESS of 1 MW, 1.5 MW, or 2 MW; and (c) the time evolution of the FESS stored energy for
different Pn values of the FESS.
29
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0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
E (MJ)
f (Hz)
20
40
60
80 100 120 140 160 180 200

t (s)
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
20
40
60
Without FESS
FESS (Pn = 1 MW)
FESS (Pn = 1.5 MW)
80 100 120 140 160 180 200

t (s)
FESS (Pn = 1 MW)
FESS (Pn = 1.5 MW)
(b)
(a)
Figure 5. The dynamic simulation results for frequent variations in renewable power, with the FESS sized for the major power loss (Pn = 1 MW,
En = 15 MJ), and with FDB = 0.1 Hz and R = 1 Hz/Pn: (a) the time evolution of system frequency deviation without an FESS, or with an FESS of
1 MW or 1.5 MW, and (b) the time evolution of the FESS stored energy for different Pn values of the FESS.
interfaced with the grid by power electronic converters. To

evaluate the security improvement that can be provided
by this technology, time-domain simulations were performed for major foreseen wind/PV disturbances in operating conditions that may provide the largest transient
frequency deviations in this power system. This includes
cases of minimum consumption, with maximum penetration of wind and PV and also with a high share of generation and spinning reserve provided by
hydro power plants.
For time-domain simulations of the
variable-speed pumped hydro (VSPH)
units, a dynamic model was developed
based on the works presented in Suul,
Fraile-Ardanuy et al., Lung et al.,
Kuwabara et al., and Rodrguez-Bobada
et al. This model includes fast frequency control provided by a frequency
droop characteristic, also including a
speed pulling-back control, to prevent
the speed of the machine from
violating a lower and upper limit. To
improve the machine speed transient
response, a feed-forward wicked gate
signal was also included.
In this study, the expected major renewable power loss

disturbance, caused by a sudden bus-bar or line section
disconnection, is 27 MW of wind power loss. For the frequent renewable power variations disturbance, a 5%
change in 5 s was considered for wind power production
and a 50% change, also in 5 s, was considered for PV
power production. Besides renewable power variations,
three-phase short-circuits in any bus
of the transmission system were also
considered for the dynamic security
assessment of this power system.
During frequent power variations,
the system frequency deviations must
not systematically violate the range of
0.5 Hz. For major disturbances, the
power system was considered to lose
security if, after a power loss, the
frequency transient behavior provokes
automatic load-shedding. In dynamic
simulations, automatic load shedding
was assumed to be activated for a
minimum frequency drop of 0.8 Hz
combined with a minimum rate of
change of 2.5 Hz/s, or for a minimum
frequency drop of 1.8 Hz. For the most
severe disturbances, usually provoked
by a short-circuit, load shedding cannot be avoided. Therefore, for these disturbances, the system was considered to lose security for frequency behaviors that can provoke power stations automatic
disconnection (assumed to occur for frequency deviations
that violate the range of 3 Hz).
For major
disturbances, the
power system was
considered to lose
security if, after a
power loss, the
frequency transient
behavior provokes
automatic load
shedding.
Analyzed Scenario
In the analyzed scenario, an installed

power of 140 and 15 MW was considered for wind and PV
power production and a 74-MW capacity was assumed for
the cluster of new planned pumped hydro power plants.
At off-peak hours, the wind power penetration is assumed
to be around 76%, totaling, with the hydro production, a
renewable power penetration of 78%. At noon, a 69% penetration was assumed for the renewable power, with 66%
provided by the wind plus PV power generation and the
remaining by hydro generation.
30
Security Assumptions
Obtained Results
The security improvement that can be provided by the frequency control action of VSPH units was evaluated, by
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time-domain simulation, for different operating scenarios

and for each one of the previously described disturbances.
Security improvement was evaluated by comparing the
obtained transient behavior of the power system with and
without the frequency control action of VSPH units. The
most relevant obtained results are described next.
Figure 6 presents the evolution of the system frequency
deviation (Tf ) and the rate of frequency change (Tf/Tt)
obtained from simulating the frequent renewable power
variation disturbance for a severe operating scenario.
These results show that VSPH units were able to significantly improve the transient behavior of the system frequency. Particularly, this control action was able to
eliminate the considerable large frequency excursions that violate the
security criteria for frequent disturbances. None of the obtained behavior, with and without the VSPH
control action, is severe enough to
provoke load-shedding activation.
Figure 7 reports a situation where
the VSPH action was able to avoid
automatic load-shedding activation. It
presents the time evolution of the frequency deviation (Tf ) in two important bus-bars for load-shedding activation. For clarifying the analysis, load shedding was not
included in the simulations. The disturbance was a threephase short-circuit, simulated at 1 s in a specific 60-kV busbar, with a duration of 150 ms. During the fault, the voltage
drops in several parts of the system led to the disconnection
of some wind parks (including a wind park with fault-ridethrough capabilities) and to the disconnection of the oldest
pumped hydro units. In this situation, the available spinning
reserve in conventional thermal and hydro generation was
enough to compensate the obtained power loss but was not
fast enough to alone avoid load-shedding activation.
As a general result of this study, it was possible to
conclude that in all situations where frequency stability
problems were detected without the control action of VSPH

units (only two situations are described in this article due to
size issues), the activation of this control was able to significantly improve the transient behavior of system frequency
and, therewith, eliminate the frequency security problem.
Benefits of Introducing EVs in Flores Island

Flores Island is one of the islands in the Western group of
Azores. It has an area of about 140 km2, with a length of
under 17 km2 and a width of over 12 km. Its total population is below 4,000 inhabitants.
Flores Island has a 15-kV distribution network with two substations,
each located in one of the two existing
generation plants. The generation system is composed of four diesel generators with the nominal power of
625 kVA, two wind turbines with nominal power of 330 kVA, and four hydro
units (three of 370 kVA and one with
740 kVA). In 2009, the annual peak
load was 2,200 kW and the valley load
was 750 kW. In this network, the most
critical operation period is the load
valley, where the extremely low load
leads to a generation dispatch composed of a rather small number of
generation units. Therefore, frequency stability concerns
may be expectable, especially in good wind resource conditions. In fact, the island could explore more of its endogenous resources, but operational constraints prevent it. There
is a great expansion potential for wind power as well as
hydro generation, which so far is concentrated only on a single site, with others readily available for exploration.
The potential for renewables integration in Flores Island
allows considering the electrification of the transportation
sector. This will play a major role in reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector. But the integration of EVs in
islanded systems can be both a great opportunity and a
threat to the local power system operation. There are several
The full-bridge
inverter regulates
the dc bus voltage
to ensure adequate
supply to the dual
active bridge
input stage.
1.25
0.25
0.25
0.75
1.25
1
0.75
0.5
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
.0.75
1
f/t (Hz/s)
f (Hz)
0.75
10
20
30
40
50 60
t (s)
(a)
70
80
90
100
Without VSPH
10
20
30
40
50 60
t (s)
(b)
70
80
90
100
With VSPH
Figure 6. The dynamic simulation results of frequent variations in renewable power for a severe operating scenario in Madeira Island: (a) the
time evolution of system frequency deviation and (b) the time evolution of the rate of frequency change.
31
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f (Hz)
0.5
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1
1.25
1.5
Bus 1, with VSPH

Bus 2, with VSPH
5
t (s)
(a)
10
Minimum Value
Reached by f/f (Hz/s)
Bus 1, Without VSPH

Bus 2, Without VSPH
Bus 1,
Without VSPH
Bus 2,
Without VSPH
5
10
15
20
(b)
Figure 7. The dynamic simulation results of a three-phase short-circuit in a specific 60-kV bus-bar for a severe operating scenario in Madeira Island.
(a) Time evolution of frequency deviation in two important bus-bars for load-shedding activation and (b) minimum value reached by the rate of frequency
change in two important bus-bars for load-shedding activation.
studies that show the impacts of EVs if integrated in the

power system as conventional loads. The main conclusion is
that some controllability degree must be introduced in the
EV-charging process to mitigate many problems that may
arise from EV integration. In papers by Nies et al. and Lopes
et al., advanced control strategies are presented enabling a
better usage of existing grid resources while postponing
investment in grid reinforcement.
Therefore, this usage of EV resources
available in the grid must consist of a
synergetic pathway for both EV owners
and system operators.
As previously mentioned, isolated
systems such as in small islands are
very weak grids with small inertia.
This is too often the bottleneck for the
possible expansion of renewables such
as wind and solar since these technologies have a highly variable behavior
and do not provide power frequency
control (or inertia) to the system. Large
load/generation imbalances may be
caused by resource fluctuations, jeopardizing the quality of service and the
continuity of supply. Therefore, the
presence of a sophisticated management structure for future EV integration should be an enabler for further
solar and wind power integration in island systems.
In terms of dynamic operation of an isolated system,
EV flexibility is particularly interesting for primary
frequency control, especially when highly variable
renewable generation sources are available but their
integration is limited because of security constraints.
The flexibility provided by EVs connected to the grid
can be exploited for primary frequency control purposes in an isolated power system. This is achieved by including a P-f droop control strategy in the implementation of
the EV coupling inverter. This allows the EV to actively

adapt the power exchanged with the grid based on the
local frequency measurement. As shown in Figure 8, for
frequencies around the nominal value (in this case,
50 Hz), the EV will charge the battery at a predefined
charging rate. If a disturbance occurs and the frequency
drops below the deadband minimum frequency, the EV
reduces its power consumption,
thus reducing the load of the system. If the system frequency overpasses the deadband maximum frequency, the EV can also increase its
power consumption. For large disturbances, causing the frequency to
go below the zero-crossing frequency (f0), the EV starts to inject power
into the grid [vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
functionality].
The participation of the EV in the
frequency regulation mechanisms of
the islanded power system is limited
to a predefined frequency range. When
the frequency becomes out of this
range, the EV will inject/absorb a fixed
power, which can also be defined. The
definition of the EV control parameters
will depend on the EV charger characteristics and on the willingness of EV
owners to participate in such services. These parameters
may differ from grid to grid and can be adapted by grid
operators to promote adequate coordination with the available frequency regulation mechanisms (such as loadshedding schemes and availability of energy storage devices and their state of charge).
In all situations
where frequency
stability problems
were detected
without the control
action of VSPH units,
the activation of this
control was able to
eliminate the
frequency security
problem.
32
Flores Island Study Case

The current operational practices in Flores Island recommend the use of at least one diesel unit to perform load
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Pmax
Pref
fmin
f0
Envisioning the development of advanced experimental

infrastructures for feasibility demonstration of solutions for
EV charging control and integration of renewables in electric power systems, INESC Technology and Science (INESC
TEC) has been implementing a laboratorial infrastructure
that exploits distinctive control and management solutions
for key resources such as EV and renewable-based generation units. Within this framework, the present laboratory
infrastructure was designed to support the development
and testing of solutions and prototypes both for hardware
fmax
Pmin
Frequency Deadband
V2G
EV Battery Charging
Figure 8. The EV charger powerfrequency droop characteristic.
51
50.5
50
49.5
49
Case 1
Case 2
48.5
48
50
100
150
200
250
300
Time (s)
(a)
1
0.95
PEV (MW)
Proof of Concept of New Management

Solutions for Autonomous Power Systems:
Laboratory Setup
Frequency (Hz)
following and frequency control. The existing hydro units

could theoretically replace the diesel units in this task as
they are also equipped with synchronous machines. However, the high head height and long conduit impose a
higher water starting time. Therefore, the hydro units are
not frequently used to perform frequency control without
diesel generation since the frequency fluctuations tend to
be larger. The mechanical wear and tear of fast governing
actions also cautions against it.
To illustrate the potential benefits resulting from the
EV contribution to primary frequency regulation, a valley
hour scenario with a total conventional load of around
730 kW was considered. Additionally, it was assumed that
25% of the island vehicle fleet (2,000 vehicles) was
replaced with EVs and all of them adhered to smart charging schemes that would concentrate the EV load on the
valley periods. Under such conditions, the additional load
for EV charging is about 965 kW. An expansion scenario
was considered, where more wind power installed capacity was included (three wind turbines with 330 kVA). The
frequency regulation was also considered to be exceptionally provided by hydro power stations. A wind gust was
simulated in the system, leading to a wind power
decrease from 500 to 300 kW. The impacts in the system,
when the EV does not provide primary frequency regulation (case 1) and when they provide primary frequency
regulation (case 2), are depicted in Figure 9.
If the system is operated without EV participation on the
primary frequency control, and under a full renewable-based
generation dispatch, the frequency drops to a minimum
value of 48.4 Hz. In opposition, when the EV droop control is
considered, the frequency does not fall below 49.8 Hz.
There are two factors influencing this discrepancy: the
slow dynamic reaction of the hydro generation units and
the fast reaction of EVs to frequency deviations. In terms
of EV participation in frequency control, the total charging
power temporarily changes from the original 965824 kW,
resulting in a reduction of 3.6% in the energy absorbed by
the batteries of EVs during the 300 s of simulation. The
participation of EVs not only sustains the frequency drop
but also avoids the oscillations verified in the frequency
response without EV participation.
0.9
0.85
Case 1
Case 2
0.8
50
100
150
200
250
300
Time (s)
(b)
Figure 9. The contribution of EVs to frequency regulation: (a) the frequency and (b) the active power of EVs.
33
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DSP Control Board

Full-Bridge Inverter
Dual Active Bridge

HF Transformer
Figure 10. The EV bidirectional charger prototype.
53.2
4.5
52.2
1.5
51.2
1.5
50.2
4.5
49.2
7.5
48.2
50
75
Active Power (kW)
Frequency (Hz)
and software modules, promoting an active and intelligent

management of electric grids in scenarios characterized by
a progressive integration of renewables and EVs. A distinct
feature of this laboratory relies on the operation of a
reduced-scale power system, comprising the integration of
both commercially available solutions and in-house developed prototypes. The laboratory constitutes the physical
space that integrates both equipment and software
modules, allowing an individual and fully integrated development and testing of concepts, algorithms, and communication solutions. These are envisioned to support the operation of future power systems. Simultaneously, such infrastructure provides the necessary conditions for the
development of new concepts and solutions that will be
later transferred to the industry.
The EV charger functionalities previously described,
providing frequency support in isolated power systems,
were tested in a bidirectional charger prototype specifically developed. The power electronic converter is composed
10.5
125
100
Time (s)
Frequency with P-f Droop

Frequency Without P-f Droop
Active Power with P-f Droop
Active Power Without P-f Droop
Figure 11. The frequency and EV active power response to the
microgrid islanding.
34
of half-bridge assemblies, including insulated-gate bipolar

junction switches and hybrid gate drivers as well as passive components such as protection devices, voltage and
current sensors, and control hardware. The inverter control algorithms run in a stand-alone digital signal processor, which allows the inverter to operate autonomously.
Figure 10 shows the EV bidirectional charger prototype
that was implemented. The charger can be divided into
two stages with independent control schemes: a grid-tied
full-bridge inverter that controls the power flow between
the dc bus and the grid and a dual active bridge that regulates the current flowing from/to the batteries and assures
the galvanic isolation (through the high-frequency transformer) between the grid and a battery pack. The fullbridge inverter regulates the dc bus voltage to ensure
adequate supply to the dual active bridge input stage. The
inverter is controlled as an active power source with a
limit of 3,680 W and unitary power factor using a proportional-integrative controller implemented in a synchronous reference frame.
To emulate the operation of an autonomous power system, SMA Sunny Islands 5048 battery inverters (3 5 kW,
230/400 V each) are used. These inverters are mainly used
for the electrification of remote areas, being able to operate autonomously in isolated systems. The experiment
conducted in the laboratory consisted in the parallel operation of a load, the SMA sunny island inverters, and the EV
charger prototype. A step load connection was then
performed to evaluate the frequency response as well as
the EV charger prototype power response. The main
results are depicted in Figure 11. When the EV P-f control
is not present, the frequency drops to 48.3 Hz. When the
EV P-f control is active, the EV reverses the power flow and
transiently operates in the vehicle-to-grid mode. The participation of the EVs reduces the total load, consequently
reducing the minimum frequency reached (48.8 Hz). These
results provide evidence of the benefit resulting from the
participation of EVs in islanded system frequency regulation. The active participation of the EV charger clearly contributes to reduce the frequency excursions following
power imbalances in the system.
Conclusions
This article presents the main challenges and identifies
possible solutions related to the operation of remote, isolated power systems with a large integration of renewable generation, taking as example the real case of the
Portuguese Atlantic islands. Several studies are detailed
based on the implementation of new control solutions
devised to mitigate stability problems that may occur,
particularly in terms of frequency response. The development of new control strategies, as well as the use of new
grid technologies, is an important step toward an efficient and secure operation of isolated or autonomous
power systems. The role of energy storage, either in the
form of stationary storage, such as flywheels or in the
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form of EV batteries, is also particularly relevant, especially in scenarios with high integration of renewable
energy: intelligent access to energy storage mitigates the
problems that may occur during operation. Finally, before
an actual implementation, the adequate testing of such
new operation strategies and of the prototypes was conducted under controlled conditions in a specific laboratory infrastructure. This exercise provided not only
confidence in the simulation results but also a testing
environment, enhancing the partnership with the equipment manufacturing industry. This was revealed to be an
essential step to accelerate the deployment of such solutions to real-world applications.
Acknowledgments
We wish to recognize the cooperation received from
Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira SA and from Eletricidade dos Aores SA contributing to the work reported.
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J. A. Peas Lopes, C. L. Moreira, and A. G. Madureira, Defining control strategies for microgrids island operation, IEEE
Trans. Power Syst., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 916924, June 2006.
J. A. Suul, Variable speed pumped storage hydro power
plants for integration of wind power in isolated power systems, in Renewable Energy. InTech, pp. 553580, Dec. 2009.
J. Fraile-Ardanuy, J. R. Wilhelmi, J. J. Fraile-Mora, and J. I.
Prez, Variable-speed hydro generation: Operational aspects
and control, IEEE Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 569
574, June 2006.
J.-K. Lung, Y. Lu, W.-L. Hung, and W.-S. Kao, Modeling and
dynamic simulations of doubly fed adjustable-speed pumped
storage units, IEEE Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 22, no. 2,
pp. 250258, June 2007.
T. Kuwabara, A. Shibuya, H. Furuta, E. Kita, and K. Mitsuhashi, Design and dynamic response characteristics of 400
MW adjustable speed pumped storage unit for Ohkawachi
power station, IEEE Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 11, no. 2,
pp. 376384, June 1996.
F. Rodrguez-Bobada, P. Ledesma, S. Martnez, L. Coronado,

and E. Prieto, Simplified wind generator model for transmission system operator planning studies, in Proc. 7th Int. Workshop
Large Scale Integration of Wind Power and Transmission Networks for
Offshore Wind Farms, Madrid, Spain, May 2008, pp. 18.
K. Clement-Nyns, E. Haesen, and J. Driesen, The impact of
charging plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on a residential distribution grid, IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 371
380, Feb. 2010.
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Biographies
Helena Vasconcelos (mhv@fe.up.pt)
_________ earned her degree in
electrical engineering in July 1996, her M.Sc. degree in
October 1999, and her Ph.D. degree in January 2008, all
from the Engineering Faculty of Porto University (FEUP).
She is currently a senior researcher at the Center for
Power and Energy Systems of INESC Technology and Science and assistant professor at FEUP.
Carlos Moreira (carlos.moreira@inesctec.pt)
________________ earned his electrical engineering degree (five-year course) in 2003 and his
Ph.D. degree in 2008, both from the Engineering Faculty of
Porto University (FEUP). He has been a senior researcher and
smart grid area leader in the Center for Power and Energy Systems of INESC Technology and Science since 2010. He has also
been an assistant professor at FEUP since 2009.
Andr Madureira (andre.g.madureira@inesctec.pt)
____________________ earned
his licentiate degree (five-year program), his M.Sc. degree
(two-year program), and his Ph.D. degree in electrical and
computer engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of
the University of Porto, Portugal, in 2003, 2005, and 2010,
respectively. He is currently a senior researcher at the Center for Power and Energy Systems of INESC Technology and
Science and an assistant professor at the Oporto Lusophone University in Oporto, Portugal. He is a member of the
Engineers Association of Portugal.
Joo Peas Lopes (jpl@fe.up.pt)
________ earned his electrical engineering degree and his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Porto, Portugal, in 1981 and
1988, respectively. In 1996, he received the Aggregation
degree from the University of Porto. Currently, he is a full
professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering of
the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto and a
member of the Board of Directors of INESC Technology
and Science. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Vladimiro Miranda (vmiranda@inescporto.pt)
________________ earned his
Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Faculty of
Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal, (FEUP) in
1982. In 1981, he joined FEUP and currently holds the position of full professor. He has been a researcher at INESC
since 1985 and is currently the director at INESC Porto, the
leading institution of INESC Technology and Science, an
advanced research network in Portugal. He is also president of INESC P&D Brasil. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.
35
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By Zhaohong Bie and Yanling Lin
URAL ELECTRIFICATION IS THE CORnerstone in poverty alleviation and is

widely recognized as the first step of
modernization. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) database,
over the last two decades, hundreds of millions of people
have attained modern energy access. However, in 2011,
there are still nearly 1.3 billion people, almost one-fifth of
the worlds population, who have no access to electricity,
and more than 75% of them are living in developing Asia
and Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the latest World Bank data, China has
the largest population in the world, 1.375 billion,
among which 635.688 million live in rural areas. The
vast geographical expanse and the large rural population make rural electrification in China both crucial
and difficult. In 1949, when the Peoples Republic of
China was founded, more than 90% of Chinese rural
households were estimated to not be connected to the
national grid. However, the continued efforts within
China have transformed the rural electrification into a
particularly successful story: over half a century later,
in 2013, the electrification rate in China reached 99.8%,
99.6% in rural areas, and 100% in urban areas, on the
same level with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries (IEA). This
History, technology, and emerging trends.

36
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2325-5987/152015IEEE
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details its progress, experience, and lessons; introduces

national and local policies; and discusses future development trends. The aim of this article is to find how China
has achieved this feat and what lessons are there for other
developing countries.
Background of Rural Electrification in China

Chinese Development Characteristics
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
achievement is by no means insignificant and has not

been without struggle. The bottom-up approach, especially the exploitation of small hydropower (SHP), has been
most successful in rural electrification.
The power grid in China has experienced a substantial
increase in recent decades. With the largest total installed
capacity, China is also tapping into renewable energy.
According to the Renewable 2014 Global Status Report by the
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century
(REN21), by the end of 2013, China was the top country for
total installed renewable power capacity as well as for nonhydro capacity. China ranks first in photovoltaic (PV), hydropower, and wind power installed capacity as well as investment in renewable power and fuels. Renewable energy,
along with the advent of the microgrid, is paving a new way
for rural electrification in China.
This article summarizes the background of Chinese
rural electrification, including the history and process;
Chinas topography ranges from mountainous deserts and

plateaus in the west to plains, deltas, and hills in the east,
and it is hard to give an exact description of the rural environment in China as regions dramatically differ from one
to another in geographical features, development stages,
and developing modes. The imbalance between east and
west in electrification is tremendous. There are counties
with local industrialized enterprise in eastern China that
reached the 100% electrification rate in the 1990s, e.g.,
Shandong Province reached the 100% rural electrification
rate in 1996. This province lies in the China North Plain,
where rural populations mostly engage in agriculture and
rural electrification can be more easily achieved by grid
extension. Today, most of the unelectrified population is
located in western China on higher-altitude and more rugged terrain, characterized by high mountains and running
rivers. The average height of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is
4,000 m above sea level with harsh weather conditions;
northwest China has far more deserts and grassland than
fertile lands. Some minority groups in these areas lead a
nomadic lifestyle with sparsely distributed households,
and construction of grid extension is both costly and dangerous (Figure 1).
Although the terrain is perilous for construction, western China is especially abundant in small hydro resources,
solar power, wind power, coal, etc. SHP has been explicitly
exploited since the 1960s in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Tibet,
many in off-grid forms to supply the rural population. The
wind and solar resources distributed in western China will
not only support the rural electrification there but western
China is also foreseen to be the future national renewable
energy center for the whole country.
Brief History, Three Development Phases

For over 50 years, rural electrification has gone through a
long history in China, which has expanded three phases
based on each phases changing economy and industrial
structure (Table 1). For a detailed history, see Progress and
Major Policies of Chinese Rural Electrification.
The first phase is roughly from 1949 to 1977, during
which rural electrification underwent slow but steady
development. Because of limited funding and attention, the
government then focused more on large commercial energy development for urban areas and industries, while rural
communities were encouraged to be self-reliant. Under this
guidance of self-reliance, small mines and SHP plants were
soon developed and provided energy to rural populations.
37
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Figure 1. The administrative divisions of China and the representative geographic features of western China. (Photos courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Small thermal plants were called off later for environmental reasons, but a high reliance on small hydro for the rural
electricity supply was and still is a
characteristic of China as small hydro
plants continued to play an important
role in the years to come, and China is
still by far the leading player in small
hydro plants. Small hydro stations also
assist the rural population in agricultural irrigation and water preservation.
During this phase, a number of
favorable policies were put in place
regarding tariffs, subsidies, and the use
of electricity revenues to encourage further development of the system. By the
end of this stage, rural access rates had
reached 63%.
Rural electrification at the second
phase, from 1979 to 1997, was marked
with rapid expansion. The state recognized the importance of rural electrification for continued development, and in
the year 1979, a major reform of the rural power management
system was launched by the state, transforming the system
from central planning to market oriented, giving counties and

local authorities more autonomy in investment decisions. By
the end of this phase, the electrification
rate reached 99%.
The third phase, from 1998 until
today, is an era of a dynamic market
economy, when aspects of the power
system have undergone innovation,
reform, and upgrade. Rural and urban
markets were integrated as the central grid reached into more rural
areas, including areas supplied by
off-grid resources.
A series of rural electrification programs was released from the 1990s to
supply the rest of rural population
without electricity: the Brightness Program, the Township Electrification Program, and later the Village Electrification Program. By 2011, China had
achieved a rural electrification rate of
99.6% (the percentage of population
with access to electricity). As the electrification rate
approaches 100%, the development speed has slowed
down, and emphasis has been shifted
to power grid modification, hardware
upgrade, efficiency improvement, rural
TABLE 1. The Evolution of Rural Electrification in China
from 1949 to Present.
electricity management system reform,
rural electricity network upgrade, infraYear
Rural power
Number of villages % of total
Rural
structure facilities modernization, etc.
electrification
consumed
with access by
villages
stage
(% of total)
end of phase
Currently, there are still 3 million people
in China who have no access to
I
19491978
0.613.1
412,517
61.1
electricity, mostly in remote areas in
II
19791997
13.521.1
726,993
97.7
northwest China. Grid extension and
alternative solutions are being carried
III
1998present 21.222
733,172
98.2
out to reach the goal of solving the
Source: Barnes, 2007.
problem of the unelectrified population.
Today, most of
the unelectrified
population is located
in western China on
higher-altitude and
more rugged terrain.
Construction of
grid extension
is both costly
and dangerous.
38
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Main Approaches to
Rural Electrification in China
For most of the developing countries in the world, the usual
manner for rural electrification has been grid extension. But
China has experienced multiple alternative solutions. These
solutions could be classified into grid extension from the
state power company and distributed local generation run by
decentralized power companies (DPCs). Out of 2,400 rural
counties in China, 716 (30%) are supplied directly by the state
power company, which owns and operates regional or provincial networks. Remote or smaller townships outside the
regional grid are supplied by DPCs. DPCs interconnected with
Self-Generation
Counties 28%
Grid
Extension 30%
Interconnected
Counties 42%
Figure 2. Three main approaches to rural electricity supply. (Source:

Barnes, 2007.)
Progress and Major Policies of Chinese Rural Electrification
ural electrification, particularly the
A consecutive series of minor achievements,
energy. Some of the policies and programs
electrification of the remaining
such as electrifying one village in one province,
target the most remote rural populations that
unelectrified population, has been a priority
take the country closer to the realization of this
are least able to pay.
during the 12th Five-Year Plan period for the
bold claim. For all of the reasons behind the
The major program for rural electrification
central government and the National Energy
development, the governmental commitment
started in 1979, when the first governmental
Administrator (NEA). The year 2013 witnessed
has been recognized by many institutions
program was released, and then scaled up to
collective efforts to tackle the issue of the
and reports throughout the world. Many
the pilot program Brightness Program in the
unelectrified population. In particular, a three-
rural electrification programs worldwide have
1990s, including the Township Electrification
year special movement (20132015) targeting
been criticized for favoring mainly nonpoor
Program, and the Village Electrification Program
the unelectrified population from the NEA
and better-off communities. In the case of
in the 2000s (Table S1).
stipulates to finish the construction plan of
China, however, the supply of electricity to
For the current efforts from the State Grid
PV-based stand-alone systems by the end of
rural areas is sometimes regarded and taken
and the China Southern Grid, in 2013, the
2013, of grid extension by the end of 2014,
upon as a social responsibility. Favorable
NEA, along with local governments, the
by the end of 2015 the current 2.73 million
policies from the 1990s and 2000s have
National Grid, and other institutions, has
people without electricity should be electrified,
played a significant role in increasing the
supplied 1.5 million people with electricity,
1.54 million by grid extension, 1.19 million by PV
rural electrification rate. Such policies range
part of the bigger target set in the 12th Five-
stand-alone system, totaling 583 projects and
from poverty alleviation, construction of
Year Plan of providing all the unelectrified
29.4 billion CNY in investment.
infrastructure, and promotion of renewable
population with access to electricity.
TABLE S1. Chinese Rural Electrification Policies and Initiatives.

Year
Name
Focus
Target result and comment
Early 1960s
Self-construction,
self-management,
self-consumption
SHP
This guidance boosted the SHP development by encouraging local stakeholders to use local resources and fund to
plan and construct SHP stations.
1958
100-County Pilot
Program
SHP
In 1958, a national meeting for rural hydropower development was held, and it was decided to develop rural hydropower quickly in the second Five-Year Plan (19611965) to
accommodate the increasing rural electricity demand. At
the meeting, preliminary rural electrification was proposed
in five counties and 100 communes.
1983
Suggestions to reinforce the development of rural energy
General
This was the first rural electrification policy by the Chinese

government as part of the governments poverty alleviation
campaign.
(Continued)
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TABLE S1. Chinese Rural Electrification Policies and Initiatives. (Continued)

Year
Name
Focus
Target result and comment
19791989
National primary
program
SHP
This electrified the first 100 counties and then had a further
200- and 300-county phase. This program aimed to demonstrate the benefits of SHP in promoting rural economic
development and improving farmers living standards.
1985
program
SHP
A total of 318 counties have implemented rural electrification projects based on SHP. More than 97% of the rural
households are supplied with electricity, and a rural population of 93 million has bid farewell to the days without
electricity.
1994
Electricity for poverty

alleviation program
General
By 1996, a total of CNY2.1 billion was spent on increasing

electricity access. This was initiated jointly by the State Development Planning Commission, the State Economic and
Trade Commission, and the Ministry of Electricity Industry.
1998
Plan to renovate
rural grids
General
In 1998, the Chinese government invested CNY290

billion to renovate the rural grids within five years. In principle, the provincial electricity companies acted as project
owners during grid renovation and took on the responsibility of unified planning, construction, management, and
operation. After renovation, the overall wire losses of high
voltage grids were lowered from 12% to less than 10%
and wire losses of rural low voltage grids from 20% to
less than 12%.
19992002
Brightness
Program and
following initiatives
Brightness program
PV
This was to bring electricity from a single PV home

system and PV/battery system to supply 50,000 people
in Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Gansu. This was the first
such initiative by the Chinese government to use off-grid
renewable energy other than small hydro plants to electrify remote areas.
20022005 Township Electrification

Program
SHP, PV, and

hybrid system
This program electrified over 1,000 townships, almost

1 million people in fewer than 20 months in western China
(Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Yunnan, and Tibet). This is one of the largest
renewable energy-based rural electrification programs.
20052010
Village Electrification Program
SHP, PV, and

hybrid system
This was to bring electricity to around 20,000 villages offgrid regions in western China. This was a most challenging
phase, requiring international, national, and local agencies
to work together.
Substitution of
biofuels with SHP
program
SHP
2002: general schedule for 20022020: This substitution

program is to be implemented in 25 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) containing 886 counties,
28.30 million farmer households, and 104 million people.
Approximately 24.04 GW of the SHP capacity will be constructed, and 20062008 total of CNY1.03 billion will be
invested in three years. This phase contains 81 projects
and will cover 21 provinces, reaching 169,000 households,
636,000 people, targeting reforestation, forest preservation, and erosion issues, and adding 150-MW SHP installed capacity 20092015, a total of CNY14.1 billion will
be invested. This phase contains 1,022 projects and will
cover 24 provinces, reaching 1.71 million households and
6.78 million people, adding 1.7 GW SHP installed capacity.
2001now
adjacent large grids are called interconnected counties,

which serve 1,004 counties (42%); the other 800 DPCs generate at least 70% of their energy using SHP units and small
40
thermal, wind, solar power, or hybrid systems incorporating

multiple technologies. They are called self-generation counties and serve 652 counties (27%) (Figure 2).
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Decentralized Power Company
electrification. As of 2002, the SHP

installed capacity is equal to 33.7% of
the installed capacity of large
hydropower. Overall, estimates are that
about 300 million people in 400 counties rely solely on SHP while up to
another 400 million rely in part on SHP.
During the first development
phase of rural electrification in China,
despite policies concerning poverty
alleviation and agricultural development, electricity supply in rural areas
is not the priority for the central
government. The central government
paid special attention to commercial energy construction,
such as large power stations, coal mines, and oil fields, to
provide energy for cities and industries. One thing stood
Grid extension and

alternative solutions
are being carried out
to reach the goal of
solving the problem
of the unelectrified
population.
China is characterized by distributed

self-production from local resources
rather than large-scale energy companies. These DPCs are administered
by the government at the local township, county, or village level. They not
only own distribution business but
also run subtransmission (35 kV)
systems and generation plants. The
DPC, especially SHP, has been regarded as the most successful rural electrification experience. It is also part of
the bottom-up approach.
Most SHP plants are located in southwestern and central
China, where water resources are abundant (see SHP in
China). They are developed particularly for supplying rural
SHP in China
he capacity range of SHP has a
SHP stations supply the local people through
3) promoting and improving water conservancy,
strong link with the development of
their own distribution system.
flood control, and resistance to draughts;
the national economy, especially the rural
The Regulations and Procedures for Economic
4) increasing national and local fiscal revenue,
economy and rural electricity consumption.
Evaluation on SHP Construction Projects
expanding accumulation, and promoting the
The capacity range of small hydro was
issued by the Ministry of Water Resources in
local economy; 5) changes in local per capita
0.5 MW in the 1950s and increased to 50 MW
1995 (national industrial standards) provides
grain production and per capita income; 6) the
in 2011 (Figure S1).
a list of the social benefits from SHP, including:
influences of improving rural labor structure,
In the 1960s, the governing policy
1) promoting the development of local and
increasing energy supply, expanding production,
for rural SHP was self-construction, self-
township industrial enterprises and gross
and creating jobs; and 7) boosting the production
management, and self-consumption. Local
domestic product growth, and improving
development and living standard, etc.
authorities, entities, and individuals were
industrial structure of rural areas; 2) boosting
With broadcasting, television, and electronic-
encouraged to use local resources and funds
the development of farming, forestry, husbandry,
based education devices, people will have
to plan and construct SHP; those who invest
byproducts, and fishery, and contributions to grain
more entertainment, a rich cultural life, and
and construct SHP plants own the plants;
output and total output of the agricultural sector;
easier access to knowledge.
2000N)/:
<50 MW
19801990:
<25 MW
1970s:
<12 MW
1960s:
<3 MW
1950s:
<0.5 MW
2!+%!,(%-,,
+-%&Au-)
)(-+)&
2)& !
+)(
T.+%(!,
.&-%*&!
--%)(,
)((!-!
2+)((
W)) !(
T.+%(!,
%(#&!
--%)(
2%#$""%%!(0
(%-,,
A.-)'-%
*!+-%)(
2%#$""%%!(0
(%-,,
A.-)'-%
*!+-%)(
Figure S1. The change of capacity range and unit type for small hydro from the 1950s until now. (Source: Pan et al., 2006.)
41
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Grid extension is
still regarded as an
important part of
the current efforts of
issues.
out as a probable solution both for

electricity and agricultural production
in rural areas, the small hydro station.
Used in over half of its counties,
China has established its leading
place in exploiting small hydro in
rural areas. From early on, the government has recognized the potential of
small hydro in tackling rural electrification, and since the 1950s, it has
used professional personnel to disseminate technologies through
national and provincial meetings, training courses, and
workshops. During the 1980s, the typical investment per
county was CNY1 million for demonstration projects, and
the scale of the project gradually expanded.
Starting from 4-MW installed capacity in 1949, by the
end of 2011, a total of 45,000 SHP stations have been
installed in China, equaling an installed capacity of 62 GW,
the largest in the world. They can be classified as distributed generators because of their small generating capacity, and in this sense, China has the largest generating
capacity of distributed generation capacity. They were
developed and operated by the DPC in a local level, and
most of them are also connected to the main grid and use
the main grid to offset their seasonal variation (Figure 3).
Grid Extension
2012
2010
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
Emerging Technology and

New Development Trends
The feasible SHP locations in China have mostly been
exploited. Finding economically feasible locations and the
construction of new SHP plants are increasingly harder.
Western China is rich in solar and wind energy, and these
renewable energy techniques represent promising alternatives for future rural electrification.
Historically, thermal plants are in dominance of the total
installed generators. Since 1985, the Chinese government has
managed to supply almost 700 million people and generate
nearly 1,000 TWh of electricity (IEA, World Energy Outlook
2002). More than 80% of the electricity was generated from
coal, and 1518% was generated mainly with hydropower.
China has more coal reserves, and coal is generally inexpensive to use (see Figure 6).
More Perilous
Construction
and Operation
Conditions
Billion CNY
60
50
40
30
20
1992
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1990
Gigawatts
In and outside of China, grid extension has always been

the most common approach for electricity access. In the
1960s, attention and policy shifted to grid extension after
the government realized the importance of electricity for
rural development. As investment in the capacity and grid
expansion began to generate surplus power, it became
possible to connect more villages to the grid. The Central
Power Company operates the county power corporation
through its provincial branch company, and most counties
served by the county power cooperation are located in
fairly developed regions with greater power consumption
and fewer power resources.
Grid extension is still regarded as an

important part of the current efforts of
rural electrification issues. In the current
efforts of a three-year special movement
(20132015) targeting the unelectrified
population from the National Energy
Administrator (NEA), it is stipulated that
1.54 million of the current 2.73 million
people in China without electricity
should be electrified by grid extension.
Challenges prevail as the grid is extended to more remote and mountainous
areas (Figure 4). In Sichuan, for example, to reach the onceunelectrified areas, the transmission network at 35 kV with
35-kV substations is extended to Ganzi, Liangzhou, and Aba,
all on mountainous plateaus, which are expected to supply
31,000 rural residents by the end of 2014. The Tibet grid is
operated as a single grid, and the whole province is less developed and has suffered from insufficient electricity generation.
A unique case of grid extension, the SichuanTibet power grid
connection project kicked off in 2013, which will connect Tibet
to the rest of the country, aiming to supply 700,000 nomadic
people who have no access to electricity (Figure 5).
In Need of
Much Funding
10
0
In Need of
Sustainable
Operation
Mechanism
High Cost
Grid
Extension
Year
Investment (Billion CNY)
Installed Capacity (GW)
Figure 3. The annual installed capacity and investment of SHP in
China from 1990 to 2012. (Source: 2013 China Statistical Yearbook.)
42
Figure 4. The challenges for grid extension.
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From the 1980s, renewable energy,

especially PV home systems, have
been used for rural electrification. In
2005, with the birth of the Renewable
Energy Law, China has been a world
leader in installing renewable energy
both in the megawatt and small
scale. In 2013, China ranked first in
total wind power installed capacity,
PV capacity, and hydropower capacity
(2014 Global Renewable Status
Report). What was noticeable in 2013
is that Chinas new renewable power
capacity surpassed new fossil and
nuclear capacity for the first time. All
renewables accounted for more than
20% (>1,000 TWh) of Chinas electricity generation (2014 Global Renewable
Status Report).
Renewable energy on a large scale
is helping to reshape the energy pattern in China. In the energy use structure in China, shown in Figure 6, more
than 70% is coal-fired thermal plants,
16.5% is hydropower, and renewable
energy (minus hydro) is just 0.8% of
the total capacity. Coal burning contributes greatly to carbon dioxide
emissions and is among the main
causes for acid rain and air pollution.
Renewable energy is key to realizing
The State Councils target to cut carbon intensitycarbon emissions per
unit of the gross domestic product
by 4045% from 2005 levels by 2020.
China has been active in using
renewable energy for rural electrification, holding some of the largest rural
programs on small hydro, biomass,
wind, PV, and biogas. Microgrids also
represent a booming industry for
remote rural communities in western
China and for the large number of
islands on the east coastline.
Figure 5. A power tower under construction in a plateau. (Source: ZouYifei, Indaa.com.cn.)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
(%)
Renewable Energy
for Rural Electrification
Chinas main experience with renewable energy is through the construction
of small hydro plants before the 1970s.
Then, grid extension became mainstream for rural electrification. In the
Sixth Five-Year Plan (19811985) and
Seventh Five-Year Plan (19861990), the
Chinese government began to encourage renewable energy for electricity
World
Coal
United States
Oil
Natural Gas
Japan
Germany
Nuclear
Hydro
France
China
Renewable (Minus Hydro)
Figure 6. A comparison of the generating structure between different nations. (Source: Liu, 2013.)
43
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TABLE 2. The Implementation Result of the Township Rural Electrification Program:

Solar PV Power Stations and Solar PV/Wind Hybrid Power Stations.
The Quantity
of Power Stations
Total Installed
Capacity (kWp)
The Number of
Households Benefited
The Number of
People Benefited
Tibet autonomous
region (AR)
329
6,763
28,966
141,635
Xinjiang AR
159
2,378
18,416
105,887
Qinghai Province
112
2,715
8,640
40,650
Sichuan Province
46
1,817
5,500
24,900
Inner Mongolia AR
42
752
2,840
11,369
Gansu Province
23
995
4,164
37,942
Shaanxi Province
100
520
1,856
Hunan Province
20
100
420
Total
721
15,540
69,147
340,395
Province
Source: Shyu, 2012.
44
generation in rural areas by supporting small home solar PV

systems from a few to tens of watts. Stand-alone systems
have been mostly used in remote areas in north and northwest China, where the extension of the main grid is too costly
or difficult. PV systems have been used in these areas since
mid-1990. A recent report from the World Bank provides
details about renewable energy in China, claiming that two
million people in western China are receiving electricity
through PV systems.
In 2002, the Township Electrification Program was initiated by the State Development and Planning Commission.
This program was designed for the poorer, less capable of
paying population in rural areas in western China, with a
goal of 100 W per person. This is one of the largest renewable
energy-based rural electrification programs in the world
(Table 2 and Figure 7).
In 2011, the vast majority of Chinas solar PV installations were grid connected, but some 20 MW were in off-grid
and other isolated applications. By 2012, 65.6-GW small
hydro stations were installed in China. By 2010, China had
430.94 MW installed capacity of stand-alone small wind
turbines, and this number is expected to reach 997 MW by

2015 and 2,955 MW by 2020. In recent years, about 2 million
household biogas digesters have been newly built.
In rural counties, biomass has been promoted and
widely used for cooking and heating. Biogas is a combustible mixture of gases produced when livestock manure
and biological waste ferment in air-tight containers. The
major constituents of biogas are methane (CH4, 60% or
more by volume) and carbon dioxide (CO2, about 35%)
plus small amounts of water vapor, hydrogen sulphide
(H2S), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen (N2) (Figure 8).
The largest chicken waste biogas energy plant in China,
the Minhe Biogas project, stands 6 km south of Penglai City,
Shandong Province, which is also home to the biggest stud
and meat chicken farm in China, Shandong Minhe Livestock
Co. The Minhe Biogas project has a 3-MW biogas generation
plant under the World Bank Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) project. The plant features three of GEs 1-MW JMS320
Jenbacher engines, which generate electricity for the local
grid. The sites new biogas plant features an anaerobic digester system that consumes 300 t of manure and 500 t of waste-
Figure 7. The people of Inner Mongolia are turning to new technologies like solar power to solve the problem. (Source: World Bank.)
Figure 8. The Shandong Minhe 3-MW biogas plant (phase I). (Photo
courtesy of Shandong Minhe Animal Husbandry Co., http://www.minhe.cn/.)
___________
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water daily. The resulting digester biogas is then delivered to

GE Energys durable Jenbacher engines to generate electricity
for the 19,000-m2 complex as well as the local grid. The residual materials in the digester can later be used as fertilizer.
Such biogas generation has been steadily growing in rural
China in recent decades. Some, like the Minhe group, also
trade certified emission reductions under the CDM project.
China has a huge potential for biogas power generation, as
the raw materials for biogas are abundant and widespread
from crops and livestock. By the estimate from the Medium
and Long-Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in
China, the total installed capacity of biogas generation could
reach 30 GW and biogas production 40 billion m3. Because of
its benefit for providing fuel and electricity and recycling biological waste, it has been recognized as an important component of renewable energy development.
Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,

and a local solar energy company. An initial investment
of CNY15 million was put forward to procure PV panels
and wind turbines. The system could reach an annual
profit of CNY2 million after the government no longer
provides subsidies. Although the microgrid is still at its
infancy, first-hand experience could be collected among
these demonstration projects.
At the current stage, in China, microgrid technology is
not yet economical enough for large-scale exploitation; on
the side of electricity companies, there exists some hesitation about the mass application of grid-connected
microgrids for fear of lowered revenue and increased operation complication. The commercial application of
microgrids, including off-grid microgrids for rural areas, is
an untapped market source that has shown great potential.
Rural Microgrid
Major Renewable Policy
The microgrid is first put forward as a flexible means to

integrate renewable energy. In its ability to connect and
disconnect from the main grid, it has other potential such
as local optimization of the energy supply and resistance
to grid contingency. Different purposes are set by varying
end users. Navigant Research has divided the microgrid
market into five categories based on the end user:
1) remote systems
2) commercial/ industrial
3) community/utility
4) institutional/campus
5) military.
The microgrid can be connected with the main grid
through one point of connection or isolated from the
main grid. The latter system is particularly suited for the
remote rural communities that are far from a main grid.
The rural remote microgrid tends to be quite small, often
fewer than 100 kW in size, while the utility and industrial
microgrid can be as large as 60100 MW per system.
Around the world, the remote microgrid sector shows
great potential as a record-setting increase of 155 new
projects, representing 60 MW of the additional capacity in
remote microgrids, as recorded by the Navigant Microgrid
Deployment Tracker in March 2014.
The ability of microgrids to involve consumers and
renewable generation at the distribution level, a quite distinctive feature from the traditional power grid, has drawn
the attention of many researchers. Microgrid demonstration projects are ample in China, and another 30
microgrids are planned to be built by 2015 by the Chinese
NEA. China is estimated to be a leading market, especially
for off-grid remote microgrids, by 2020.
Some of the projects explored the microgrids use for
rural electrification. The first megawatt-level oceanic
island microgrid in China was constructed in 2010 in
Dong Ao Island in the South China Sea, under a research
and demonstration project for multiple renewableenergy microgrids led by the Guangzhou Energy
The recent Renewable Energy Scale-up Program (CRESP) is

the worlds largest international cooperation program in the
field of renewable energy. It is cooperated by China, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the World Bank. For province-level demonstrative projects, the program supported
the implementation of 21 renewable energy demonstrative
projects in four demonstrative provinces, including Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Fujian, and Inner Mongolia (Table 3). This has laid a
solid foundation for the overall promotion of renewable
energy technology in China. For example, the following projects have successively become Chinas renewable energy
scale-up demonstrative projects, including the 30-MW intertidal zone pilot wind farm in Rudong, Jiangsu; the 5-MW biomass gasification thermal, power, and steam project in Gaoyou, Jiangsu Province; the 205-kW low-fold concentrating PV
power plant in Pingtan, Fujian Province; and the 20-MW tidal
power station in Jiantiao, Zhejiang Province (http://www.
cresp.org.cn/english/video.asp).
Challenges and Objectives

Efficiency
Little attention was paid to operational efficiency when
the public electricity supplies were first developed in rural
areas. During the early days of rural electrification (first
phase), because of the limited resources and attention
from the central government, rural areas were encouraged
to use local resources and to be operated by local authorities. Without order and monitoring from higher authorities, system design flaw, line losses, unreliable supply, and
waste of resources were rampant. In regions rich in water
resources, site development planning often failed to maximize the energy potential of a given location.
Market Mode for Decentralized Systems

The future trend for rural electrification in remote areas is a
high reliance on decentralized systems. Technical immaturity
or imperfection aside, efficient and commercial construction
45
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is indispensable to
rural economic
development, and by
recognizing this link,
China appears to
succeed in both
electricity
development and
rural development.
and operation face barriers from the

current power market mechanism. The
first issue is how decentralized generation can compete with the main grid.
Under competition with the central grid,
the ability of distributed generation to
obtain favorable grid-connection rates
varies with negotiation with government, power demand in the province,
and the history of facilities (outdated
systems may have a lower connection
rate). Another issue is how the
large-scale government-led electrification program can sustain itself after government funding leaves. For example, in
the Township Electrification Program,
the lack of clear ownership and cost
recovery mechanisms, (i.e., no mechanism was there to transfer the systems
to local ownership after the initial contract terms expired)
jeopardizes the sustainability of this program. The fund
source, of which a large portion is from governments, also
means that other countries can hardly

replicate such efforts.
For the tasks at hand, although most
of the rural population in China has
access to electricity, there is an
insufficient supply, unreliable electricity
service, and low per capita electricity
consumption compared to urban areas.
And there is still much room for
improvement; the remaining population without electricity is either living in
extremely remote areas or leading a
nomadic lifestyle. The provision of electricity to these populations, though in
small numbers, poses huge challenges.
Conclusions
Rural electrification in China has gone

through a long history, experiencing
ministry changes and policy modifications. From locally
developed and locally managed using local sources, this system has gradually evolved to a dynamic combination of grid
TABLE 3. The Policies, Programs, and Development Stages of

the Rural Electrification Initiative Based on Renewable Energy.
46
Year
Name
Focus
Comment
1999mid2007
The renewable energy

development program
with support from the
World Bank
Solar and
wind energy
400,000 solar home systems were distributed in western

China during 20062011. About two million people, mostly
nomads and farmers in isolated areas, now get electricity for
their home appliances.
20052010
CRESP, also with

support from GEF and
the World Bank
Wind,
biomass,
small hydro
Demonstrates the feasibility of scale-up renewable technologies and economic and environmental advantage over coal-fired
generation. It supports institutional development and capacity
building for renewable energy in China. It initiated one of the first
large-scale, on-grid wind power projects and introduced market
frameworks for commercialization of the PV sector.
2005
The renewable energy law was released by the efforts from CRESP.
1980s2000s
Household wind
power in the Inner
Mongolian autonomous
regions
Wind power
The local branch of the Ministry of Science and Technology

began to develop 50100-W household-scale wind turbines
for herders. By 2004, 140,000 units were sold and up to 80%
(out of 440,000) households use a household wind generator.
19962001
Household wind/
PV hybrid systems in
the Inner Mongolian
autonomous region
Wind/PV
Initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Chinese

Academy of Science, and the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware, 8,400 such
systems were installed, with system sizes between 400
and 500 W. The higher costs of these systems limited their
affordability, even among richer herders in the Mongolian
autonomous region.
20112015
12thfive-year plan for

Chinas developmentby
central government
20092011
Golden Sun
Program
It calls for an increase in the proportion of nonfossil fuels in

total primary energy consumption to 11.4%.
Solar power
It consists of a subsidy program to support the installation

of PV. It covers both on-grid and off-grid PV and the subsidy for
the later focus on rural areas.
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extension and exploitation of decentralized local grids, with

strong state support.
The bottom-up approach is recognized as a unique feature
and a significant contributor to the overall rural electrification
story. Such an approach not only uses local resources, such as
SHP, but is funded, planned, managed, and operated by local
investors, DPCs, and other authorities. China had an early
emphasis on renewable energy from the small hydro to PV
household systems and hybrid systems later on. The choice is
not purely based on environmental reasons but rather on the
resources locally available and the technology that is best suited. Rural electrification is also characterized by a phased
development pattern. Such a pattern has worked fairly well in
China when local small-scale grids were first developed, giving electricity access to the rural population and allowing agriculture and industry to develop, and it is easier to upgrade or
connect them into a regional network at a later stage.
Rural electrification is indispensable to rural economic
development, and by recognizing this link, China appears to
succeed in both electricity and rural development. Even
when electricity was not directly addressed in the early policies, it was still intricately linked with and developed in the
Poverty Alleviation programs and Township and Village
Enterprises brought by the Reform and Open-up Policy.
Rural agriculture and rural enterprises have access to electricity to be more productive, and in turn, the increased productivity will spur demand to justify investment and the
possibility of revenue. The living standards in rural areas
have improved because of more electric appliances, and
social services including education, health care, and entertainment are also becoming possible.
While waiting for more studies to ascertain the replicability of Chinese rural electrification, other developing
countries can surely be inspired by the Chinese experiences
and benefit from Chinese lessons.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Doctoral Program of Higher Education for the Priority Development Areas
(20130201130001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the
Central Universities, and the Independence research project
of the State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and
Power Equipment in Xian Jiaotong University (EIPE14106).
For Further Reading

T. Hevia. (2009). The rural electrification in China and the
impact of renewable energies, China Europe International
Business School, Shanghai, China. Tech. Rep., p. 42. [Online].
Available: http://www.ceibs.edu/bmt/images/20110221/30210.pdf
D. F. Barnes, The challenge of rural electrification: Strategies for developing countries, in Earthscan, 2007.
S. C. Bhattacharyya and S. Ohiare, The Chinese electricity
access model for rural electrification: Approach, experience
and lessons for others, Energy Policy, vol. 49, pp. 676687, Oct.
2012.
H. Zerriffi, Rural Electrification: Strategies for Distributed Generation. New York: Springer, 2010.
J. Pan, M. Li, X. Wu, L. Wan, R. J. Elias, D. Victor, H. Zerriffi, Z.

Chi, and W. Peng. (2006). Rural electrification in China 1950
2004: Historical processes and key driving forces. Stanford
University Working Paper. [Online]. Available: http://pesd.fsi.
stanford.edu/publications/rural_elec_china
___________________________
J. Tong, Some features of Chinas small hydropower,
J. Water Energy Environ., vol. 4, pp. 1114, Jan. 2009.
Z. Bie, Y. Lin, G. Li, X. Jin, and B. Hua, Smart grid in China: A
promising solution to Chinas energy and environmental
issues, Int. J. Environ. Stud., vol. 70, no. 5, pp. 702718, 2013.
Z. Liu, Electric Power and Energy in China. New York: Wiley, 2013.
World Bank, ChinaRenewable Energy Development Project
implementation compilation and results report, Rep.
ICR0000880, 2009.
C. Shyu, Rural electrification program with renewable energy sources: An analysis of Chinas Township Electrification Program, Energy Policy, vol. 51, pp. 842853, Dec. 2012.
World Bank. (2011). Solar systems for 400,000 rural households. [Online]. Available: http://www.worldbank.org/en/
news/feature/2011/04/06/solar-systems-for-400000-rural______________________________________
households-china
___________
J. L. Sawin and L. Mastny. (2012). Renewables 2012, Global
Status Rep., p. 33. [Online]. Available: http://www.map.ren21.
net/GSR/GSR2012_low.pdf
H. Liming, Financing rural renewable energy: A comparison between China and India, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev.,
vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 10961103, 2009.
J. Pan. (2002). Rural energy patterns in China: A preliminary assessment from available data sources, Program on
Energy and Sustainable Development Working Paper. [Online].
vol. 12. Available: http://pesd.fsi.stanford.edu/publications/
rural_energy_patterns_in_china_a_preliminary_assessment_
______________________________________
from_available_data_sources
__________________
X. Zhang and A. Kumar, Evaluating renewable energy-based
rural electrification program in western China: Emerging
problems and possible scenarios, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev.,
vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 773779, 2011.
IEA Small Hydro International Gateway-China. [Online].
Available: http://www.ieahydro.org/Small_Scale_Hydro2.html
China, The Ministry of Water, 20062008 National Plan
of substitution of biofuels with small. [Online]. Available:
http://ghs.ndrc.gov.cn/ghwb/115zxgh/200709/P020070927
607783127589.doc (in Chinese)
___________
China, The Ministry of Water, 20092015 National Plan of
substitution of biofuels with small hydropower. [Online].
Available: http://www.iwhr.com/zgskyww/kycg/webinfo/
2010/07/1279253973131286.htm
___________________
Biographies
Zhaohong Bie (zhbie@mail.xjtu.edu.cn)
_______________ earned her B.S. and
M.S. degrees from the Electric Power Department of Shandong University, Jinan, China, in 1992 and 1994, respectively, and her Ph.D. degree from Xian Jiaotong University,
Xian, China, in 1998. Currently, she is a professor in the
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power
Equipment and the School of Electrical Engineering, Xian
Jiaotong University.
Yanling Lin (linyanling@stu.xjtu.edu.cn)
_________________ earned her B.S.
degree from the School of Electrical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China, in 2013. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree at Xian Jiaotong University.
47
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By Shay Bahramirad,
Amin Khodaei, Joseph Svachula,
and Julio Romero Aguero
One neighborhood at a time.
HE MICROGRID, AS DEFINED BY THE U.S.

Department of Energy, is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy
resources (DERs) with clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the electric utility grid.
DERs consist of distributed generation (DG) and distributed energy storage (DES) installed at utility facilities, e.g.,
distribution substations, DG sites, or consumer premises.
A microgrid must have three distinct characteristics: 1) the
electrical boundaries must be clearly defined, 2) there
must be control systems in place to dispatch DERs in a
coordinated fashion and maintain voltage and frequency
within acceptable limits, and 3) the aggregated installed
capacity of DERs and controllable loads must be adequate
to reliably supply the critical demand. The microgrids may
be operated in two modes:
1) Interconnected to the grid: under this mode, the microgrid
can import, export, or have zero power exchange with
the grid. This type of operation is generally designed for
normal conditions (no system contingencies), and its
objective is to improve grid performance and efficiency
by using local DERs, e.g., to defer capacity investments,
reduce system losses, and improve local reliability.
2) Disconnected from the grid: under this mode, the
microgrid is allowed to operate islanded from the grid;
this is also commonly known as intentional islanding.
This type of operation requires the DERs within the
microgrid to be dispatched in a coordinated fashion to
provide voltage and frequency regulation. Successful

48
islanded operation may also entail the implementation

of energy demand management, e.g., demand response
or curtailment, to achieve generation-load balance. This
type of operation is generally intended to provide service
to remote locations (permanent islanded operation) or to
provide continuous supply during contingencies (temporary islanded operation). In the latter case, the microgrid
is expected to return to interconnected operation once
the contingency has been addressed.
A variety of applications have been identified for
microgrids. The very first modern microgrids were deployed
in university campuses, conceivably due to the availability of
funding for research initiatives and internal expertise in
engineering and science. Microgrid deployment is becoming
an increasingly attractive solution for commercial and industrial consumers who require premium reliability and power
quality levels and/or are interested in pursuing economic
benefits from the strategic dispatch of their DERs, e.g., consumers who want to take advantage of available incentives
and use idle capacity from backup generation to export
power to the grid.
Moreover, there are growing numbers of microgrid
deployments in remote locations since they can be a more
efficient and viable solution to provide electric service than
upgrading or building transmission and distribution (T&D)
facilities. For instance, the microgrids can be operated in
interconnected mode to provide peak shaving and defer
capacity investments otherwise needed in remote locations,
or they can be operated in islanded mode and used to supply
service to isolated areas. The latter approach has been used
extensively to provide service to remote rural areas, traditionally via conventional generation (e.g., reciprocating engines
and small hydrogeneration), and more recently via combined
dispatch of conventional and renewable DGs. Military
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IMAGE LICENSED BY GRAPHIC STOCK
microgrids have also received increased attention in recent

years, primarily due to support provided by the U.S. Department of Defense. Military microgrids consist of self-sustaining small power grids, which are required to address the mission-critical energy needs of military bases.
More recently, community microgrids have emerged as
an alternative to address the rising societal demands for
electric infrastructures that are able to provide premium
reliability and power quality levels while being economical
and environmentally friendly. Community microgrids aim
primarily at supplying electricity to a group of consumers
in a neighborhood or several connected neighborhoods in
close proximity (Figure 1). Despite extensive studies on
microgrids, very little literature is dedicated to community

microgrids. This article discusses community microgrids
and elaborates on the different components and anticipated outcomes of these viable deployments.
Why Community Microgrids?

Community microgrids are emerging as a potential solution to
address the following trends: 1) residential consumers, who use
more than one third of the electric energy produced in the United States, are demanding higher levels of reliability and power
quality, 2) the utility grids are experiencing an unprecedented
proliferation of intermittent renewable DG, which is motivated
by the availability of attractive incentives and regulations
49
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Figure 1. Community microgrids aim primarily at supplying electricity to a group of consumers in a neighborhood or several connected neighborhoods in close proximity.
designed to address socioeconomic and environmental concerns, 3) the commercial and industrial consumers needs for
high reliability and quality premium power is growing due to
dependence on sensitive loads, and 4) society is demanding
more resilient power delivery infrastructures due to the growing dependence on electric service for vital activities such as
transportation, e.g., the emergence of plug-in electric vehicles,
and the well-documented grid vulnerability issues exposed by
recent natural phenomena such as Hurricane Sandy.
The transition from the conventional utility grid to the
smart community microgrids and the enhanced utilization
of DER and controllable loads are anticipated to extensively
change the way the communities use electricity by increasing energy efficiency, enhancing conservation levels, and
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while lowering the
stress level on congested T&D lines. Several obstacles, however, exist in the rapid and widespread deployment of community microgrids, including the high capital cost of
Figure 2. Smart metering is one of the major enablers of energy

management for buildings.
50
microgrid deployment, the lack of consumer knowledge on

potential impacts of DG and load scheduling strategies, and
particularly ownership and regulatory issues.
Microgrid developers must convince consumers that the
benefits of the microgrid exceed the capital costs. The
microgrid benefits must be scrutinized and compared with
the microgrid capital cost for ensuring a complete return on
investment to further justify the microgrid deployments.
An accurate assessment of the microgrids economic benefits is a challenging task because of the significant data
uncertainty involved in the assessment. Moreover, some of
the assessment results such as reliability improvements are
difficult to comprehend for consumers when represented
in supply availability terms. Thus, efficient planning models
are required to ensure the economic viability of microgrid
deployments and further justify investments based on costbenefit analyses under uncertain conditions.
The second obstacle persists as long as consumers do not
have a keen knowledge of load scheduling strategies or are
not willing to contribute to energy management efforts in
the microgrids. This obstacle could be removed by educating
the microgrid consumers about the anticipated benefits. The
financial incentives offered to consumers, who would consider load scheduling strategies, is the most powerful driver
for performing load scheduling. Furthermore, the emergence
of smart metering as well as state-of-the-art devices and
building management systems have helped reduce this barrier (Figure 2). Proper scheduling and data acquisition tools
are available to advise consumers and perform load scheduling autonomously with minimal consumer intervention.
These tools may be used by a building energy management
system to optimally schedule and coordinate loads.
Regulatory issues must be solved before planning a community microgrid deployment. Currently, there are several
regulatory aspects that are still unresolved, including
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microgrid ownership, third-party generation participation,

investment recovery, and inclusion in the utility rate case. As
these challenges are being addressed, a more widespread
deployment of community microgrids will be witnessed in
power systems to the point that these smart communities
may act as a core component of future power systems.
weeks. The impact of these events on consumers could be

minimized by the deployment of community microgrids,
which allow the local supply of loads even when the supply
of power from the utility grid is not available.
Reliability
Perhaps the most prominent benefit of community microgrids

is the improved security as they could potentially mitigate the
impacts of physical and cyberthreats. The community
microgrids increase security of power delivery to critical facilities, such as hospitals, emergency response centers, water stations, transportation systems, food banks, and shelters within
the electrical boundaries. These facilities can provide secure
oases in the event of catastrophic disturbances to the utility
grid. The secured electric supply is enabled by operation in the
islanded mode in case of physical damage to the utility grid.
The islanded operation, enabled by on-site generation, allows
for the microgrid to maintain continuous supply to missioncritical loads during major grid disturbances (Figure 3). In addition to physical security, microgrids enhance the cybersecurity
aspects of the distribution system. By sectionalizing power
delivery into smaller segments and localized distributed control, microgrids can limit the impacts of cyberattacks. The
impacts could be experienced in specific areas instead of causing a widespread circulation to all grid operations. Community
microgrids also provide protection in numbers. As the
microgrids are distributed throughout the power grid, they are
not likely to be targeted at once, hence improving cybersecurity.
One of the most important benefits of community

microgrids is to improve consumers supply reliability. Electric utilities constantly monitor consumers reliability levels
and perform required system upgrades to improve supply
availability and to reach or maintain desired performance.
Consumer reliability is typically evaluated in terms of
system/customer average interruption frequency/duration
indices (e.g., SAIFI, SAIDI, CAIDI, CAIFI, etc.see IEEE 1366
2012, IEEE Guide for Electric Power Distribution Reliability
Indices). Outage causes, such as storms and equipment failure, impact reliability levels by increasing the average frequency and duration of interruptions; however, when a
community microgrid is deployed, these metrics can be significantly improved. This is due to the intrinsic intelligence
(control and automation systems) of community
microgrids and the utilization of DERs that allow islanded
operation from the grid. Since generation in community
microgrids is located in close proximity to consumer loads,
it is less prone to being affected by T&D grid disturbances
and infrastructure issues. Additional flexibility to provide
service under these conditions is provided by the ability to
adjust loads (e.g., demand response) via building and/or
microgrid master controllers. Improved reliability can be
translated into economic benefits for consumers and utility
due to a reduction in interruptions, costs, and energy not
supplied. The magnitude of these benefits is dependent
upon load criticality and the value of lost load as well as the
availability of other alternatives such as backup generation
or automatic load transfer trips.
Resiliency
Emission Reduction
Resiliency improvement is observed as a complementary

value proposition of microgrids. Resiliency refers to the
capability of power systems to withstand low-probability,
high-impact events by minimizing possible power outages
and quickly returning to normal operating state. These
events typically include extreme weather events and natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes,
snowstorms, floods, and cyber- and physical security
attacks, and terrorism. Recurring and seemingly increasing
intense seasonal storms, which many utilities are facing
every year, could also be included among these events. The
recent hurricanes in the United States as well as a documented attack on a California substation and the potentially significant social disruptions have spawned a great deal
of discussion in the power and energy industry about the
value and application of microgrids. If the power system is
impacted by these events and critical components are
severely damaged, e.g., generating facilities and/or T&D
infrastructures, service may be disrupted for days or even
Community microgrids could be accredited as rapid

enablers of renewable energy integration to distribution networks. Renewable energy resources may cause significant
Benefits of Community Microgrids

Community microgrids introduce unique opportunities
for consumers and for the operation and planning of the
power system, as outlined in the following sections.
Security
Figure 3. Community microgrids improve security by mitigating the

impacts of physical and cyberthreats.
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technical challenges when integrated to a distribution network as they produce a variable amount of energy. Seamless
integration of these resources may only be accomplished
through the implementation of mitigation measures. Utilities may need to upgrade their distribution network, use
advanced volt-var control practices, smart inverters, or energy storage to address the rapid deployment of renewable
energy resources. Community microgrids use the coordinated control of a combination of dispatchable DGs, DES, and
controllable loads to smooth down the intermittent output
of renewable energy resources. This allows for increased
penetration of renewable energy and diversification of
resources, enables utilities to meet the goals set by the
Renewable Portfolio Standards, and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Figure 4).
Reduced Costs of Recurring System Upgrades

As the demand for electricity increases, todays power system must be reinforced by the addition of new generation,
transmission, and distribution facilities. Community
microgrids deploy DERs to supply local loads, including conventional and renewable DGs and DES, and implement load
control to facilitate local grid management. Therefore, while
operating in interconnected mode, the additional generating
capacity from community microgrids decreases the average
and peak T&D system loading, effectively deferring capacity
increase or generation investments. This benefit, however, is
contingent upon a large penetration of microgrids in
distribution networks, which could accordingly contribute to
mitigate T&D congestion issues. Community microgrids can
also provide utilities with additional operational flexibility
(increased reserve) to handle load transfers during restoration or system reconfiguration. These technical and
economic aspects need to be carefully evaluated when considering microgrid deployment as part of system expansion
plans, along with investments in conventional T&D and generation infrastructures.
Energy Efficiency
Community microgrids could help improve overall energy
efficiency by reducing T&D losses and allowing the implementation of optimal load control and resource dispatch.
The former is a direct consequence of supplying consumer
loads with local generating facilities, and the latter can be

accomplished by intelligent control and dispatch of consumer loads. For instance, the microgrid controller could
interact with consumer controllers to curtail or dispatch
loads to accomplish the overall system efficiency goals.
Similarly, this objective could be adjusted to respond to the
real-time price, operational security, power quality, or reliability signals. Evidently, this requires having the adequate
regulatory framework and consumer incentives in place.
Power Quality
Consumers needs for higher power quality have significantly increased during the past decade due to the growing application of voltage-sensitive loads, including a large
number and variety of electronic loads and light-emitting
diodes. Utilities are always seeking efficient ways of
improving power quality issues by addressing prevailing
concerns stemmed from harmonics and voltage. Community microgrids provide a quick and efficient answer for
addressing power quality needs by enabling local control
of the frequency, voltage, and load, and a rapid response
from the DES.
Lowered Energy Costs

Financial incentives offered to consumers within a community microgrid who would consider load scheduling
strategies according to electricity prices and benefit from
locally generated power is a significant driver in the economic deployment of a microgrid. Although it is still more economical to purchase power from the utility, microgrids could
provide benefits by reducing T&D costs. The reduced energy
costs would impact each individual consumer within the
community microgrid. However, the microgrid local generation not only has the potential to lower energy costs for local
consumers (which will be more significant as DG technologies become less expensive) but it could also potentially
benefit the entire system by reducing the T&D networks
congestion levels (when the community microgrids penetration is high) and enabling a more economic dispatch of
available energy resources in the utility grid.
Community Microgrid Deployment

Components
Figure 4. Community microgrids enable the integration of renewable

energy resources to distribution networks for reaching environmental
targets.
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The main microgrid components include loads, local DGs,

DES, smart switches and protective devices, communication,
control and automation systems, and a master controller.
Microgrid loads are categorized into two typesfixed
and adjustable. The fixed loads cannot be altered and
must be satisfied under normal operating conditions. The
adjustable loads, however, are responsive to controlling
signals from a local controller or the microgrid master
controller. The adjustable loads could be curtailed (i.e., curtailable loads) or deferred (i.e., shiftable loads) in response
to economic incentives or islanding requirements. Community microgrid loads could also be categorized into two
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typesindividual loads and communal (shared) loads,

such as street lights. The total load is defined as the community-aggregated load. The DGs in a community
microgrid are either dispatchable or nondispatchable. The
dispatchable units can be controlled by the microgrid
master controller and are subject to technical constraints
depending on the type of unit, such as capacity limits,
ramping limits, minimum on/off time limits, and fuel and
emission limits. The nondispatchable units, on the contrary, cannot be controlled by the microgrid master
controller since the input source is uncontrollable. The
nondispatchable units are mainly renewable energy
resources, typically solar and wind, which produce a volatile and intermittent output power. The intermittency
indicates that the generation is not always available and
the volatility indicates that the generation is fluctuating in
different timescales. These characteristics negatively
impact the nondispatchable unit generation and increase
the forecast error; therefore, these units are commonly
reinforced with DES. The primary application of DES is to
coordinate with DGs to guarantee the microgrid generation adequacy. They can also be used for energy arbitrage,
where the stored energy at low-price hours is generated
back to the microgrid when the market price is high. This
action is analogous to shifting the load from high-price
hours to low-price hours. The DES also plays a major role
in microgrid islanding applications. The microgrid community-aggregated load minus the local generation from
DGs and DES could be identified as the utility load, i.e., the
amount of load that should be supplied by the utility grid.
Smart switches and protective devices manage the connection between DERs and loads in the microgrid by connecting/disconnecting line flows. When there is a fault in
part of the microgrid, smart switches and protective devices
disconnect the problem area and reroute the power to
other loads, preventing the fault from propagating in the
microgrid. The switch at the point of common coupling performs microgrid islanding by disconnecting the microgrid
from the utility grid.
The microgrid scheduling in interconnected and islanded modes is performed by the microgrid master controller
based on economic and security considerations. The master controller determines the microgrid interaction with the
utility grid, the decision to switch between interconnected
and islanded modes, and the optimal operation of local
resources. It also controls and maintains the frequency and
voltages within permissible ranges. Communications, control, and automation systems are used to implement these
control actions and to ensure constant, effective, and reliable interaction among microgrid components.
Architecture
The common microgrid control architectures are either
centralized or distributed. The centralized model collects
all of the required information for the microgrid operation
and performs centralized control. In the distributed model,
however, each component is considered an agent with the

ability for discrete decision making. The optimal schedule
is obtained using iterative data transfers among the
agents. Both control schemes offer benefits and drawbacks, but the centralized model is emerging as a more
desirable approach as it ensures a secure microgrid operation and is more suitable for the application of optimization techniques. The main drawbacks of the centralized
scheme are reduced flexibility in adding new components
and extensive computational requirements.
In community microgrids, a hybrid model, which benefits
from both centralized and distributed models, is expected to
be adopted. Three levels of control can be identified for the
microgrid, i.e., the device level, the building (or consumer)
level, and the microgrid level. Adjustable loads would provide
the first level of control. These loads would receive real-time
electricity prices from the building controller as well as scheduling time interval, including operation start and end times,
from the consumer. Once the time interval is set, the adjustable load would autonomously start and complete the operation cycle. Adjustable loads are important components of a
community microgrid, which will offer load management
capabilities. Examples of these loads for residential consumers are washers, dryers, dishwashers, and pool pumps.
The second level of control will be performed in the
building. The building controller would coordinate the
schedule of adjustable loads and the DES. If the building
already includes backup generation, which is the case for
critical loads, the building controller would also control
and operate the backup generation. A building controller
is an intermediate controller between adjustable loads
and the microgrid master controller. Building controllers
act as agents that schedule their own loads while at the
same time communicating with the microgrid master
controller to reach the overall community microgrid goals.
(Facilities with several buildings that are themselves part
of a larger community microgrid may include an additional control layer between the master and individual building controllers. The objective of this facility controller is to
coordinate the dispatch of loads and DERs within its own
service boundaries.)
The last level of control, which monitors and controls
the entire microgrid, is the microgrid master controller. As
mentioned, the microgrid interaction with the utility grid
(i.e., the amount of power to be purchased/sold to the utility grid), the decision to switch to islanded mode (in the
case of upstream network faults or voltage variations),
and optimal operation of local resources (including load
schedules received from the buildings, dispatchable DGs,
and DES) will be performed by the microgrid master controller. It also controls and maintains the frequency and
voltages within permissible ranges. The ultimate operational objective of the controller is to optimally schedule
loads to maximize the utilization of local resources, manage power transfer with the utility grid, and minimize the
community-aggregated electricity payment considering
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the convenience of individual consumers and hourly community load characteristics, which will be done through
interactions among these three control levels.
To build a community microgrid, several steps need to be

performed. The following is a high-level plan including the
major steps for deploying a community microgrid.
planned to be built in a densely populated area where

there is not enough space available to build combined
heat and power plants or wind turbines, the planner must
seek other alternatives with smaller footprints such as
fuel cells and rooftop solar photovoltaics (Figure 5). The
change in the DER generation mix could significantly
impact the microgrid deployment capital cost and alter
the rate of return on investment.
Site Selection
Integration of the Building Management System
Site selection is perhaps the most important step in building

a community microgrid. Although any neighborhood could
be considered for a microgrid deployment, some offer additional benefits or appear as more critical than others. The
important factors in site selection are electrical location,
load criticality, existing generation resources or availability
of primary (renewable) resources, available footprint, condition of T&D assets and available system capacity, and
availability of communications, control, and automation
systems. The electrical location of a microgrid within a
power system would determine the impact of the microgrid
on the utility grid by supplying additional generation to the
network and enabling a reliable supply of loads in connected
neighborhoods. Moreover, if properly located, a high penetration of community microgrids could potentially impact
T&D network congestion levels, by reducing load at congested hours, and benefit the entire power system by enabling
the flow of power from more economical units. Load criticality is another important factor in the microgrid site selection. Different loads in a neighborhood are associated with
different importance levels, in which load curtailments for
extended amounts of time are not acceptable for some of
the loads. The examples include police stations, gas stations,
hospitals, and nursing homes. Although these loads are typically reinforced by a backup DG to supply loads in case of
utility grid power interruptions, the backup power cannot be
employed for an extended period of time and also would
partially supply the critical loads. The available footprint
determines the DER generation mix, which could be
deployed in the microgrid. If the community microgrid is
Buildings play a major role in community microgrids by

controlling local loads and trading information with the
master controller for a better management of the
microgrid. Buildings, however, must be equipped with
building management systems. Adjustable loads within a
building would respond to price signals and autonomously
operate. The schedule of these loads, however, is coordinated by the building DERs via a building master controller and
based on the signals from the microgrid master controller.
In other words, the building controller provides an intermediate controller between the microgrid controller and the
loads. The interaction among multiple building controllers
is performed via a centralized control by the master controller. Consumers would define their criteria for operating
specific loads by considering the cycle duration and other
characteristics of individual loads.
Community Microgrid Deployment Phases
Determination of DER Generation Mix

A major obstacle in a rapid deployment of community
microgrids is the high capital investment cost of DERs.
DERs could provide a low-cost supply of energy, particularly at times of T&D network congestion when real-time
electricity prices are high. The high capital cost, however,
may prevent planners from deploying a microgrid. To
determine the economic viability of microgrid deployment, and accordingly determine the optimal DER generation mix, a long-term microgrid planning study should be
performed. The planning study must capture all value
streams, such as cost, reliability, environmental impacts,
and ancillary service payments, to justify the microgrid
investment cost. Uncertain data must be considered in
this study, including but not limited to forecast errors in
loads, variable renewable generation, and market prices.
Islanding incidents could be further considered as uncertain data with a high impact on deployment decisions.
Distribution Network Upgrade
Figure 5. Rooftop solar photovoltaic panels are viable DG candidates

for community microgrids.
54
Many distribution systems provide a radial supply of loads,

i.e., loads are supplied only from one distribution line. In
microgrids, however, to improve the reliability of the distribution network and prevent undesired supply interruption, the
distribution network is upgraded to create a loop. In this fashion, each load is supplied from more than one direction. If the
supply of power is interrupted from one side, it would be
available from the other side. It would be left to the microgrid
planners discretion what loads would be provided with a
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loop supply based on the load criticality. Moreover, the switches in the distribution network are replaced with fastresponse, high-reliability, communication-enabled switches.
These switches talk to each other in case of system faults and
intelligently disconnect the faulted area and reroute the
power to minimize fault impacts on other parts of the
microgrid. The interconnection to the utility grid should also
be provided with a switch at the point of common coupling to
receive islanding commands from the master controller and
disconnect the microgrid from the utility grid if necessary.
Master Controller Deployment

The master controller is the brain of the microgrid. The
microgrid scheduling in interconnected and islanded modes
is performed by the microgrid master controller based on
economic and security considerations. The master controller
determines the microgrids interaction with the utility grid,
the decision to switch between interconnected and islanded
modes, and optimal operation of DERs and loads. The
microgrid master controller receives information from the
building controllers and accordingly schedules available
resources. It also sends price signals to buildings for load
management purposes. The primary operational objective of
the microgrid master controller is to maximize consumer
benefits, i.e., minimize electricity payments, without any
consumer interactions or compromising adjustable loads
performances. The microgrid master controller could use a
centralized control of loads via a direct load control, in which
loads are directly controlled by the master controller, or a
decentralized control of loads, in which loads are scheduled
within each building and the resultant aggregated consumption pattern is sent to the master controller.
solutions to the pressing challenges of economy, reliability,

and environment while providing unprecedented benefits for
local consumers as well as the power system as a whole.
Community microgrids would be built upon the existing utility distribution network; hence, these deployments would not
be successful unless fully supported by utility companies. As
this technology becomes more viable and advantageous,
greater involvement of utility companies would be needed to
ensure sustainable deployment to the point that utilities could
ensure the benefits and become promoters of community
microgrids. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the electric utility company in the greater Chicago area, was recently awarded
a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a
microgrid master controller with applications to community
microgrids. A selected group of leading authorities from manufacturers, consulting firms, software developers, universities,
and national labs active in the power and energy industry will
be led by ComEd in this effort. This effort not only provides
ComEd with an invaluable experience in transforming the traditional way of electricity supply and delivery and gaining
first-hand knowledge on future integrated grids but also paves
the way for other utilities that understand the urge to adopt
new business models and are ready to embrace changes.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of
any entity or organization with which any of the authors
may be affiliated.
For Further Reading

Microgrid Exchange Group. (2011, Aug.). DOE Microgrid
Workshop Report. [Online]. Available: http://energy.gov/oe/
downloads/microgrid-workshop-report-august-2011
__________________________________
Communication System Deployment

Under the concept of smart grids, communication systems are
being integrated with power systems more than ever. It is not
different for community microgrids. Community microgrids
need to install proper communication systems across the
microgrid to connect a variety of microgrid players together
and enable rapid and reliable data transfer among adjustable
loads, building controllers, and microgrid controllers.
Moreover, DERs must be equipped with communication systems to enable real-time monitoring and control and facilitate
load management plans.
Navigant research, microgrid deployment tracker 4Q13,

commercial/industrial, community/utility, institutional/campus, military, and remote microgrids: Operating, planned, and
proposed projects by world region, 2014.
EPRI, Assessment of achievable potential from energy
efficiency and demand response programs in the U.S. (2010
2030): Executive summary, Palo Alto, CA, 2009.
R. Smith. (2014, 5 Feb.). Assault on California power station
raises alarm on potential for terrorism. [Online]. US News.
Available: http://online. wsj. com/news/articles/SB1000142405270
2304851104579359141941621778
___________________
Biographies
Conclusion
Community microgrids, which aim primarily at supplying
electricity for a group of consumers in a neighborhood or several connected neighborhoods in close proximity, have
emerged as an alternative to address the rising societal
demands for electric infrastructures that are able to provide
premium reliability and power quality levels while being economical and environmentally friendly. Community microgrids
were discussed in this article, and different components and
anticipated outcomes were elaborated upon. The studies
advocated that community microgrids be deliberated as viable
Shay Bahramirad (Shay.Bahramirad@comed.com)

______________________ is a
manager of smart grid and technology at Commonwealth
Edison (ComEd), Chicago, Illinois.
Amin Khodaei is an assistant professor at the University
of Denver, Colorado.
Joseph Svachula is the vice president of engineering and
smart grid at Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), Chicago,
Illinois.
Julio Romero Aguero is a senior director and executive advisor at Quanta Technology, LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina.
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By Wayne Archibald, Zuyi Li,

Mohammad Shahidehpour,
Steve Johanns, and Tom Levitsky
Islands in
the Sun
The solar power deployment initiative at
the University of the Virgin Islands.
HIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE DISTRIBUTED SOLAR
power deployment initiative at the University of the Virgin
Islands (UVI). It is an ongoing project that will deploy
3.3 MW of solar power at UVI. The project needs, benefits,
design, and financing for the initiative are discussed. UVI is
located in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A brief introduction to the U.S. Virgin
Islands is presented first, providing background information on the energy
need and why the solar power deployment initiative is necessary for UVI.
The U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands are an organized, unincorporated U.S. territory on
the boundary of the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. About
40 mi east of Puerto Rico and immediately west of the British Virgin Islands,
the U.S. Virgin Islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles (Figure 1).

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The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the Atlantic Standard

Time zone and do not participate in Daylight Saving Time.
When the mainland United States is on standard time, the
U.S. Virgin Islands are 1 h ahead of
Eastern Standard Time. When the
mainland United States is on Daylight Saving Time, Eastern Daylight
Time is the same as Atlantic Standard Time.
are around 78 F in the summer and 72 F in the winter.

Rainfall averages about 39 in per year. Rainfall can be quite
variable, but the wettest months on average are September
to November, and the driest months
on average are February and March.
The U.S. Virgin Islands are subject to
tropical storms and hurricanes, with
the hurricane season running from
June to November. In recent history,
substantial damage was caused by
Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Hurricane Marilyn in 1995.
PPA is a financing
arrangement that
allows UVI to
purchase solar
electricity with
little to no upfront
capital cost.
Geography
The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the

main islands of Saint (St.) Croix, St.
John, and St. Thomas, along with the
much smaller but historically distinct
Water Island, and many other surrounding minor islands. The main
islands have nicknames often used by
locals: Twin City (St. Croix), Rock
City (St. Thomas), and Love City (St.
John). The combined land area of the islands is 133.73 mi2,
roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C. The U.S. Virgin
Islands are known for their white-sand beaches. Most of the
islands, including St. Thomas, are volcanic in origin and hilly.
The highest point is Crown Mountain, St. Thomas (1,555 ft).
Climate
The U.S. Virgin Islands have a tropical climate, moderated
by easterly trade winds and with relatively low humidity.
Natural hazards include earthquakes and tropical cyclones
(including hurricanes). Temperatures vary little throughout
the year. Statistical temperature and precipitation data are
shown in Table 1 and Figure 2. In the capital city of Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, the typical daily maximum
temperatures are around 91 F in the summer and 86 F in
the winter, and the typical daily minimum temperatures
Economy
The U.S. Virgin Islands are an independent customs territory from the
mainland United States and operate
largely as a free port. Tourism is the
primary economic activity (Figure 3).
The islands normally host 2 million
visitors a year, many of whom visit on cruise ships. The
manufacturing sector consists mainly of rum distilling. The
agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported.
International business and financial services are a small
but growing component of the economy. To draw more
technology-focused companies and expand this segment of
the economy, the government founded and launched UVI
Research and Technology Park in conjunction with private
businesses and UVI.
The aggregate population of the U.S. Virgin Islands is
estimated to be approximately 109,000. About 42% of the
population is between the ages of 25 and 54. The median
household income, adjusted for inflation, is approximately
US$32,000, well below the current U.S. average of about
US$50,000. The poverty rate is relatively high in the U.S.
Virgin Islands. U.S. census data indicate approximately
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/RYANSMITH714
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(a)
(b)
Figure 1. The U.S. Virgin Islands: (a) St. Thomas and St. John and (b) St. Croix. (Images courtesy of Google Maps.)
29% of families and 33% of individuals live below the poverty line. This can be compared with a 2009 poverty rate of
approximately 14% for the United States.
tem, with an installed capacity of 117 MW, a maximum load

of approximately 55 MW, and a minimum load of about
35 MW. Although the topography of the ocean floor has prevented the direct interconnection of these two grid systems
to date, studies are underway to examine the possibility of
connecting both island systems with Puerto Rico and the
British Virgin Islands (Figure 4). The grid infrastructure of the
U.S. Virgin Islands consists primarily of subtransmission
lines (25115 kV). The two grid systems currently operate at
Electric Transmission and Distribution System

St. Thomas and St. John are part of one interconnected power
system, with an installed capacity of 191 MW, a maximum
load of approximately 88 MW, and a minimum load of about
50 MW. The island of St. Croix constitutes a second power sys-
TABLE 1. Climate Data for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. (Source: weather.com.)
__________
January February March April May June July August September October November December Year
Record high (F)
93
93
94
96
97
99
98
99
98
97
95
92
99
Average high (F) 85
85
86
87
88
89
90
90
90
89
87
86
87.7
Average low (F)
72
73
73
74
76
78
78
78
78
77
75
74
75.5
Record low (F)
63
62
56
62
66
67
57
59
64
66
52
62
52
1.48
1.42
2.74 3.06 2.53 2.85 3.74
5.58
5.42
5.23
2.96
39.39
Precipitation (in) 2.38
58
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60
40
Record High (F)

Average High (F)
Average Low (F)
Record Low (F)
20
5
4
3
2
1
0
Ja
nu
Fe ary
br
ua
r
M y
ar
ch
Ap
ril
M
ay
Ju
ne
Ju
A ly
S e ug
pt ust
em
b
O er
ct
N ob
ov e
e r
D mb
ec e
em r
be
r
Ja
nu
Fe ary
br
ua
r
M y
ar
ch
Ap
ril
M
ay
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ne
Ju
Au ly
Se g
pt ust
em
b
O er
ct
N ob
ov e
e r
D mb
ec e
em r
be
r
Temperature (F)
100
Average Precipitation (in)
120
(a)
(b)
Figure 2. The monthly climate data for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: (a) temperature and (b) precipitation. (Source: weather.com.)
_______
24.9 and 34.5 kV for St. Thomas and St. Croix, respectively. St.
Croix is currently in the process of upgrading parts of its system to operate at 69 kV. The distribution systems are typically
operated at 13.8 kV. The total technical and nontechnical losses were estimated at 6% on the St. ThomasSt. John system
and more than 13% on the St. Croix system.
Energy Cost
Similar to many island communities, the U.S. Virgin Islands
are 100% dependent on imported fuel oil for electricity. Retail
electricity rates in 2011 reached as high as US$0.49/kWh
and were as high as US$0.52/kWh following the oil price
spikes of 2008. The electricity generation and distribution
systems in the U.S. Virgin Islands are owned, operated, and
maintained by the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority
San Juan
Vieques
22
3
Bayamn Carolina
52 Puerto Rico Fajardo
Ceiba
Caguas
53
San Lorenzo
Cidra
Humacao
Cayey
Yabucoa
52
Figure 3. Tourism is the primary economic activity in the U.S.

Virgin Islands, which are known for their white-sand beaches.
(Photo courtesy of http://www.imagebrowse.com/us-virgin-islandbackgrounds/.)
________
St. Thomas
British Virgin
Islands
Charlotte
Amalie
St. John
Vieques
Guayama
St. Croix
Virgin
Islands
Figure 4. The conceptual interconnection between the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands. (The line information is
from a public report: http://www.viwapa.vi/AboutUs/Projects/ProjectDetails/11-08-02/USVI-BVI-Puerto_Rico_Interconnection.aspx. Map image
courtesy of Google Maps, illustration added.)
59
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St. John
St. Thomas
Annas Retreat
Cruz Bay
Charlotte Amalie
Annual Average of Daily Sun
Caribbean Sea
<5.6 5.8> kwh/m2
St. Croix
Christiansted
Grove Place
Frederiksted Southeast
10 km
Figure 5. The solar radiation of the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Source: Clean Power Research.)
(WAPA). WAPA generation assets are primarily located on St.

Thomas and St. Croix and consist of steam turbines operating on number 6 fuel oil, combustion turbines operating on
number 2 fuel oil, and a limited amount of internal combustion (diesel) generation. Capacity is derived primarily from
combustion turbines (72%) and steam
turbines (28%). The mean household
size in the U.S. Virgin Islands is 2.2
people. The total per-capita electricity
consumption, including losses and
water production, is estimated to be
the equivalent of 8,000 kWh per person per year. Thus, the total annual
household electricity consumption is
about 17,600 kWh. With an average
price of US$0.51/kWh for electricity,
the total annual household electricity
expenditure amounts to US$8,976,
which is about 28% of the median
household income (US$32,000). This
extremely high cost of energy has
seriously stifled the economic development of the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
whose heat rate has been estimated at 10,500 Btu/kWh.

To enhance the efficiency of existing generation assets,
WAPA installed waste heat recovery steam generators
(HRSGs) in St. Thomas in 1997 and St. Croix in 2010.
WAPA intends to upgrade the St. Thomas HRSGs to
increase efficiency but has not yet
established a time frame in which to
complete these upgrades.
Solar energy has the

potential to make a
meaningful
contribution to the
U.S. Virgin Islands
energy future if it is
deployed widely.
Generation Efficiency
Because of the use of low- and high-pressure steam for
desalination, coupled with outmoded controls and nonstandardized operations procedures, WAPAs generation
fleet operates at a relatively inefficient heat rate (greater
than 15,000 Btu/kWh). This can be compared with the
heat rate for Guam, an island in the South Pacific that
also relies on number 6 and number 2 fuel oil and had a
system average heat rate of 9,720 Btu/kWh, or Hawaii,
60
Solar Energy
The sun in the U.S. Virgin Islands is

strong. The solar radiation map in Figure 5 shows that the U.S. Virgin
Islands have a good solar resource for
solar photovoltaic (PV) generation,
with an average solar irradiation
greater than 5.7 kWh/m2/day. Thus,
solar energy has the potential to make
a meaningful contribution to the U.S.
Virgin Islands energy future if it is
widely deployed. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that, under a base case
scenario, 10 MW of solar PV will be deployed by 2025,
which represents between 7% and 10% of peak load.
Wind Energy
The consistency of the trade winds from the east provides an
excellent source of untapped power in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This resource is particularly pronounced along the southern
coastline and exposed ridges of the islands (Figure 6). The
National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that, under
a base case scenario, 22.5 MW of wind will be deployed by
2025, which represents between 15% and 20% of peak load.
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65
6450
6440
U.S. Virgin Islands

70-m Wind Speed
Charlotte Amalie
Wind Capacity
Speed Factor*
(m/s)
(%)
9.0
8.5
8.0
39
7.5
35
7.0
30
6.5
27
6.0
23
5.5
<5.5
1820
1820
Cruz Bay
St. John
St. Thomas
65
*Net Capacity Factor

Assuming 12% Energy
Losses
6440
(a)
6450
6440
6430
1750
The anual wind speed estimates

for this map were produced by
AWS Truewind using its
Mesomap system and historical
weather data.
Christiansted
Frederiksted
St. Croix
1740
10 km
6 km
1740
6450
6440
(b)
U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Figure 6. The annual wind speeds of the U.S. Virgin Islands: (a) St. Thomas and St. John and (b) St. Croix. (Source: National Renewable Energy
Laboratory.)
A Look at UVI
Founded in 1962, UVI is a public, coed, land-grant, historically
black university that lies in the heart of the beautiful Caribbean. Approximately 2,500 students are enrolled on the two
campuses (Figure 7): the Albert A. Sheen Campus on
St. Croix and the St. Thomas campus. UVI offers 38 undergraduate degree programs and seven graduate degree programs across its five colleges and schools. In a tropical
climate, UVI students enjoy indoor and outdoor activities year
round. Student entrepreneurs are rewarded with startup
(a)
(b)
Figure 7. The two campuses of UVI: (a) the Albert A. Sheen Campus, St. Croix, and (b) the St. Thomas Campus. (Images courtesy of UVI.)
61
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funds. Students in the science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics area present their research locally, nationally,
and internationally. Internships give students hands-on field
experience. Student clubs and organizations offer students
the opportunity to lead, work as a
team, network, and serve the community. The UVI experience is uniquely
multicultural, international, entrepreneurial, and intellectually stimulating.
UVI provides a vital and exciting environment for educating future leaders
of the global 21st-century community.
Table 2 summarizes the enrollment of
UVI in fall 2012.
The Caribbean Green Technology
Center (CGTC) at UVI was created in
2011 to advance energy and environmental sustainability in the U.S. Virgin Islands and their neighbors
throughout the Caribbean Basin. In
the face of severe economic pressures
and energy and water insecurity, the
CGTC serves as an important clearinghouse for information and processes geared toward supporting and
protecting natural resources and the
development of alternative and
renewable-energy technologies. The CGTC serves as a
vibrant intellectual hub for learning, networking, and innovation in and across the Caribbean, in all areas pertaining
to green technology. Its main purpose is to foster research,
education, and public service on sustainability; promote
Caribbean interislands cooperation; advance interdisciplinary investigations and learning; collaborate with govern-
mental agencies and industry partners; and research,

develop, demonstrate, and monitor green technology. The
CGTC addresses scientific, policy, and implementation
issues around the topic of green technology and sustainability, especially as it pertains to living in the Caribbean. It brings together groups of researchers, industry
leaders, and policy makers to address
and solve problems and implement
solutions that lead to better lives for
the people of the Caribbean.
In an attempt to reduce energy
consumption, UVI started examining
firms to provide alternative renewable- energy solutions. In the field of
renewable energies, there are solar,
wind, biomass, water, geothermal,
and hydrogen and fuel cells. Previously, wind turbines were researched.
Because of the maintenance required
for these units during hurricane season, it was determined that any wind
project would not be feasible. Thus, a
request for qualifications was advertized to explore firms that could provide a power purchase agreement
(PPA) for a PV system. The PV systems
could be ground mounted, rooftop mounted, carport integration, or a combination of all three. Any option would be
rated to the Florida hurricane standards for 150-mi/h winds
and gusts and would not require additional maintenance
during hurricane season. The systems would tie into the
UVI power grid to support as much electrical consumption
as possible.
The Caribbean Green

Technology Center at
UVI was created in
2011 to advance
energy and
environmental
sustainability in the
U.S. Virgin Islands
and their neighbors
throughout the
Caribbean Basin.
TABLE 2. UVI Enrollment by Level, Campus, Status, and Gender, Fall 2012. (Source: UVI.)
All
Level
Full Time
Part Time
Total
Female
Male
Total
Female
Male
Total
Female
Male
Undergraduate
2,271
1,589
682
1,423
969
454
848
620
228
Undergraduate
184
145
39
50
33
17
134
112
22
Graduate
2,455
1,734
721
1,473
1,002
471
982
732
250
Undergraduate
860
617
243
475
334
141
385
283
102
Graduate
67
55
12
60
51
Total
927
672
255
482
338
144
445
334
111
Undergraduate
1,411
972
439
948
635
313
463
337
126
Graduate
117
90
27
43
29
14
74
61
13
Total
1,528
1,062
466
991
664
327
537
398
139
UVI (All)
St. Croix
St. Thomas
62
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UVIs Partners
Veriown
eriown, Inc. is an innovative energy com-
currently have high energy costs due to a lack
the IIT microgrid test bed. The demonstration

consisted of a distributed smart solar photo-
of production and/or distribution.
governments, and other institutions harness
The Robert W. Galvin Center
IIT smart microgrid. The project included build-
their on-site distributed solar and other forms of
The Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity innova-
ing roof sites of various size systems and was
distributed energy as well as lock in long-term,
tion at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
designed to support the demonstration of novel
predictable energy rates with little to no capital
has pursued groundbreaking work in renewable-
solar power systems in residential, commercial,
expense. Veriown has developed and is further
energy deployment and microgrid design over
and microgrid environments. The Galvin Center is
developing clean tech energy systems that are
the last decade. It has completed the first phase
pursuing the full scope of its smart solar installa-
based around providing power to areas that
of a next-generation smart solar installation on
tion across 17 buildings on the IIT microgrid.
pany that helps businesses, universities,
voltaic system with battery installation on the
The Solar Power Deployment Initiative at UVI

Veriown, Inc., the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity
Innovation at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and UVI
will deploy 3.3 MW of solar power at UVIs two campuses.
(See UVIs Partners.) By the end of 2015, this solar power
deployment initiative will reduce UVIs dependence on fossil fuel by 50%. The PV system will use approximately 5.7
acres on the St. Thomas Campus and 3.9 acres on the
Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. This system is expected to produce 5.9 million kWh annually at the St. Thomas
facility and 2.4 million kWh annually
at the St. Croix facility.
The U.S. Virgin Islands, where UVI is
located, have just 110,000 residents, but
energy prices are four to five times higher than those in the continental United
States. Like many islands, the U.S. Virgin
Islands are almost 100% dependent on
imported oil for electricity and water
generation. Residents pay about
US$0.57/kWh to light their homes and
run their appliances, which is 275%
higher than the national average per
unit cost benchmark of US$0.33/kWh.
The solar power deployment initiative
will reduce UVIs electricity price to
US$0.34/kWh (a 33% reduction) via distributed solar power
and an advanced storage system. The savings are expected
to be about US$11 million for the first eight years (a 39%
reduction) and about US$37 million for the first 25 years
(a 52% reduction).
The solar power deployment initiative is also in line with
UVIs Goes Green Initiative, which is a sustainable, environmentally friendly initiative that promotes responsible environmental policies and practices. The Goes Green Initiative currently includes recycling, reusable to-go containers for food,
green cleaning, electric vehicles, and alternative energy.
Through the Goes Green Initiative, UVI is exploring various
opportunities for the production of solar energy on campus.
The initiative signifies an opportunity to unshackle energy
consumers from the grips of traditional models of energy generation and distribution by using distributed solar. It represents the beginning of a new future leading to cleaner, more
efficient, reliable, and lower-cost energy solutions for the U.S.
Virgin Islands. As UVI President David Hall says, Energy consumption and costs are crippling challenges facing the Virgin
Islands and the broader Caribbean, and this initiative creates a
pathway for addressing the problems. The solar power
deployment initiative is a historic and transformative development for the university and the Virgin Islands, notes Hall,
and once this project is completed, UVI
will have blazed a trail that many universities throughout the world are destined to follow.
The U.S. Virgin

Islands have a
tropical climate,
moderated by
easterly trade winds
and with relatively
low humidity.
Project Design for the Solar

Power Deployment Initiative
Project Sites
A summary of the sites and their corresponding solar capacities is shown
in Table 3. A birds-eye view of the
installation site at the St. Thomas
Campus is shown in Figure 8. The site
is next to the UVI sports complex, as
shown in Figure 9.
Technological Design
In the solar power deployment initiative, Veriown will use
solar production to lower the cost of energy to UVI by more
TABLE 3. The Project Sites and Capacities.

Site Location
ft2
KW
UVI St. Thomas Campus
243,936
2,099
UVI St. Croix Campus
173,673
1,200
Total
417,609
3,299
63
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Figure 8. A birds-eye view of the UVI St. Thomas Campus 2,099-kW

dc solar array.
Figure 9. The UVI St. Thomas Campus 2,099-kW dc solar array.
than 40% during peak production hours, defined as the

period of time when the solar system is producing power.
Because solar is not a base load power source, the solar system is oversized based on electricity consumption requirements during peak production hours and stores the energy
for off-peak production hours, the period of time when the
solar system is not producing power, using advanced energy storage. The system is also designed to eliminate the
inherent inability of renewable power production to loadfollow due to the peak power design or constantly changing
input power levels from variations in the sun, wind, or
other production sources. The solar power deployment initiative will develop a 3.3-MW ground-mount crystalline PV
system with a single-axis tracker. The system will include
the components listed in Table 4.
This system design is an ideal platform into which
new-technology battery storage should be introduced.
Table 5 shows the requirements for the energy-storage
system. A fully integrated energy-storage system that satisfies those requirements should be delivered to the site
containerized, prewired, and pretested, reducing site work
and installation time. One such solution is available from
S&C Electric and summarized in Table 6. A more detailed
description of each component follows.
TABLE 4. The Proposed PV System

Components.
Power Electronics
System Component
Quantity
Yingli/LDK-watt crystalline PV modules
10,920
Fixed-tilt solar panels (5)
260-kW commercial Inverter with complete

setup
16-circuit subcombiners with 100-A fuses
12-circuit combiner boxes
90
Data acquisition system gateways for each

inverter
TABLE 5. The Requirements for the

Energy-Storage System.
64
Element
Requirement
Power
St. Thomas: 1 MW
St. Croix: 500 kW
Energy
34 h of storage at rated power
System life
10+ years
Battery functions
Time-shifting solar generation
Ambient conditions
Tropical/salt in the air
Containerized or
indoor
Containerized
S&Cs Storage Management System (SMS) is an example

of a utility-grade power-conversion system. It provides
four-quadrant control, acting as either a voltage or current
source (adjustable on the fly), with the ability to absorb or
provide real and reactive power. As illustrated in Figure 10,
the four-quadrant design allows the SMS to manage a
wide range of real and reactive power requirements (the
points along and within the red dashed line). The control
algorithms within the SMS support a wide variety of energy-storage use cases, including peak shaving, dynamic
islanding, renewable-energy integration, energy arbitrage,
ancillary services (including frequency regulation), load
following, and voltage control.
The SMS includes the inverters, ac and dc breakers, and
controls mounted within each international organization for
standardization (ISO) container. The building block of the SMS
is an individually controlled 1.25-MVA/1.0-MW inverter, with
a dedicated 480-V breaker for each inverter, as shown in
Figure 11. Up to four 1-MW inverter blocks can be combined
into a single ISO container, and a total of 20 MW can be managed under a single control. The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is the major power electronic component within the
1-MW inverter block. Each 1-MW inverter block contains
12 IGBTs and has its own local control and small ac filter components to ensure harmonic-free sine waves at the output terminals of the inverter. The SMS includes 500-kW, dc-to-dc
converter chopper blocks, which take the variable dc voltage
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TABLE 6. The Integrated Energy-Storage System Solution.

Item
St. Thomas Installation
St. Croix Installation
Power Electronics
S&C PureWave SMS

1.25 MVA/1.0 MW
S&C PureWave SMS-250

263 kVA/250 kW
Battery
Lithium-ion 3,000 kWh or

sodiumnickelchloride (NaNiCl) 2,400 kWh (Total of 3,000-kWh
embedded energy, but limited to 80% depth of discharge)
Lithium-ion
2,000 kWh
from the battery and create the fixed dc link voltage for the
inverter system. The SMS controls the chopper circuits to
allow charging or discharging of the batteries within the rigorous requirements provided by the battery manufacturer. The
choppers are controlled to determine the direction of power
flow and are current-limited by the controls in accordance
with the battery controllers commands.
The digital signal processingbased SMS controls provide efficient operation across a wide range of power levels, which is a benefit for variable-power applications, as
shown in Figure 12. All of the SMS subsystems are housed
in a custom enclosure mounted inside an ISO container. A
typical SMS ISO container without the transformer and
batteries is shown in Figure 13.
Battery
The world of energy-storage choices can be complicated.
Each energy-storage technology presents its own set of pros/
cons, maturity level, and costs. Table 7 provides a summary
the different technologies available today. Based on the project requirements, a lithium-ion battery system has been considered for the St. Croix site, and options of both the lithiumion battery system and a sodiumnickelchloride (NaNiCl)
battery system were considered for the St. Thomas site. Lithium-ion batteries, with their combination of high discharge
rates, excellent energy density, modularity, and low
courtesy of S&C Electric, Storage Management System, http://

____
sandc.com/products/energy-storage/sms.asp.)
SMS Efficiency
Possible
Combinations of
Real and Reactive
Power
Charge (kW)
Discharge (kW)
Efficiency (%)
Inductive (kvar)
Figure 11. The 1.25-MVA SMS inverter and two choppers. (Image
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
10 20
30
Capacitive (kvar)
40 50 60
Power (%)
70
80
90 100
Figure 12. An SMS efficiency curve. (Image courtesy of S&C Electric,
Figure 10. A conceptual four-quadranat power-conversion system.

(Image courtesy of S&C Electric, Storage Management System,
http://sandc.com/products/energy-storage/sms.asp.)
_____________________________
Storage Management System, http://sandc.com/products/energy____________________

storage/sms.asp.)
__________
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TABLE 7. A Summary of Currently Available Energy-Storage Technologies.

Technology
Maximum
Current Rate
Energy
Density
Cycle
Life
Calendar Life
Maintenance
Requirements
Technology
Maturity
Minimum
Scale
Lithium-ion
High
High
Medium
Medium
Low
High
1 kW
Lead-acid
Medium
Low
Low
Low
High
High
1 kW
Sodiumsulfur
Low
Medium
Medium
High
Low
High
1 kW
NaNiCl
Medium
Medium
Medium
High
Low
Medium
100 kW
Flow battery
Low
Low
High
High
High
Low
100 kW
Flywheel
High
Medium
High
High
Low
Medium
200 kW
maintenance requirements, are a flexible energy-storage

technology appropriate for a variety of applications. NaNiCl
technology provides an excellent energy density and cycle life
without the need for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
systems or other auxiliary loads. In both cases, battery modules are combined into a sophisticated
energy-storage system with multiple
levels of control and protection. Each
container includes a dedicated batterymanagement system (BMS), circuit
breaker, and contactors as well as current and voltage sensors. A master
BMS provides control across multiple
racks and/or modules. The specifications of the complete battery systems
are shown in Table 8.
power. Because solar is not a base load power source,

the solar system is oversized based on electricity
consumption requirements during these peak production
hours and store the energy for off-peak production hours,
the period of time when the solar system is not producing
power, using advanced energy storage. The system is also designed to
eliminate the inherent inability of
renewable power production to loadfollow due to peak power design or
constantly changing input power
levels from variations in the sun,
wind, or other production sources.
The total budget of the solar
power deployment initiative is
US$13.136 million, of which US$3
million is sponsored by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and the
remaining US$10.136 million is cost-shared by Veriown.
Upon the completion of the initiative, 3.3 MW of solar PVs
will be installed and operational at UVIs two campuses.
Veriown will enter into a PPA with UVI. The PPA is a financing arrangement that allows UVI to purchase solar electricity with little to no upfront capital cost. To achieve this, UVI
provides unused rooftop, land, or parking lot space as a
location for a solar installation. Veriown pays for the cost of
the solar installation and assumes all responsibility for
ownership, operation, and maintenance once the solar
S&Cs Storage
Management System
is an example of a
utility-grade powerconversion system.
Project Performance Measures

Table 9 shows the quantifiable project performance measures that will be achieved as a result of the solar power
deployment initiative.
Project Financing for the Solar Power

Deployment Initiative
In the solar power deployment initiative, Veriown will use
solar production to lower the cost of energy to UVI by
more than 40% during peak production hours, defined as
the period of time when the solar system is producing
TABLE 8. The Desired System-Level Battery Specifications.

Item
66
St. Croix
St. Thomas
St. Thomas
Technology
Lithium-ion
Lithium-ion
NaNiCl
Total embedded energy

(beginning of life)
2,000 kWh
3,000 kWh
2,400 kWh usable

3,000 kWh embedded
Cycle life
6,000 cycles
6,000 cycles
4,500 cycles
Round-trip dc efficiency
At least 90%
At least 90%
At least 90%
Operating temperature range (to be

maintained by high-voltage ac system)
23 5 C
23 5 C
10 C to +40 C
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Cost of Electricity ($)
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
2014
2019
2024
2029
2034
Cost of Electricity with Solar

Cost of Utility at 5% Energy Inflation
Figure 13. A 2-MW SMS in a 30-ft ISO container. (Image courtesy
of S&C Electric, Storage Management System, http://sandc.com/
products/energy-storage/sms.asp.)
___________________
Figure 14. The PPA reducing the UVI cost of electricity relative to
increasing utility energy cost.
project is complete. The well-structured

TABLE 9. Project Performance Measure.
PPA allows UVI to reduce electricity costs
Performance Measure
Target
immediately (from US$0.51/kWh to
US$0.34/kWh, a 33% reduction) and realize
Renewable energy installed capacity (kW)
3,300
increased savings over time as grid elecRenewable energy produced (kWh annually)
5,900,000
tricity prices rise.
UVI electricity price (cents/kWh)
34
Figure 14 shows a detailed PPA cash flow
analysis over the next 25 years, assuming
2,000
Potential for CO2 reduction (metric tons annually)
an initial PPA rate of US$0.34/kWh, a PPA
Jobs created
10
escalator of 3%, and an annual utility elecJobs retained
20
tric rate increase of 5%. In summary, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture funds (US$)
3,000,000
avoided electricity cost for the first ten
years is US$11,057,098 (a 46% reduction)
Funds leveraged (US$)
10,136,000
and for the first 25 years is US$47,577,968
(a 58% reduction). Additional benefits of
Available: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.
the PPA include 1) no initial capital investment because
pdf
___
UVI only pays for the solar electricity that is produced
Wikipedia. (2014). United States Virgin Islands. [Online].
after installation, 2) fixed energy rates as the PPA provides
Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_
_______________________________
a powerful hedge against volatile electricity prices, 3) UVI
Virgin_Islands
_________
is not responsible for system operation or maintenance,
and 4) a benefit from solar tax credits in the form of a
Biographies
lower PPA rate.
Wayne Archibald (warchib@uvi.edu)
___________ is an assistant professor and the director of the Caribbean Green Technology
For Further Reading
Center at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). The World Factbook: U.S.
Zuyi Li (lizu@iit.edu)
________ is a professor and the associate
Virgin Islands. [Online]. Available: _________________
https://www.cia.gov/library/
director of the Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation at
publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vq.html
_____________________________
E. Lantz, D. Olis, and A. Warren, U.S. Virgin Islands energy
the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.
road map: analysis, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Mohammad Shahidehpour (ms@iit.edu)
_______ is the Bodine
NREL/TP-7A20-52360, Sept. 2011.
Chair Professor and director of the Galvin Center at the
S&C Electric, (2014). Storage Management System, http://
____
Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He is also a
sandc.com/products/energy-storage/sms.asp
research professor with the Renewable Energy Research
Siemens PTI. (2011). Report R59-11: VIWAPA interconnection
feasibility study final report. [Online]. Available: http://www.
Group, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
viwapa.vi/AboutUs/Projects/ProjectDetails/11-08-02/USVI-BVI______________________________________
_____________ is the cofounder
Steve Johanns (steve@veriown.com)
Puerto_Rico_Interconnection.aspx
____________________
and chief executive officer of Veriown in Chicago, Illinois.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2003). U.S. Virgin Islands: 2000 social,
Tom Levitsky (tlevitsky@veriown.com)
_______________ is the vice presieconomic, and housing characteristics. [Online]. Available:
dent of operations at Veriown in Chicago, Illinois.
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-4-vi.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Income, poverty, and health
insurance coverage in the United States: 2009. [Online].
67
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Kostas C. Latoufis, Thomas V. Pazios,

and Nikos D. Hatziargyriou
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/WFMILLAR
Empowering communities
for sustainable rural
electrification.

68
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OW-COST RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLogies can make small-scale electricity

production more accessible to rural communities. The local manufacturing of such technologies can significantly reduce the initial
costs with the use of locally available materials, tools, and
manufacturing techniques, and, at the same time, it can
reduce maintenance costs by providing appropriate training
to the user community. Open designs, which can be adopted
to local needs and supported by a global technology network,
have provided successful examples of appropriate technology applications for the past 40 years, such as small and pico
hydroelectric rural electrification systems in Nepal and
renewable energy training centers in Mali.
A widespread technology with
such characteristics is the locally
manufactured small wind turbine.
Designs of do-it-yourself (DIY) small
wind turbines date back to the early
1970s, as in the November 1972 issue
of Popular Science magazine with an
article by Hans Meyer, from the
Windworks cooperative in Wisconsin,
on how to construct a downwind
small wind turbine for electricity production (Figure 1). This technological
approach was embraced by the backto-the-land movement of the late
1970s in the United States and
Europe and was developed further.
One of the first applications of
locally manufactured small wind
turbines in developing countries for
rural electrification was initiated by the Intermediate
Technology Development Group, now called Practical
Action. In 2000, this group collaborated with Hugh Piggott
of Scoraig Wind Electric, who had more than 20 years of
hands-on experience, at the time, in harnessing electricity from the wind and had implemented many locally
built designs in the off-grid rural community of Scoraig in
Scotland. He was contracted to prepare a design manual,
structing and designing axial flux small wind turbines

were published. One was by Piggott, the Wind Turbine Recipe Book: The Axial Flux Windmill Plans, which described
the process of constructing and designing small wind turbines of rotor diameters from 1.2 m up to 4.2 m, and the
other was by Dan Bartmann and Dan Fink of Otherpower,
Homebrew Wind Power, which described a similar construction and design process along with some modifications for more demanding environments.
Since then, these design manuals have been a reference
guide for locally manufactured small wind turbines and
have proven to be valuable tools in spreading this knowledge. Rural electrification has been an obvious application of
this technology; many nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) and groups have used these
design manuals and locally constructed small community wind turbines in
developing countries, while construction seminars for DIY enthusiasts
have been organized by several groups
around the world. Since 2012, the
Wind Empowerment Association has
managed to network most of the organizations involved with locally manufactured small wind turbines in the
world, aiming at building the financial
and human resources needed for the
activities of these organizations and at
performing joint technical research
while sharing technical information.
The second Wind Empowerment
conference held in Athens, Greece, in
November 2014, is the latest achievement of the network, with more than 40 participants from
all continents exchanging experiences from the field while
organizing working groups to tackle issues surrounding
locally manufactured wind turbines under the themes of
technology, market assessment, delivery models, maintenance, education, and measurement.
It has been estimated that more than 1,000 locally
manufactured small wind turbines have been constructed
based on Piggotts design, and currently many of them are
in operation around the world (Figure 2).
Open-source
technologies are
developed by
communities of
designers and users,
with the distinction
between the two
often being
nonexistent.
The Permanent Magnet Generator: A Manual for Manufacturers and Developers, which was aimed at the local production of a 200-W permanent magnet generator for
small wind turbines in developing countries. Most of
these small wind turbines were installed in rural communities in Peru and later on in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Piggott
continued improving the design manual and the small
wind turbines himself while organizing construction
seminars in Europe and the United States, where DIY
enthusiasts learned how to construct complete small
wind turbines. In 2008, two design manuals presenting
well-documented and highly detailed procedures of con-
Open-Source Hardware
Locally manufactured small wind turbine technology is
developed through a bottom-up innovation process, which
is quite unique and resembles an open-source hardware
(OSH) community in the making. In such bottom-up
innovation processes, research and development is typically
conducted by the users themselves, with an open-design
approach. This increases the reconfigurability of the end
product, while modifications of manufacturing techniques
69
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and the design itself are made faster and more effectively. In
addition, in such projects, support to users and designers is
offered by the OSH community itself through Internet
forums and/or online tools. This allows for a technological
application, for example, locally manufactured small wind turbine technology, to enable a vast social support
network to assist all installed small
wind turbines of this type.
Locally manufactured small wind
turbine technology is developed
through different hubs of information exchange. The largest online
forum of locally manufactured small
wind turbine users and designers
exists within Fieldlines.com,
_________ the discussion board of the Otherpower
group in the United States, with 6,615
members since it was set up more
than a decade ago to exchange information on off-grid renewable energy
systems. Other such forums exist in
the English language, such as
thebackshed.com in Australia with
2,866 members and navitron.org.uk
in the United Kingdom with 6,406
members. Smaller forums on the
topic and in the local language exist
in Finland, Germany, and France. In addition, the Wind
Empowerment Association Web site, which already hosts a
forum in English on locally manufactured small wind turbines, is currently discussing the possibility of providing
access to Spanish-speaking users. Furthermore, there are
online forums, relevant blogs, and Web sites, such as
Piggotts blog, where information on this technology is posted and the Web sites of several NGOs installing locally
manufactured small wind turbines on all continents. Finally, university research groups in Delft University of Technology; the University of California, Berkeley; the Polytechnic
University of Catalonia; the Hochschule fr Technik und
Wirtschaft in Berlin; and the National Technical University of Athens
(NTUA) have been working on rural
electrification, and also research centers such as the Kathmandu Alternative Power and Energy Group, have
included locally manufactured small
wind turbine designs in their
research activities.
Using these communication and
information-sharing tools, this global community of users comprising
different technical and social backgrounds exchange experiences on
every aspect of design, construction,
installation, and maintenance phases of a small wind project while
considering the technical, financial,
social, cultural, and environmental
aspects. The manufacturing techniques themselves, apart from
being discussed online with the
assistance of text, videos, and construction manuals, are also displayed in practice through practical construction seminars
organized by several groups in Europe and the United
States, and by several NGOs in Africa, South and Central
America, the Middle East, and South Asia.
All meteorological
and electrical data,
such as currents
and voltages, are
measured and
logged to provide
1-min averages,
which can then be
grouped according
to different wind
speeds using the
method of bins.
Figure 1. Home-built small wind turbine plans by Hans Meyer from the
Windworks cooperative. (Source: Popular Science, November 1972.)
70
Constructing and Installing a Small Wind Turbine

The small wind turbines discussed in this article are typically part of rural off-grid hybrid systems with installed
Figure 2. A locally manufactured small wind turbine following the

design manuals of Hugh Piggott. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
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capacity of renewable energy sources (RESs) of

up to 10 kW. These systems usually consist of
a photovoltaic generator, whose size will
depend on the available wind resource, a
flooded lead-acid battery bank, an inverter/
charger, and possibly a diesel generator for
backing up the renewable energy system.
The small wind turbine itself requires a rectifier to feed its ac directly into the battery
bank and also a diversion load charge controller with a resistive load for diverting
excess energy when the battery bank is fully
charged. The locally manufactured small
wind turbines constructed for these applications by the global OSH community range in
rotor diameters from 1.2 to 7 m (Figure 3) and
are able to produce power from 200 W to Figure 3. A 7-m-rotor-diameter locally manufactured small wind turbine built in Kampala,
Uganda, by the Veterans Wind Power Initiative. (Source: scoraigwind.co.uk.)
_________
4 kW, respectively, at 10-m/s wind speeds,
although rated power production is only an
estimation due to its dependence on factors such as the
cally, the hand tools consist of a chisel, a draw knife, files,
cable connection to the battery bank and the adjustment
a plane, a spoke shave, a hand saw, calipers, and a square.
of the furling tail system.
An electric plane and a chainsaw can be used to save time,
The small wind turbine is a variable-speed machine
especially for the longer blades used in larger turbines.
that consists of a three-blade wooden horizontal axis rotor
The techniques used are described in detail in the availof constant pitch angle and a coreless axial flux permanent
able construction manuals but mostly require simple
magnet generator with a double-rotor, single-stator confighand-carving skills and successive measuring throughout
uration and neodymium or ferrite magnets; it uses a
the construction process.
passive mechanical furling tail system for rotor speed reguThe axial flux permanent magnet generator has a
lation and yawing to the appropriate wind direction. A
unique topology that facilitates local manufacturing with
metal frame supports an automobile wheel hub on which
simple tools. Contrary to its radial flux counterpart,
the blades and the generators rotor are mounted while
which consists of a cylindrical rotor and stator, the axial
also supporting the generators stator and the furling tail.
flux generator consists of disks. This requires the manuIn addition, the metal frame provides a simple yawing
facturing of a two-dimensional (2-D) stator and rotor,
mechanism without using a bearing or brushes for conwith a thickness of a few centimeters, instead of a threenecting to the power cables running down the tower, which
dimensional (3-D) cylindrical object. The stator coils and
directly feed energy to the battery bank. The wind turbine
the rotor metal disks and magnets can be positioned in a
is usually installed on top of a tower, typically made out of
plywood mold, consisting of a base, a lid, and a middle
steel water pipes, at a height of 12 m or more, although this
part, which provides the shape and the appropriate
will depend on the location and the surrounding obstacles.
The tower is a guyed mast consisting of steel wire ropes
and four anchors in cement or bedrock and is usually
erected using a gin pole and a wire rope hoist.
The construction of the wind turbine is achieved with
simple tools that one would encounter in a rural workshop for wood and metal working and with the use of
simple techniques that do not require a skilled laborer to
perform. Most of the materials used can be sourced locally, while some specific materials like neodymium magnets
can be ordered online, which only requires an Internet
connection and a postal service within reach. The rotor
blades are usually constructed with soft wood from conifer trees, such as pine in the northern hemisphere or any
other types of trees with similar properties, including low
density and light weight, that exhibit strength in tension.
The blades are hand carved using hand tools (Figure 4)
Figure 4. A participant hand carving blades during a wind turbine
construction seminar in Ireland. (Source: eirbyte.ie.)
and sometimes power tools for faster production. Specifi_____
71
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Figure 5. The coils cast in resin to produce the 2-D stator of the
axial flux generator. (Source: __________
scoraigwind.co.uk.)
Figure 6. A hand-made coil winder with a coil ready to go in the stator. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
Figure 7. The 2-D rotor of an axial flux generator with neodymium

magnets. (Source: otherpower.com.)
_________
thickness and, after being cast in vinylester resin, can

produce the solid disk parts of the generator (Figure 5).
In addition, the air gap of the generator, which is the
distance between the two magnet rotor disks, can be
72
adjusted easily, which is important for the performance

and long-term operation of the small wind turbine. The
stator coils are wound by hand using enameled copper
wire and a simply constructed coil winder (Figure 6).
The steel rotor disks, on which the permanent magnets are placed and form part of the magnetic circuit of
the generator, are usually precut with laser, water jet, or
oxygen torch computer numerical control routers or can
also be cut with hand power tools (Figure 7).
The generators rotor disks are mounted on a car or
trailer wheel hub, which can be new or recycled from an
old vehicle, that provides a robust bearing for the axis of
revolution of the turbine (Figure 8). The metal frame,
which supports the car hub axle, the yaw tube, and the
furling tail hinge, is constructed out of typical steel profiles and with the use of basic welding techniques and
tools such as an electric arc welder. Other tools used for
the construction of the generator are a jigsaw, a drill press,
an angle grinder, and a hand drill, which can all be found
in village workshops and are also used for a variety of
rural maintenance activities.
The small wind turbines tail consists of a steel tube,
which provides the appropriate length of the tail, and a
vane made of plywood, with the appropriate area to effectively yaw the rotor blades toward the prevailing wind
direction. The total weight of the tail is important as it
specifies the furling operation of the turbine and, thus, its
power control mechanism in higher winds.
An estimation of the total cost for construction, installation, and connection of a typical battery-charging small
wind turbine of this type, with respect to rotor diameter, can
be seen in Table 1. The cost of a 12-m guyed tower could
amount to more than 50% of the total cost of the construction of the small wind turbine, depending on the anchoring
type and the materials used. The power cables, rectifier,
diversion load controller, and resistive load could amount to
30% of the total cost of the system, depending again on the
location of the installation, the system dc voltage used, and
the quality of the components. The cost estimations of
Table 1 refer only to the materials; the labor required for the
construction and the installation of the small wind turbine
are considered to be provided by the users. Typically, a
2.4-m-rotor-diameter small wind turbine will require 450
working hours to be completed, with 50% of the total time
allocated to carving the rotor blades. This is one of the main
reasons that manufacturing open-source small wind turbines is usually a group process. Smaller turbines will
require less time than larger ones, but this will not be directly proportional to the rotor diameter, as constructing a wind
turbine with double the rotor diameter of the one mentioned will not require twice the amount of working hours
but less. Finally, considerable amounts of labor are also
required for manufacturing the tower and installing the turbine, activities that may even require as many working
hours as for constructing the turbine itself, especially for
larger rotor diameters.
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Figure 9. The bench tests on a locally manufactured axial flux generator at the NTUA. (Source: ______
rurerg.net.)
Figure 8. The assembly of the generator consisting of two magnet

rotor disks and a stator. (Source: __________
scoraigwind.co.uk.)
OSH Technology Assessment

at the NTUA
TABLE 1. The estimation of the total cost of connecting a locally

manufactured small wind turbine to the 48-Vdc bus of an existing
off-grid RES system. (Source: ________
rurerg.net.)
The Rural Electrification Research

Group (RurERG), which is part of the
Rotor diameter (m)
Smart Grids Research Unit (Smart
RUE) of the NTUA, has been assessSmall wind
ing the technology of locally manuturbine cost ()
factured small wind turbines since
12-m tower ()
2009, as a part of a wider validation
Power cable and
process of OSH renewable energy
electronics ()
technologies used for sustainable
rural electrification. The necessary
experimental infrastructure for testing this small wind turbine technology according to international standards has
been designed and implemented in the laboratories of the
NTUA and includes an axial flux generator bench testing
facility using a dc motor drive, an airfoil and rotor blade
testing facility using a wind tunnel, and an outdoor test site
located in the nearby windy coastal area of Rafina.
The Hugh Piggott (HP) small wind turbine has been
used as the reference design of the OSH small wind turbine community since the majority of existing locally
manufactured small wind turbines have been based on
this design. To date, three small wind turbines have been
manufactured in practical student workshops, two for battery charging and two for grid connection, with rotor diameters of 1.8, 2.4, and 4.3 m. The practical workshops are
organized as parts of undergraduate dissertation projects
and are open to all students of the NTUA. During these
workshops, the small wind turbines are constructed from
scratch by the participating students, a process that provides practical evidence of the ability of unqualified constructors to locally manufacture this small wind turbine
technology. The educational aspect of these workshops is
of significant value and provides a chance to experiment
with various learning processes.
The 2.4-m HP small wind turbine with neodymium
magnets has been assessed for performance and robustness in the laboratories of the NTUA, as it is the size of
wind turbine that is most frequently manufactured and
installed. This type of wind turbine was constructed in a
1.2
1.8
2.4
3.6
4.2
300
400
650
750
1,000
1,200
150
200
300
350
500
600
300
300
550
550
650
650
student workshop during the spring of 2009, following the

2005 design manual of Piggott for charging a 48-Vdc battery system.
Laboratory Experiments
Several bench tests have been conducted on the axial flux
generator of the small wind turbine in question using the
dc motor drive bench testing facility (Figure 9). Some of
the most important of these tests are mentioned, which
describe aspects of the performance of the generator as
well as the impact of the manufacturing techniques used
during its construction on its operation.
CH1
RMS
84 V
CH2
RMS
84.1 V
CH3
RMS
83.1 V
CH1
Phase
120
CH1
CH: Channel
Frequency
RMS: Root Mean Square 14.36 Hz
Figure 10. The voltage measurements under no load at a 2.4-m HP
axial flux generator. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
73
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The rotational speed of the rotor at which current starts

to flow in the batteries (i.e., the cut-in speed) has been measured by measuring the generators induced EMF voltages
under no load and at different rotational speeds. This has
been measured to be at 210 revolutions per minute (r/min),
which is very close the theoretical value of 215 r/min for the
0.95
Efficiency
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
0.45
0.35
0.25
200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360
Rotational Speed (r/min)
Figure 11. The efficiency of the generator when connected to a 48-V
battery bank. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
Temperature (C)
95
85
75
65
55
45
35
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Time (min)
Figure 12. Measuring the stators temperature while operating at

rated power. (Source: ______
rurerg.net.)
Figure 13. The current measurements with high harmonic distortion

when the generator is connected to a battery bank through a rectifier.
(Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
74
2.4-m blade rotor used with this generator, and the small
deviation can be attributed to differences in the actual state
of charge of the battery bank. Observing the voltage
measurements under no load in Figure 10, the three phases
of the generator can be noted for their almost sinusoidal
induced voltage waveforms, and the phase difference is
measured at 119, which is close to the theoretical value of
120 and implies a very good layout of the coils in the stator.
The efficiency of the generator has been measured while
connected to a 48-V battery (Figure 11) at varying rotational
speed and line currents by measuring the input mechanical
power using a torque meter and the output electrical power
using an oscilloscope and probes. Typically, the maximum
efficiency of a coreless axial flux permanent magnet generator is high, 0.88 in this case, and occurs for lower currents
and r/min, which correspond to low wind speeds, which are
more frequent in rural applications.
At the same time, the temperature rise in the stator
has been measured (Figure 12) with the generator producing rated power for 15 min. This provides an indication of
the cooling ability of the generator, which during operation in the field will be enhanced because of stronger and
cooler air flow. The stator temperature was found to stabilize at 85 C, which is below the temperature of 100 C at
which the vinylester resin will start to melt.
Observing the current measurements under load in
Figure 13, the three line currents of the generator phases can
be noted for their distorted waveforms. This is due to
harmonic distortion introduced in the system from the rectification process, where a three-phase uncontrolled bridge rectifier is used for lower cost and local availability, which increases the noise levels of the generator, especially for higher
currents, and produces its characteristic humming noise.
The operation of the generator under load has been measured by measuring the phase voltages and line currents at
different rotational speeds above cut-in r/min. When the actual power cable, in terms of length and conductor size, that
would be used in a typical installation to connect the generator to the battery bank has been included in the setup, the
power curve of the complete electrical system can be measured, as in Figure 14. This can then provide information on
the efficiency of the complete system, from the kinetic energy
of the wind to the electrical energy flowing into the batteries,
when combined with measurements made in the wind tunnel for the aerodynamic efficiency of the rotor blades.
Several wind tunnel tests have been conducted on the
rotor blades of locally manufactured small wind turbines to
determine the rotors efficiency. Because of the size of the
wind tunnel, experiments have been conducted with a set
of 1.2-m-diameter rotor blades. Experimental results have
shown a maximum aerodynamic power coefficient of 0.38
0.40 for a tip speed ratio of 5.56 for wind speeds ranging
from 8 to 11 m/s, as seen in Figure 15. At lower wind speeds
of 46 m/s, which are more frequent in rural applications,
the aerodynamic power coefficient had a lower value at
0.35, which is still close to the typical value of 0.4 for
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5.75
0.36
5.5
400
0.38
5.25
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0.4
0.39
800
0.41
47.5
Power (W)
1,000
4.5
Aerodynamic
Power Coefficient (Cp)
1,200
Tip Speed Ratio ()

220 240
260
280
300
320
340 360
11 m/s
10.5 m/s
Rotational Speed (r/min)
10 m/s
9.5 m/s
9 m/s
8.5 m/s
8 m/s
Figure 14. The power curve of the generator when connected to a
Figure 15. The aerodynamic power coefficient of the rotor blades
48-V battery bank. (Source: rurerg.net.)

_____
with respect to the tip speed ratio. (Source: ______

rurerg.net.)
horizontal-axis small wind turbines. The design tip speed

ratio of the 1.2-m rotor diameter blades has a value of 5
according to the design manual, while its optimal value
was found to be close to 5.75 during the experiments.
small wind turbine and will protect the axial flux generator
from overheating at very high wind speeds. At wind speeds
higher than 10 m/s, the furling angle increases more and
achieves a significant reduction in power production.
The efficiency of the whole wind energy system,
from wind power to electrical power fed into the batteries, is described by the power coefficient (Cp) (Figure 18).
The system efficiency peaks at 0.31 at 5 m/s, while it has
values of above 0.3 for wind speeds ranging from 5 to
6.5 m/s, which is the most frequently occurring wind
speed range in rural applications. At higher wind speeds,
for example, while the wind turbine is operating at a
rated power of 10 m/s, the systems efficiency drops to
0.18 due to power regulation by the furling system. However, during windy conditions, the battery bank manages
to achieve a full charge much more quickly, resulting in
the rejection of most of the energy produced to the heatproducing resistances of the dump load, which makes a
high system efficiency in high winds less significant.
The annual energy production (AEP) predictions for the
wind turbine in question and for sites with mean wind
speeds ranging from 4 to 10 m/s, using a Rayleigh wind
speed distribution, are shown in Table 2. The uncertainties
in the AEP estimations are presented in both kilowatt
hours and as a percentage. For mean wind speeds greater
than 8 m/s, the increase in power production is small due
Outdoor Experiments
The performance of a typical battery-charging wind energy
system using a locally manufactured small wind turbine has
been monitored in the coastal small wind test site of NTUA
in Rafina (Figure 16). The measurements have been conducted according to the standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission 61400-12-1: Power Performance Measurements of Electricity Producing Wind Turbines, and specifically
Annex H, which refers to small wind turbine testing.
The 2.4-m HP small wind turbine has been installed in
a 12-m guyed tower and connected to a 48-Vdc battery
bank with a 75-m-long power cable of a 4-mm2 crosssectional area. A meteorological mast is positioned a few
meters away, equipped with an anemometer at hub
height and a wind direction vane, along with several other
sensors for determining the density of air that measure
the temperature, humidity, and pressure. All meteorological and electrical data, such as currents and voltages, are
measured and logged to provide 1-min averages, which
can then be grouped according to different wind speeds
using the method of bins.
The power curve of the 2.4-m HP locally manufactured
small wind turbine for the aforementioned setup can be
seen in Figure 17. The cut-in wind speed is 3 m/s, a typical
value for most horizontal-axis small wind turbines, while
the maximum or rated power is reached at 10.5 m/s with a
value of 525 W and an uncertainty of ! 11.2 W. The furling
system commences operation at 6.5 m/s by introducing a
small angle between the plane of rotation of the rotor and
the horizontal wind direction, which increases to 20 at
wind speeds of 910 m/s and, thus, provides adequate rotor
speed and electrical power regulation for the wind turbine.
A capable furling system mechanism is essential for every
Figure 16. The installation of a small wind turbine with a gin pole
and a rope hoist at the test site of NTUA. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
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Power Coefficient (Cp)
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Figure 18. The power coefficient of the complete wind energy system for the 2.4-m HP wind turbine measured at the coastal test site
of the NTUA. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
Figure 17. The power curve of the 2.4-m HP wind turbine measured
at the coastal test site of the NTUA. (Source: _____
rurerg.net.)
to the effect of the furling system, which would classify

this small wind turbine as a design for low-wind-speed
areas. For a typical rural installation with a 5-m/s mean
wind speed, the 2.4-m HP wind turbine would be expected
to produce 1,271 kWh/year with an uncertainty of
! 111 kWh, which would amount to an average of
106 kWh/month, although this prediction will depend on
the constancy of the mean wind speed during the different seasons of the year.
Operation and Maintenance

During the field tests, many secondary aspects of the
small wind turbine operation have been studied, such as
the response time of the furling system and the starting
wind speed of the rotor, while the maintenance procedure
required in a highly corrosive coastal environment has
been recorded. In addition, and because of the high mean
wind speed of the test site, the small wind turbine has
been operated under extreme weather conditions to
observe the robustness of the design.
The response time of the furling system during strong
wind gusts and the maximum power produced in this
case has been examined. The maximum response time
TABLE 2. The estimation of the AEP of the

2.4-m HP wind turbine according to the mean
wind speed. (Source: ________
rurerg.net.)
76
Mean wind
speed (m/s)
AEP (kWh)
Uncertainty (%)
751.61
9.9
1,270.85
7.94
1,747.85
6.76
2,124.21
6.05
2,392.87
5.62
2,569.72
5.34
10
2,673.97
5.13
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Wind Speed (m/s)
was measured to be 3 s and the maximum instantaneous

power produced 1,093 W, which is an increase of 100% of
the turbines rated power, a situation that can be taken
into account when sizing the diversion load controllers
resistive loads. In addition, the starting wind speed of the
rotor, defined as the wind gust needed to move the rotor
from standstill, which is different from the cut-in wind
speed, was measured to be 4.45 m/s (Figure 19).
The highly corrosive environment of the coast, which is
one of the harshest environments a small wind turbine will
have to face, has proven to increase the degradation of
materials but not significantly. A yearly maintenance check
of a few hours has been conducted for the past four years,
during which the wind turbine is lowered from the tower.
The wooden rotor blades are painted, the yaw and furling
mechanisms are greased, and the metal frame is painted, if
required, while it is possible to add grease to the rotor hub
bearing. The back iron disks of the rotor of the axial flux
generator have been hot-dip galvanized to increase resistance in corrosion and, thus, improve protection of the neodymium magnets, which are highly corrosive. The rotor
blades have been constructed with European pine, which is
softer than other varieties such as Oregon pine, resulting in
the degradation of the leading edges of the blades due to
sand particles in the wind. This requires the use of resin
and fiberglass putty to act as a filler in the degraded parts
before the blades are painted. Overall, the maintenance
requirements of the small wind turbine have been low in
terms of cost, time, tools, and skills required, especially
when compared to the cost, time, tools, and skills required
to construct the turbine itself.
The 2.4-m HP small wind turbine has proved its robustness in extreme weather conditions when operated continuously for two days in average wind speeds of 90 km/h,
while the power curve of Figure 20 was recorded for up to
25 m/s. The highest wind gust recorded by the meteorological mast during this period was 31 m/s. For safety reasons, during storm conditions such as the ones described,
it is recommended to stop the operation of the small wind
turbine using its electrical brake.
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r/min
8:
:2
02
7:
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Wind Speed (m/s)
Per-Second Data for (SWT 2) 2.4-m Rotor Diameter/Battery

Connected 48 V from 31 October 2013 02:26:00 to 31 October 2013 02:28:00 Visifire Trial Edition
Time
Wind Speed (m/s)
r/min
Figure 19. The starting wind speed of the 2.4-m HP small wind turbine rotor from standstill. (Source: ______
rurerg.net.)
OSH Research and Development at the NTUA

600
500
Power (W)
400
300
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100
0
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2
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In addition to assessing this OSH technology, further

research and development has been carried out on the topic
of locally manufactured small wind turbines. The axial flux
generator has been modeled and simulated using finite element open-source software, such as Finite Element Method
Magnetics (FEMM), with the accuracy of the simulations
reaching 25% when compared with experimental results.
Higher accuracy is difficult to achieve since the generators
are manufactured with low-precision equipment and techniques resulting in nonuniformity of the construction. These
simulation models, along with different optimization techniques, have been used to perform low-cost optimizations
for axial flux generator design in battery-charging and gridconnected applications of locally manufactured small wind
turbines. The connection of the small wind turbine to the
battery bank with a power cable has also been modeled, and
the AEP of the small wind turbine has been maximized by
choosing the appropriate conductor size for the specific
application. The models described are currently being developed as online software tools to assist the OSH community
in further developing this technology and also to provide
information for constructors and installers to better configure their specific wind energy systems.
One of the main advantages of OSH designs, and of the
open design culture in general, is the adaptability of the
designs produced. OSH small wind turbine technology can
be adapted to better suit different environments such as
coastal areas with high corrosion. An alternative design
approach to the axial flux generator has been developed in
the OSH community with the use of a different magnetic
material than neodymium, specifically ferrite, which overcomes the typical problems of neodymium such as corrosion and price fluctuations. A ferrite magnet axial flux
Wind Speed (m/s)

Figure 20. The power curve of the 2.4-m HP small wind turbine up to
25 m/s. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
Figure 21. The rotor disk of a ferrite magnet axial flux generator to
be driven with the 2.4-m HP rotor blades. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
generator for the 2.4-m-diameter rotor has been developed

at the NTUA (Figure 21) to demonstrate the adaptability of
OSH designs. Ferrite generators are typically higher in
77
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that strengthen local economic networks through rural

electrification will further encourage local participation and
ensure the economic viability of such projects.
For Further Reading
Figure 22. The OSH pico hydroelectric system developed at the

NTUA. (Source: rurerg.net.)
_____
weight and volume than their neodymium counterparts

because of their weaker magnetic field, but they have a
lower and stable cost and are not prone to corrosion.
Another aspect of the adaptability of the OSH design is
the ability to use parts of the design in other OSH applications. This is the case of the OSH pico-hydroelectric system
developed in NTUA, which is a hybrid design between the
locally manufactured axial flux permanent magnet
generator described by Piggott in the design manual Small
Wind Turbine Recipe Book and the locally manufactured
small hydrocasing and turgo runner designs of Joseph Hartvigsen. The specific design is a grid-connected 350-W
hydroelectric system that has been driven with a pump in
the labs of NTUA (Figure 22) with satisfactory results. A
battery-charging prototype of the same design has been in
operation for one year in a rural installation in Greece.
Conclusion
Locally manufactured small wind turbines, and OSH
technologies in general, provide a very promising technological approach that can support sustainable rural
electrification schemes in remote parts of the world.
Open-source technologies are developed by communities
of designers and users, with the distinction between the
two often being nonexistent. Through such design
approaches, highly flexible, reliable, and scalable technologies are developed that provide low-cost products that are
easy to maintain and repair and are well adapted to the
social and environmental systems in which they operate.
Looking into the future of locally manufactured small
wind turbines, the creation of local training and manufacturing centers close to the areas where the technology will
be implemented is the next step, with some organizations
already working toward the materialization of this vision.
Such centers of information sharing will enable local and
international practitioners to meet in person and better
adapt already existing designs to the electrification needs
of remote communities in the area. At the same time, the
development of appropriate business models and practices
78
Practical Action. (2015, 7 Jan.). Where we workNepal.

[Online]. Available: http://practicalaction.org/wherewework_
__________________________
nepal
____
Mali Folkecenter. (2015, 7 Jan.). Mission statement. [Online].
Available: http://www.malifolkecenter.org/
I Love Windpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Projects. [Online]. Available: http://i-love-windpower.com/projects/mali/
H. Piggott. (2015, 7 Jan.). News. [Online]. Available: http://
____
scoraigwind.co.uk/
____________
Solarmad. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
solarmad-nrj.com
___________
Green Step. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
green-step.org
Wind Aid. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
____
windaid.org
Clean Energy Initiative. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.tcei.info
olSngal. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
eolsenegal.sn
________
Comet-me. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
comet-me.org
I Love Windpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
www.i-love-windpower.com
V3. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.v3power.
co.uk
___
Otherpower. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
otherpower.com
Tripalium. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
tripalium.org
Nea Guinea. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
___
neaguinea.org
ESCANDA. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: www.
____
escanda.org
Wind Empowerment. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://windempowerment.org/
Poikkis. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://
____
poikkis.net
Kleinwindanlagen.de. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://kleinwindanlagen.de,
Petit Eolien. (2015, 7 Jan.). Forum. [Online]. Available: http://
____
fr.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/petit-eolien/info
RURERG. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://
____
rurerg.net/
Smart RUE. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available: http://
____
www.smartrue.gr/
H. Piggott, How to Build a Wind Turbine: The Axial Flux Windmill Plans. Scoraig: Hugh Piggott, June 2005.
D. C. Meeker. (2015, 7 Jan.). Finite Element Method Magnetics, Version 4.0.1 (03Dec2006 Build). [Online]. Available: ____
http://
ww.femm.info
_________
Hartvigsen Hydro. (2015, 7 Jan.). Profile. [Online]. Available:
http://www.h-hydro.com
Biographies
Kostas C. Latoufis (latoufis@power.ece.ntua.gr)
__________________ is with the
National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
______________ is with the
Thomas V. Pazios (tompaz@mail.ntua.gr)
National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
______________ is with
Nikos D. Hatziargyriou (nhatziar@mail.ntua.gr)
the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
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A meeting of
the minds for
international
microgrid experts.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/SHUBERT CIENCIA
HE CURRENT STATUS OF INTERNAtional microgrid research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) was
on display and open for review and
debate in Tianjin, China, 1314
November 2014 at the Tianjin 2014 Symposium on
Microgrids. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
(U.S. DOE-OE) and the Energy Foundation, organized by
Tianjin University, Hefei University of Technology, and
supported by other generous sponsors, the tenth in
the influential series of microgrid symposiums was
held at the Geneva Grand Hotel. Broad international
By Chris Marnay, Benjamin Kroposki,

Meiqin Mao, Honghua Xu, Alex Chong,
Se-Kyo Chung, Ryoichi Hara, Toshifumi Ise,
Reza Iravani, Farid Katiraei, Mihaela Albu,
Nikos Hatziargyriou, Toshihisa Funabashi,
Jim Reilly, Johan Driesen, Guillermo Jimenez,
and Xavier Vallve

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79
2325-5987/152015IEEE
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Figure 1. Microgrid experts from around the globe gather in Tianjin.
participation was achieved, with 106 attendees from 18

countries (Figure 1). There were 26 technical presentations
by speakers from around the globe as well as a panel session on standards development and technical tours to the
Tianjin Eco-City sustainable city development, Tianjin Universitys Microgrid Laboratory, and the Yanqing dc
microgrid near Beijing. The formal welcome was offered by
Zhipeng Liang, deputy director of the
Renewable Energy Department, Chinese National Energy Administration.
The microgrid RD&D landscape
has clearly changed dramatically over
the ten-year life of the symposium,
which began as a small retreat of 44
microgrid researchers who met as a
side event to the 2005 IEEE Power &
Energy Summer Meeting in San Francisco, California. Following the success
of that event, similar ones were held
annually near Montreal, Canada;
Nagoya, Japan; and on Kythnos island,
Greece, with attendance doubling over
the six-year period.
Early meetings were focused on
the few tangible demonstrations in
progress and the available theoretical
literature, of which there was little.
The Kythnos 2008 Symposium was
held at the only sizable hotel on that
Greek island, close to the groundbreaking Gaiduromantra Village project. The symposiums
are always held at locations where microgrid work of interest is found.
The scarcity of microgrid work presented at the early
events is quite a contrast to the plethora of microgrid literature that a microgrid keyword search returns today. The
community was also small, with virtually everyone on a
first-name basisa welcoming and informal (perhaps a
touch conspiratorial) atmosphere the symposium struggles
to maintain to this day, minimizing formalities and maximizing available time for open questions and discussion.
Microgrids slid into the mainstream around 2007, when
some survey articles began to appear in the trade press. At
this time, interest in microgrids began a noticeable acceleration. Following the 2009 San Diego event, it was clear the
symposium had to be placed on a more formal footing,
with sponsorship and carefully managed participation to maintain its
relaxed character. This pattern established then has endured. The symposiums follow a rough rotation around
three regions, Asia, Europe, and the
Americas. Speakers and chairing of
sessions are organized by the regional
representatives of a 17-member International Steering Committee, with a
temporary local organizing committee
raising funding for logistical costs and
taking care of all those pesky details.
Microgrid history turned another
corner after the tragic 2011 Eastern
Japan earthquake and tsunami. The
symposium on Jeju island, Korea, followed only a couple of months later.
Given its proximity to Japan, which
played a dominant role in early
microgrid development, and the personal connections of many attendees to
that suffering nation, there was an inevitable sadness, despite the outstanding efforts of our hosts. To
mark these disturbing events, a panel session, Microgrids and
Disasters, was held, the first of a series that became a regular
feature. Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast United States the
following year and transformed microgrid thinking, especially
in these two unfortunate and leading microgrid RD&D countries. Resiliency and restoration became microgrids most
powerful drivers, a state we remain in today, although less so
outside Japan and the United States.
The extension of
PMU technology
to smaller systems
requires a suitable
adaptation of the
existing standard
to cope with the
tighter accuracy
requirements in
static, distorted, and
dynamic conditions.
80
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Now a mature established event, following the symposiums in Evora, Portugal, and Santiago, Chile, the microgrid
symposium arrived this past year in Tianjin, with
microgrids definitely no longer out on the fringe but very
much swimming in the mainstream. In fact, research has
moved forward into financial, organizational, and regulatory issues. A decade ago, the notion of an energy supply system under dispersed yet effective control ran gratingly
against the power energy grain, while such ideas are now
commonplace. Our guess is that few in the industry would
contest the proposition that future energy supply will need
to involve coordination and control of diverse energy sources and actors of many scales setting goals independently
and participating (or not) in wider energy networks as conditions dictate. Microgrids are becoming more popular, and
the organizers of this meeting were asked to hold a press
conference to discuss the current state of microgrid deployment around the world (Figure 2).
As you will see in this article, the breadth and sophistication of research is now quite apparent. Rather than
dissecting a handful of projects and issues, spotting the significant among the many RD&D projects has now become
the organizers challenge. This will be borne out by the following regional reports by the chairs of each session and the
panel, followed by a preview of the further reporting anticipated from the productive Tianjin exchanges.
Looking ahead, this is Europes year again, and the
summertime Aalborg 2015 Symposium on Microgrids will
be held in Denmark. Information on past symposiums
and copies of past presentations can be found at ____
http://
microgrid-symposiums.org/.
__________________
Asia 1 Session
China was late to engage in microgrid RD&D, and its program dates back only to 2005; nonetheless, over the intervening decade, the Chinese government has supported a
series of key projects relevant to microgrids ranging across
basic theory, enabling technologies, standards, planning,
operation, control, protection, energy storage, power electronic converters, and energy management. Many universities, academic institutes, converter manufacturers, and
utilities have been involved in these projects. The outcomes include commissioned, comprehensive test beds in
laboratories at the Hefei University of Technology (2006)
and Tianjin University (2011), as well as many technical
reports. In recent years, to validate microgrid technical
feasibility, more than 16 demonstrations have been
installed across China. They are usually divided according
to three applications: 1) microgrids installed on physical
islands; 2) microgrids installed at industrial, commercial,
or residential buildings; and 3) microgrids installed in
remote areas.
Island microgrids include the megawatt-scale multienergy-source system on DongAo island, near Macao,
China, which has wind, photovoltaic (PV), and diesel generation with lead-acid battery storage; the integrated desalination microgrids on Dongfushan island, China; and the
standalone microgrid on beautiful Nanji island, China. Additional island microgrids are under construction or being
planned, such as the nonconventional energy demonstration on Wanshan island near DongAo and a China State
Grid grid-connected microgrid project on Luxi island predominantly using wind and solar; BYD has a project underway on a South China Sea island.
Building microgrids are found at multiple sites widely
dispersed across China but typically at industrial facilities
or prosperous commercial buildings in densely populated
areas, such as industrial parks, university campuses, and
commercial or residential buildings. Most of these projects
are connected to 10-kV distribution networks with capacities varying from hundreds of kilowatts up to 10 MW.
Among these projects is Chinas first smart grid demonstration project at the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City,
which was the site of a symposium technical tour. A PVbased microgrid system is being developed by the East
Power Supply Company in Guangzhou, China, and the dc
microgrid at the Yanqing Laboratory, near Beijing, was also
the focus of a technical tour.
Remote microgrids include the New Energy City in Turpan, Xinjiang Province, in the far northwest of China, an
area of extreme weather. Other examples of remote
microgrids are one with wind, PV, and batteries in Old Barag
Figure 2. The symposium press conference: (from left) Sicheng Wang, Reza Iravani, Benjamin Kroposki, Nikos Hatziargyriou, Johan Driesen,
Ryoichi Hara, Chengshan Wang, Meiqin Mao, and Honghua Xu.
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Banner, an administrative region in far northeastern Inner

Mongolia; one at the Taiping Forestry Center, southeast of
Xian in central China; and another focused on PV generation in the Ali Prefecture of Tibet.
In addition to the aforementioned demonstrations,
tens of microgrid standards have already been proposed
since 2011, and some will be published soon. The goals of
the current five-year plan include more than 30 microgrid
demonstrations to be supported by various subsidies and
tariff policies.
The Asia 1 session started with Chengshan Wangs presentation on economic analysis and policy proposals for
island microgrids. Wang analyzed the economic performance of the planned Dawanshan island microgrid,
which has an 850-kW wind turbine, a total of 200 kW of
PV arrays, a 2-MWh lead-acid battery bank, and two 500-kW
diesel generators. To achieve affordable prices, public subsidies of 70% of the initial investment and, for ten years,
US$0.065/kWh on the electricity price were proposed to
encourage more stakeholders to participate in construction and operation. The system
should provide integrated energy service to satisfy residents demand for
electricity, heating, and cooling as
well as improve overall energy efficiency. Double subsidies to device
manufacturers were encouraged, especially to ones producing both wind turbines and batteries.
Liuchen Chang from the University
of New Brunswick, Canada, reported
an economic and design case study of
an industrial microgrid with PV, a
demonstration project being codeveloped by Guangdong East Power Company and Hefei University of Technology. Analyzing actual PV production
data, he concluded that a control strategy without grid backfeeding may give
rise to significant PV power dumping. An optimized backfeeding microgrid with small-scale PV arrays and batteries
could deliver much higher economic and emission-reduction benefits. A sensitivity analysis of various parameters
and sites for the microgrid showed that government subsidies for initial investment and a feed-in tariff significantly
improve economic results.
Xisheng Tang of the Chinese Academy of Science outlined the status of dc microgrid RD&D, including stability
analysis, simulations, planning, flexible dc converters,
energy management, and dc breakers. Results are being
confirmed at the test dc microgrid constructed at Yanqing, China.
Bo Zhao described the project at the UNESCO Man and
the Biosphere Reserve on Nanji island, a project supported
by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. A vivid
video on this spectacular demonstration site showed that
a flexible structure of multiple microgrids involving green

energy, electric vehicles (EVs), smart meters, and end-use
interaction can form an iconic clean-integrated smart
energy island with high reliability and a nontraditional
energy penetration of more than 55%.
Technical tour participants were impressed by the
facilities visited. For example, Tianjin Universitys
Microgrid Lab was described by Nikos Hatziargyriou as
the most complete and best equipped smart grid laboratory I have visited so far, at least within a university.
Asia 2 Session
The Asia 2 session included updates from the Asia and
Oceania region; however, this years session fittingly had a
strong Chinese influence. In a spillover of updates from
China, Nian Liu, from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the North China Electric Power University
(NCEPU) spoke about how commercial building microgrids
can be used to integrate EV charging and distributed PV
generation to provide both economic and environmental
benefits. The study, which was tested
using the laboratory platform at
NCEPU, looked at different EV charging strategies and showed how a heuristic strategy can be implemented
using an embedded system.
In an update from Korea, BoHyung Cho from Seoul National University presented on the Korea Micro
Energy Grid or K-MEG, which is a dc
microgrid project at his campus. The
presentation covered the advantages
of dc distribution systems (DSs) as an
alternative to ac systems, such as better system efficiency, elimination of
ac power quality problems, and ease
of renewable and energy-storage integration. He described in some detail
the dc protection schemes used in the
K-MEG campus project completed in September 2014.
Judging by the number of questions and comments during
the Q&A session, the project attracted significant interest
among the audience.
The third presentation was on the Energy Technology
Development and Demonstration Program Sino-Danish project and gave an overview of a cross-border collaboration
between Denmark and China on microgrid technology
RD&D. Presented jointly by Josep Guerrero from Aalborg University and Kai Sun from Tsinghua University, the project
was the successful conclusion of the Sino-Danish Renewable
Energy Development (RED) Program, which explored test
problems derived from microgrid operation and hardwarein-the-loop initial tests. The results will be used as a springboard for further joint research. The RED project is a 200-kW
microgrid based on a hybrid wind-PV-storage system. The
main partners include Aalborg University and Kamstrup A/S
An optimized
backfeeding
microgrid with smallscale PV arrays and
batteries could
deliver much higher
economic and
emission-reduction
benefits.
82
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Figure 3. Tianjin University students Beiyang Traditional Music Group(
on the Danish side and Shanghai Solar Energy Ltd. and Tsinghua University on the Chinese side. The microgrid facilities
from both sides to be used in the continuing collaboration
were introduced.
Asia 3 Session
The Asia 3 session included four presentations, from Taiwan, Japan, and China. The first speaker was Raymond
Yung-Ruei Chang from the Nuclear Instrumentation
Division of the Institute of Nuclear
Energy Research, Taiwan, who introduced the institutes recent research,
especially its microgrid demonstration. Its goal is to develop power control and management technology for
the low-voltage side of smart
microgrids, in which 20% of total
energy comes from renewable energy.
The latest demonstration results
were introduced from power system
technology, power electronics, and
energy management system aspects.
The second presenter, Hirohisa Aki
from the National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan, gave an overview of a
recent white paper, Microgrids for Disaster Preparedness
and Recovery with Electricity Continuity Plans and Systems,
which was published by the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) in March 2014. The importance of
microgrid technologies for power supply resiliency has come
to be recognized after several recent large disasters, for
example, the Sendai Microgrid in Japan demonstrated excellent resiliency following the 2011 East Japan earthquake.
The third presenter, Yuko Hirase from Kawasaki Technology Co., Ltd., Japan, introduced the companys recent
research on the Virtual Synchronous Generator, technology that is used to implement the virtual inertia and droop
characteristics on an inverter-interfaced distributed gener-
).
ator. The presentation was well organized and covered the

development process from the theoretical explanation of
the developed control strategy to actual field test results.
The last presenter, the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lei Huang from Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, introduced the DongAo island demonstration, which
consists of 50kW of wind power generators, 1MW PV, a
1-MW diesel generator, 1.5 MWh of lead-acid batteries,
and a 100-kW ice machine employed as responsive load.
The development results of a wind
PVdiesel hybrid optimized planning,
energy management scheme, remote
real-time monitor and control, and
development of a high power bidirectional converter were given.
The symposium organization by
Chairs Meiqin Mao and Chengshan
Wang together with Tao Xu and other
members of the Local Organizing
Committee was flawless. At the end of
the first day, a delicious Chinese banquet was served, and attendees were
treated to a tremendous traditional
Chinese music concert by a Tianjin
University student group (Figure 3).
The point was made

that standards
should be flexible
to enhance design
during development
by saying that we
are all learning
together.
Americas Session
The Americas Session included two parts. The first included
three presentations that provided a comprehensive overview of microgrid RD&D in the Americas. Ross Guttromson
from U.S. Sandia National Laboratories delivered a presentation on behalf of the U.S. DOE-OE that highlighted its
microgrid-related activities and programs. The focus of the
presentation was on three items, i.e., the development of
commercial-scale microgrid systems, microgrid design tool
sets for designers and planners, and microgrids as a resiliency resource. Hassan Farhangi from the British Columbia
Institute of Technology, Canada, delivered a presentation
that described microgrid-related RD&D and demonstration
83
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activities in Canada. The presentation highlighted the

training of highly qualified personnel in the field of
microgrids through a Canada-wide five-year program that
involves multiple universities, power utilities, and industry
through a Canadian federally funded Strategic Network
Grant. In the third presentation, Guillermo Jimenez from
the University of Chile provided a survey of microgrid RD&D
in Latin America, with a focus on microgrid opportunities in
the region and the design aspects of a Chilean microgrid.
The second part of the session included two presentations. In the first, Ross Guttromson introduced terminology,
technology and resiliency-enhancing analysis tools, performance matrices, and example applications in New Jersey.
The focus was on the New Jersey Transit Microgrid and the
City of Hoboken Microgrid. In the second presentation, Mark
McGranaghan from the Electric Power Research Institute
delivered a visionary presentation that highlighted the role
of microgrids as a means to address a wide host of challenges of the next-generation electric power grids. The presentation revealed microgrid control requirements and the role of
smart inverters in this context as well as future power grid
challenges, such as interoperability, distributed control and
integration, monitoring, sensors, data processing, and modelbased management.
Remote Session
The Remote Session always focuses on the RD&D of autonomous microgrids. This years session included four presentations, from China, Canada, Africa, and Singapore. The first
speaker, Haijin Li, from Zhejiang University, China, presented
the concept of a multiple-source super-uninterruptible power
supply (UPS). The reported research aims to obtain a highly
reliable UPS by combining multiple generation, storage, and
power-conversion technologies. The modeling and experimental results of several architectures allow selection of the
optimal option based on the efficiency, reliability, and cost.
The second presenter, Jose Daniel Lara, from the University of Waterloo, Canada, reported on the importance
of a robust optimization approach for energy management systems suited for isolated microgrids. The mathematical model developed has been tested using realistic
microgrid configurations.
The third speaker, Xavier Vallve, from Trama Tecno
Ambiental S.L., Spain, focused on rural African microgrids.
Based on a demonstration project involving three villages
in Chad, he highlighted the importance of organizational
and regulatory issues. Some innovative aspects were the
regulatory role of the community and the concept of an
energy daily allowance to control load uncertainty.
The last presenter, Markson Tang, from Daily Life
Renewable Energy Pte. Ltd., Singapore, described rural
microgrids with high renewable-energy penetration and
distributed generation and their high market potential in
developing countries. Showing the results of the Pulau
Ubin microgrid test bed, with an aggregate of 100kWp PV,
1-MWh storage, and six 40-kVA gensets, highlighted some
84
innovative components such as variable-speed generators

and advanced control strategies.
Europe Session
The European Session started with the presentation Business Cases for Microgrids by Pierluigi Mancarella, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. The main questions
debated were: Where is value extracted from the
microgrid, and how is the value dispersed among the
actors? The vision presented is that the value of microgrids
goes far beyond retail electricity markets to microgridenabled smart grids. Microgrids can offer multiple electricity services, for power and ancillary services and not only
energy, facilitated by and along with information and communication technology. A case study application of 50 wellinsulated apartments concluded that most benefits come
from networked effects of multicommodities.
Alexandre Oudalov from ABB Switzerland focused on
microgrid storage integration with emphasis on battery
modeling and advanced control. He provided an overview
of battery technologies and costs and he presented the
lithium-ion battery aging model. He stressed the importance of including battery aging models in the design
(battery type, capacity, and control strategy selection) and
operation (corrective actions in case of deviations from
the targeted aging trajectory) as well as in optimal battery control.
Panagiotis Moutis presented results from a U.K. project
implemented by the University of Greenwich and Arup,
Residential Community-Based Commercial Realization of
the Microgrid Concept. The value of the planned community microgrid design compared to retrofits was stressed. The
residential community studied comprises 1-MVA loads,
250-kVA combined heat and power, 180-kWp PV, and a
200-kW battery inverter. For its operation as a prosumer, a
day-ahead hourly schedule of loading/generation is optimized by the application of decision trees on Monte Carlo
simulations of reserves.
Standards Panel Session

In the Asia section, Gengfeng Li, Xian Jiaotong University,
covered IEC TC8/WG7, General Planning, Design, Operation
and Control of the Microgrid. This activity started in March
2014 and is now developing a committee draft. The second
presentation by Prof. Se-Kyo Chung, Gyeongsang National
University, addressed microgrid standardization and energy-storage systems in Korea. Standardization activity is
under a subdivision of the Smart Grids Standardization
Forum and now in the final of its three phases. Hirohisa
Aki, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science
and Technology, discussed demand-side resiliency with
distributed resources and microgrids. He announced that
the IEC has published a white paper, Microgrids for
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery. He also talked
about three best practices on microgrids, including the
Sendai Microgrid.
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The Americas section opened with Benjamin Kroposki

giving a historical perspective on microgrid standards and
focused on IEEE 1547.4, whose development he chaired.
Next, Farid Katiraei gave a few concise observations on the
goals of standards and understanding of system requirements and performance criteria in their design. He argued
that standards should address functional requirements
rather than specifying technologies to allow for innovative
solutions and that standards groups should look beyond
the point of interconnection for various devices. Further,
they should take a systems approach, noting the importance of communications and providing utility-grade
remote control and monitoring for system operators. The
importance of agreeing on a test plan at an early stage
was also noted. The point was made that standards
should be flexible to enhance design during development
by saying that we are all learning together. This provided a
good segue to the remarks by Jim Reilly, Standards Panel
Session cochair, who introduced the new working group
for IEEE P2030.7, Standard for the Specification of Microgrid
Controllers, and he encouraged participation by all interested parties.
The European panelist, Alexandre Oudalov, described
two types of standards: 1) design, operation, and integration
and 2) hardware (including safety). He described ABBs
approach to developing a microgrid control platform and
the role of standards in that process. A vivid debate was triggered by Mario Paolone. He emphasized the need for more
accurate measurements (and associated standards) to cope
with the high dynamics that characterize energy transfer in
microgrids. He pointed to phasor measurement unit (PMU)
technology, which represents one of the backbone systems
for enabling quasi-real-time monitoring of transmission
networks. In recent years, PMU devices are being deployed
in DSs, and they will eventually be applied to microgrids. In
particular, this technology might offer a solution for monitoring distribution networks and microgrids characterized
by a massive presence of volatile distributed generation. The
functions that might be typically enabled by PMUs in DSs
are state estimators as well as protection and control systems. The international standard defining the performance
of PMUs is IEEE Standard for Synchrophasor Measurements
for Power Systems, C37.118.1-2011, and its recent amendment, IEEE Standard for Synchrophasors Measurement for
Power Systems, Amendment 1: Modification of Selected Performance Requirements, IEEE C37.118.1a-2014. In this respect,
the extension of PMU technology to smaller systems
requires a suitable adaptation of the existing standard to
cope with the tighter accuracy requirements in static, distorted, and dynamic conditions.
Upcoming Articles
This edition of the symposium also included 14 posters,
with many of them raising high interest among participants.
Based on the selection proposed by participants, the

authors of Economic Analysis of Milligrids (Goncalo
Mendes) and High-Rise Building Micro-Hydro Pumped-
Storage and PV Microgrid Proposal at Shanghai Jinmao

Tower as a Case Study (Jianmin Zhang and Qianzhi Zhang)
will be invited to contribute a more comprehensive presentation of the work as manuscripts to be submitted for
a future issue of IEEE Electrification Magazine. From the
presentations given during the symposium, the most
wanted extended articles were U.S. Microgrids for
Enhancing Resilience (Ross Guttromson), K-MEG Project
dc Distribution Microgrid Control System (Hyung Cho),
and Demand-Side Resiliency with DER and Microgrids
(Hirohisa Aki). These results underscore the preeminence
of increased resilience among microgrid benefits. These
three presenters will be invited to prepare an extended
version of their work to be published in the June issue of
IEEE Electrification Magazine.
Biographies
Chris Marnay (chrismarnay@lbl.gov)
______________ is with Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory.
Benjamin Kroposki (Benjamin.Kroposki@nrel.gov)
____________________ is
with National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Meiqin Mao (mmqmail@163.com)
_____________ is with Hefei University of Technology.
Honghua Xu (hxu@mail.iee.ac.cn)
_____________ is with the Chinese
Academy of Science.
Alex Chong (alex_chong@epgc.a-star.edu.sg)
_____________________ is with
Experimental Power Grid Centre, A*STAR, Singapore.
Se-Kyo Chung (skchung@gnu.ac.kr)
_____________ is with Gyeongsang
National University.
Ryoichi Hara (Hara@ssi.ist.hokudai.ac.jp)
_________________ is with Hokkaido University.
Toshifumi Ise (ise@pwr.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp)
_________________ is with Osaka
University.
Reza Iravani (iravani@ecf.utoronto.ca)
_______________ is with the University of Toronto.
Farid Katiraei (FKatiraei@quanta-technology.com)
_______________________ is
with Quanta Technologies.
Mihaela Albu (mihaela.albu@upb.ro)
______________ is with Politehnica
University of Bucharest.
Nikos Hatziargyriou (nhatziar@mail.ntua.gr)
_______________ is with
National Technical University of Athens.
Toshihisa Funabashi (funabashi@esi.nagoya-u.ac.jp)
___________________ is
with Nagoya University.
Jim Reilly (j_reilly@verizon.net)
_____________ is with Reilly Associates.
Johan Driesen (Johan.Driesen@esat.kuleuven.be)
_______________________ is
with KU Leuven.
Guillermo Jimenez (gjimenez@ing.uchile.cl)
_______________ is with the
University of Chile.
________________ is with Trama
Xavier Vallve (xavier.vallve@tta.com.es)
TecnoAmbiental.
85
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DAT E S A H E A D
2016
IEEE POWER & ENERGY

SOCIETY CONFERENCES
3 5 M AY
2015
T&D 2016: IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition, Dallas, Texas, USA. Contact Thomas
Mayne, ______________
mayne25@charter.net, http://www.ieeet-d.org/
1 0 1 3 M AY
IEMDC 2015: IEEE International Electric Machines and
Drives Conference, Coeur dAlene, Idaho, USA. Contact
Herbert Hess, hhess@uidaho.edu,
____________ www.iemdc.org
1 7 2 1 J U LY
GM 2016: IEEE PES General Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA. Contact Paula Traynor, ptraynor@epri.com
____________
1416 JUNE
ITEC 2015: IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference
and Expo, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Contact Dr. Anand
Sathyan, ___________________
sathyan.anand@gmail.com, Dr. Berker Bilgin,
______________
bilginb@mcmaster.ca, www.itec-conf.com
IEEE INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS

SOCIETY CONFERENCES
2015
2 9 J U N E 2 J U LY
PowerTech 2015: IEEE PowerTech Eindhoven, Eindhoven,
The Netherlands. Contact Dr. Peter Wouters, p.a.a.f.wouters@
__________
tue.nl, http://powertech2015-eindhoven.tue.nl
____
1519 MARCH
2 6 3 0 J U LY
1921 APRIL
GM 2015: IEEE PES General Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Contact Paula Traynor, ____________
ptraynor@epri.com, www.pes-gm.
org/2015/
REPC: 2015 IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference, Asheville,

North Carolina, USA.
APEC: 2015 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and

Exposition, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
2 4 A P R I L 1 M AY
2015 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Conference, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
57 OCTOBER
ISGT LA 2015: IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies
Conference Latin America, Montevideo, Uruguay. Contact
Juan Carlos Miguez,_____________
j.miguez@ieee.org, http://isgtla.org
6 8 M AY
I&CPS: 2015 IEEE/IAS 51st Industrial and Commercial Power
Systems Technical Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
2125 OCTOBER
ISGT Europe 2015: IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference Europe, Warsaw, Poland. Contact Prof.
Desire Rasolomampionona, ___________________
desire.rasolomampionona@
ien.pw.edu.pl
_________
IEMDC: 2015 IEEE International Electric Machines and

Drives Conference, Coeur dAlene, Idaho, USA.
4 6 N OV E M B E R
2 7 3 0 M AY
ISGT Asia 2015: IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference Asia, Bangkok, Thailand. Contact
Boonmarg Smitthileela, boonmarg.s@egat.co.th,
_______________ www.ieee_______
isgt-asia-2015.org/
___________
ICCC: 2015 16th International Carpathian Control

Conference, Miskolc, Hungary.
15 JUNE
ICPE-ECCE Asia: 2015 IEEE 9th International Conference on
Power Electronics and ECCE Asia, Seoul, Korea (South).

86
1 0 1 3 M AY
IEEE
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I am
investing
in tomorrow.
Are you?
The IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative is attracting top engineering candidates to pursue power
engineering careers. The continued success of the initiative depends on leaders like you, who can
provide nancial support, career experience opportunities and mentoring.
To nd out how you can get involved, visit www.ee-scholarship.org today.
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56 JUNE
15 JUNE
WoW: 2015 IEEE PELS Workshop on Emerging Technologies:

Wireless Power, Daejeon, Korea (South).
ICPE-ECCE Asia: 2015 IEEE 9th International Conference on

Power Electronics and ECCE Asia, Seoul, Korea (South).
1417 JUNE
56 JUNE
ITEC: 2015 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference

and Expo, Dearborn, Michigan, USA.
WoW: 2015 IEEE PELS Workshop on Emerging Technologies:

Wireless Power, Daejeon, Korea (South).
1518 JUNE
78 JUNE
PPIC: 2015 61st IEEE Pulp and Paper Industry Conference,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
SLED: 2015 IEEE Symposium on Sensorless Control for Electrical Drives, Sydney, Australia.
2024 SEPTEMBER
710 JUNE
2015 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition,

Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
ICDCM: 2015 IEEE First International Conference on DC

Microgrids, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
57 OCTOBER
1417 JUNE
PCIC: 2015 IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee Conference, Houston, Texas, USA.
ITEC: 2015 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference

and Expo, Dearborn, Michigan, USA.
1822 OCTOBER
2225 JUNE
2015 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting,

Addison, Texas, USA.
PEDG: 2015 IEEE 6th International Symposium on Power

Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems, Aachen,
Germany.
2528 OCTOBER
ICEMS: 2015 18th International Conference on Electrical
Machines and Systems, Pattaya, Thailand.
1 2 1 5 J U LY
COMPEL: 2015 IEEE 16th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics, Vancouver BC, Canada.
1 4 N OV E M B E R
IFEEC: 2015 IEEE 2nd International Future Energy Electronics
Conference, Taipei, Taiwan.
1 9 2 1 N OV E M B E R
ICPSPCIC: 2015 IEEE IAS Joint Industrial and Commercial
Power Systems/Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference, Hyderabad, India.
IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS

SOCIETY CONFERENCES
14 SEPTEMBER
SDEMPED: 2015 IEEE 10th International Symposium on
Diagnostics for Electrical Machines, Power Electronics and
Drives, Guarda , Portugal.
711 SEPTEMBER
EPE ECCE-Europe: 2015 IEEE 17th European Conference on
Power Electronics and Applications, Geneva 20, Switzerland.
2024 SEPTEMBER
2015 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition,
Montreal QC, Canada.
2015
1822 OCTOBER
3 6 M AY
IWIPP: 2015 IEEE International Workshop on Integrated
Power Packaging, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
INTELEC 2015 - 2015 IEEE International Telecommunications Energy Conference, Osaka, Japan.
1 4 N OV E M B E R
1 0 1 3 M AY
IEMDC: 2015 IEEE International Electric Machines and
Drives Conference, Coeur dAlene, Idaho, USA.
IFEEC: 2015 IEEE 2nd International Future Energy Electronics

Conference, Taipei, Taiwan.
2 9 N OV E M B E R 2 D E C E M B E R
1 0 1 4 M AY
ISPSD: 2015 IEEE 27th International Symposium on Power
Semiconductor Devices and ICs, Hong Kong.
88
COBEP/SPEC: 2015 IEEE 13th Brazilian Power Electronics

Conference and 1st Southern Power Electronics Conference,
Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
IEEE
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NEWSFEED
High-Impact Science
AM PLEASED TO CALL
attention to the impact
and influence that IEEE
Transactions on Smart Grid and IEEE
Transactions on Sustainable Energy

have achieved of late. With a multisociety, interdisciplinary approach, both
transactions have embodied the IEEE
mission and vision to foster technological innovation for the benefit
of humanity.
Fundamental shifts in the energy
landscape led me five years ago (as
then vice president for publications in
the IEEE Power & Energy Society) to
propose these new journalsIEEE
Transactions on Smart Grid to encompass the intelligent, self-healing technologies that are transforming the grid
and IEEE Transactions on Sustainable
Energy to focus on emerging, nonthermal generation sources.
Both transactions have achieved
high-water marks for their readership
impacts as measured by the Thomson
Reuters Journal Citation Reports

released last year. The prestige of
these two journals also registered high
marks via their eigenfactor scores and
enviable article influence scores,
another metric related to prestige. Visit
any of the following Web sites for
more details on these metrics:
[ http://thomsonreuters.com/
journal-citation-reports/
________________
[ http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore______________________
help/#/browsingIeeeXplore/brows______________________
ingByContentTypes/browsing
______________________
JournalsMagazines/journalHome
______________________
Page.
____

90
The actual scores are less important than what they represent: these
metrics mean that authors who contribute to either transactions are very
likely to be read and their work valued by a global audience of power
engineers as well as researchers in
related fields. It also means that the
topics weve chosen to feature in
these transactions align well with the
most pressing energy issues of our
day. Research that feeds real-world
outcomes fills our pages.
Although our achievements as
measured by these metrics are cause
for celebration, the missing metric
perhaps the most powerful oneis
word of mouth. The success of both
transactions, I believe, is also due to
our global yet closely knit, gregarious
community of researchers and readers. When an author or group of
authors makes a splash in transactions, the resulting buzz is heard
around the world.
As the founding editor-in-chief of
IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, Id
like to make a few points on how it
has evolved in recent years and on its
editorial process. Today, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid is a joint publication of multiple IEEE Societies,
including the IEEE Computational
Intelligence Society, IEEE Communications Society, IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Control Systems Society,
IEEE Industry Applications Society,
IEEE Industrial Electronics Society,
IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society, IEEE Power Electronics
Society, IEEE Power & Energy Society,
and IEEE Signal Processing Society.
Since we established this multisociety sponsorship, we have increased
interest while maintaining our fundamental focus. Although the move to

multisociety sponsorship and topics
initially was resisted by many in the
IEEE Power & Energy Society, I believe
the aforementioned high impact scores
reflect broad recognition that the smart
grid is indeed a cross-disciplinary topic
that reaches into many domains. Certainly, the journals readership and
influence have grown as a result.
In short, energy supports everything, and our latest successes
underscore the interconnectedness
of electricity and most, if not all, the
pillars of modern society. The impact
and prestige scores Ive cited also
reflect that our authors and editors
have focused on the most pertinent
topics of the day. Lets touch on a
handful of topics that have produced
these high-impact metrics.
Microgrids and the controls that
enable them, for instance, are delivering the flexibility, control, and efficiencies that aid reliability, resiliency,
and sustainability for parties at the
edge of the grid and for the grid itself.
Cyber and physical security, of
course, are major concerns in a post9/11 world. Data, data networks, and
data analysis enable these applications, so weve developed an ongoing
emphasis there as well.
The Editorial Process
A word on the IEEE Transactions on

Smart Grid editorial process may be
valuable to all involved. The editor-inchief provides the initial screening
for incoming papers submitted for
publication and, typically, filters the
papers for their relevance to the
smart grid. Relevant papers are then
IEEE
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directed to a team of perhaps 60 editors, each of whom has specialized

knowledge in certain subtopics. The
editors, in turn, find qualified peers
to review each paper and provide
insights on its strengths and weaknesses. The peer review process, of
course, is anonymous.
The process from submission to
publication can range from as few as
four months to perhaps 18 months,
based on two fundamental criteria. Is
the topic familiar or esoteric? The less
esoteric, the easier and swifter it is to
find qualified editors and reviewers.
We do not shy away from esoteric
topics; they simply take longer to
review. Is the article clearly written?
Clarity serves the reader and requires
less editing and, thus, time.
As IEEE Transactions on Smart
Grid has evolved, weve created special issues focused on one topic or
provided a themed section within an
issue to reflect a body of emerging
research. Guest editors are invited to
shepherd these special editions or
sections to fruition. This process

tends to attract expert authors and
editors, which broadens our members participation, strengthens the
journals contents, and boosts readershipan ideal outcome.
To give you a sense of how all
involved have succeeded, in a recent
call for papers, we budgeted time and
staff for about 150 incoming papers,
yet we received nearly 400 abstracts!
Whats next? We believe the topics
weve cited will continue to inspire
researchers and readers alike. But we
can certainly forecast a few related
topics likely to appear in the pages of
IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.
On the microgrid side, the potential efficiencies of directly linking dcgenerating solar, wind, and other
sources with dc-consuming electronics, lighting, and other end uses will
drive intense interest. The intersection between cyber and physical
security is little explored, and we can
anticipate greater attention to this
topic. Clearly, the proliferation of
sensors, algorithms, and applications

will continue to drive the era of socalled big data, which present myriad
challenges that must be met.
All of these topics and more will
undoubtedly drive further research
to fill our pages and enable an avid
readership to absorb the research
and develop real-world outcomes to
serve humanity. In fact, I foresee a
near-term surge in energy awareness
by the general public, which can only
drive further interest in and appreciation of our collective efforts.
Finally, Id like to extend my sincere
thanks and appreciation to all IEEE
staff and volunteers who have participated in the successful publication of
these two journals. It has been an
honor for me to be involved, and I
look forward to greater milestones for
our collective impacts.
Mohammad Shahidehpour
Founding Editor-in-Chief
IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid
IEEE PES Announces

2015 Plain Talk Schedule
LAIN TALK ABOUT THE
Electric Power Industry is a
three-day series of courses
targeted to power industry professionals who are not engineers but
who need more understanding of the
technical side of the industry in which
they work. New engineers or engineers new to the power industry also
take these courses. The first day

consists of an overview of the electric

power industry, while days two and
three provide more detail on the distribution system and transmission
system, respectively. Students can
take one, two, or all three courses.
The schedule for 2015 is as follows:
[ 2426 March, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA (hosted by EPRI)
[ 24 June, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
(hosted by Southwest Power Pool)
[ 2830 July, Denver, Colorado, USA
(colocated with the IEEE Power &
Energy Society General Meeting)
[ 24 September, Boise, Idaho, USA
(hosted by Idaho Power)

[ 68 October, Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania, USA (hosted by Eaton)

[ 1012 November, Charlotte, North
Carolina, USA (hosted by EPRI).

The most up-to-date schedule,
including registration links, can be
found at http://www.ieee-pes.org/
plaintalk.
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If you would like to develop a new
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NEWSFEED
IEEE PES Scholarship Plus

Looks to Address Power and Energy
Engineer Shortage
HE IEEE POWER & ENERGY
Society (PES) Scholarship
Plus Initiative encourages
students to pursue a career in the
power and energy fields by providing
multiyear scholarships and career
experience opportunities to qualifying
U.S. and Canadian electrical engineering undergraduate students. The goal is
simpleto increase the number of
well-qualified, entry-level engineers to
the power and energy industry.

The program, made possible by

donations to the IEEE PES Scholarship Fund of the IEEE Foundation and
the IEEE Canadian Foundation, is in
its fourth year. Since 2011, 733 scholarships have been distributed to 466
individuals from universities across
the United States and Canada.
Being a PES scholar is incredibly
important in giving direction to my
education, says David Wilson, a
20132014 PES Scholar from Ohio
State University. At a time when I
was not sure where to go with my
electrical engineering degree, PES
Scholarship Plus provided me with

an incentive to try power coursework,
which I came to fully enjoy. The financial stability it provided me also
allowed me to focus on my studies.
Find out how this program is
helping in addressing the problem of
the shortage of engineers in the
power and energy industry by visiting the IEEE PES Scholarship Plus
Web site at www.ee-scholarship.org.
EXPAND YOUR
NETWORK &
ENHANCE YOUR
CAREER WITH
IEEE PES
Whether youre a young professional or a top
executive, being a member of the IEEE Power
& Energy Society can help you expand your network
and enhance your career. Whether its chairing
a committee, writing articles for our publications,
speaking at or attending one of our many
conferences, or presenting as part of our monthly
webinar series, PES members get involved.
To learn more about connecting

with our membership of 33,000
electric power industry professionals,
Visit our website at ieee-pes.org
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Viewpoint
(continued from page 96)
[ Maximize supply securityuse
the latest safety and security

standards to maximize the security of supply.
Participants
The project is to be implemented on a
turnkey basis and is scheduled to be
completed within three years. Work
started in 2010 with a feasibility study
done by SCI and subcontractor
ENOVA that determined the project
scope and, once approval was given
by EDL, completed the detailed project
engineering design.
Figure 1. For reclosers, EDL selected G&W Electric Viper-LT units.
During the feasibility study stage,
GE Digital Energy (Montreal, Quebec,
[ vacuum interrupters fully encapthis project, EDL selected GEs GENe
Canada) provided functional specificasulated in a cycloaliphatic epoxy
DMS distribution management softtions for a supervisory control and
system
ware system. GENe is a suite of applicadata acquisition (SCADA)/distribution
[ a manual open mechanical block
tions that includes analysis functions to
management system (DMS), while
on the reclosers for operator safety
increase situational awareness of users
G&W Electric (Bolingbrook, Illinois), the
[ solid dielectric insulation to provide
and operators beyond what is available
leading supplier of reclosers in North
a maintenance-free installation
with SCADA telemetry, detecting
America through its agent ENOVA In[ compatibility with the GE DGCR
potentially unsecure
tegration Company
control
conditions and auto(Nonthaburi, ThaiThe reclosers
[ light weight and compact size for
matically warning
land), provided funcmagnetic actuator
ease of installation
the user of undesirtional specifications
system provides for
[ a single control cable that brings all
able or dangerous
for reclosers and polelocal and remote
current, breaker status, and trip/
effects of proposed
mounted load break
close information into the control
switching actions via
switches to SCI for
operation in the event
[ an automation-ready design that
preswitching validause in developing
that the ac source
simplifies conversion for any
tion. Its fault detection,
their specifications
power is lost or
future automation requirements.
isolation, and restorafor the proposal.
interrupted.
The reclosers magnetic actuator
tion (FDIR) function
Project Scope
system provides for local and remote
automatically deterThe project scope
mines the location of
included supply, installation, testing,
faults using fault data available from
and commissioning of SCADA/DMS,
modern relays and fault detectors to
115/22-kV substation equipment, and
recommend switching steps to isolate
22-kV pole-mounted load break switchthe fault and restore customers.
es and reclosers.
Hardware
Software
The foundation of grid automation is
the software, where all the intelligence
resides; supervisory control and data
acquisition, protection, and communications are all driven by software. For
On the hardware side, EDL selected

G&W Electric Viper-LT reclosers
(Figure 1) and overhead SF6-insulated
load break switches/sectionalizers
(Figure 2). These offered reliable performance with
Figure 2. EDL chose G&W Electric overhead SF6-insulated load break switches/
sectionalizers.
93
IEEE
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VIEWPOINT
Recloser 1
(Normally Closed)
Sectionalizer 1
(Normally Closed)
Lockout
Open
S1
Tie
(Normally Open)
Close
Recloser 2
(Normally Closed)
Sectionalizer 2
(Normally Closed)
S2
Figure 3. In a loop scheme, the recloser locks out after four failed attempts to clear a downstream fault. The sectionalizer opens to isolate the faulted line section and then the tie
recloser closes to supply power from source S2.
operation in the event that the ac

many users as possible. Under normal
source power is lost or interrupted,
operating conditions, FDIR isolates
and the recloser monfaults and restores
itors the circuit using
power. As shown in
EDL is in the process
G&Ws internal multiFigure 3, if a fault
of transforming its
ratio current transdownstream of the
formers and voltage
recloser is not cleared,
power system from a
sensors.
then it will lock out
traditional manually
For this project,
after four tries to clear
operated power
G&W used GEs DGCR
the fault. FDIR then
system with frequent
recloser controls on its
locates the fault and
prolonged power
reclosers and GEs
opens the sectionalizDGCS switch controls
er to isolate the faultoutages to an
on its pole-mounted
ed line section. It then
innovative self-healing
switches to ensure
closes the tie recloser
automated grid.
seamless integration
to restore power to the
with GEs GENe DMS.
other loads from
G&W Bolingbrook
source S2. The restoramanufactured, tested, and shipped the
tion can be completed in seconds.
reclosers to Laos and G&W Shanghai did
G&W recommends that noncommuthe same work for the load break switchnicating loop scheme logic be used if
es. Both G&W locations provide all techcommunication is lost. In this scenario, if
nical, commissioning, and warranty sera fault downstream of the recloser is not
vices for the switchgear to Laos.
cleared, then it will lock out after four
tries to clear the fault. The sectionalizer
How It Works
then senses loss of voltage at its input
The first order was for 200 G&W Viperand opens to isolate the faulted line secLT reclosers and 100 load break switchtion. Shortly after, the tie recloser senses
es. These are used to isolate faults so
loss of voltage and closes to restore
that power can be maintained to as
power to the other loads from source S2.
94
Figure 4. The equipment as installed on site.
The whole operation is completed in

about 1 min.
Historically, the addition of automated reclosers on a system results in
at least a 20% reliability improvement.
G&W provides a standard three-year
parts and performance guarantee for
this amount of improvement. G&W
plans to work with GE and EDL to
achieve less than 1% economic value
loss due to electrical outages. Figure 4
shows the equipment as installed.
For EDL to fully utilize SCADA/DMS,
more field devices need to be added
for better coverage of the country.
With the new equipment, operators
can monitor the condition of the
power system remotely; in the scenario just described, the equipment notifies the operators so that a repair crew
can be sent out.
Summary
EDL is in the process of transforming
its power system from a traditional
manually operated power system with
frequent prolonged power outages to
an innovative self-healing automated
grid. Although it will take the company about three years to fully implement its new system, it is confident
that it will achieve all of its objectives
and facilitate the continued improvement of its customers quality of life.
Biography
Patrick Avery (pavery@gwelec.com)
_____________ is
with G&W Electric, Bolingbrook, Illinois.
IEEE
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The Advertisers Index contained in this issue is compiled as a service to our readers and advertisers: the
publisher is not liable for errors or omissions although every effort is made to ensure its accuracy. Be
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_____________
2015
IEEE PES
Powering Up the
Next Generation
GENERAL
MEETING
July 2630, 2015
Denver, CO
Mark your calendar now for the 2015 IEEE PES General
Meeting in Denver! Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
The PES General Meeting attracts over 3000 professionals from every
segment of the electric power and energy industries. It features a
comprehensive technical program, including super sessions, panel
sessions, tutorials, technical committee meetings and standards activities.
Plus attendees enjoy a lineup of excellent technical tours, a student
program, companion activities and more!.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

For Registration and Program Information, visit www.pes-gm.org/2015
95
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VIEWPOINT
Electricite Du Laos Builds the

Electric System of the Future
By Patrick Avery
AOS, OFFICIALLY THE LAO

grown faster than EDL could upgrade
Peoples Democratic Repubits electrical system, resulting in frelic, is located in Southeast
quent, prolonged power outages.
Asia, bordered by Burma (Myanmar)
A major cause of the problem was
and China to the northwest, Vietnam
that the electrical system was not autoto the east, Cambodia to the south,
mated. The only way the operators
and Thailand to the west. The populacould learn of outages was when they
tion is 6.8 million, of
were reported by cuswhich 810,000 live in
tomers; they then had
EDL has experienced
the capital, Vientiane.
to send out crews to
significant load
The state-owned
manually find and
growth on its electric
utility, Electricite du
repair them, which
Laos (EDL), with 3,500
made for longer outagsystem, resulting in a
employees, is a transes and was an ineffi2012 unemployment
mission and distribucient use of personnel.
rate of only 1.3%
tion company that supIn an effort to solve
according to Factfish.
plies about 1,552 GWh
these problems, EDL
of electricity annually,
inaugurated its Power
over more than 32,000
Distribution System
power lines for 782,517 connected meters
Rehabilitation project led by Sisavath
covering 236,800 km2, and is a major
Thiravong, managing director of EDL,
source of income for the national
which intended to rehabilitate and upgovernment.
grade the existing facilities of the comOver the past ten years, EDL has
panys power distribution network in
experienced significant load growth
four major cities: Vientiane, Thankhek,
on its electric system, resulting in a
Savannakhet, and Pakse.
2012 unemployment rate of only 1.3%
Looking Ahead
according to Factfish. In 2011, the
The objectives for the project are as
Laotian government reported that
follows:
more than 70% of the population had
[ Increase system reliability
access to electricity, and plans called
ensure a continuous and stable
for that number to be increased to
electrical supply to the governmore than 80% by 2014. This growth
ment and private sectors.
has dramatically improved Laos citi[ Reduce economic lossminimize
zens quality of life, but the load has
prolonged power outages that
cause economic loss to the country.
According to Nation Master, Laoss
firms experienced an average of 2.6

power outages per month and pay
US$0.05/kWh, with outages lasting
from 10 min to several days.
According to Factfish, Laoss economic value lost due to electrical
outages as a percent of sales
decreased from 4% to 2% during
20062012. This equates to an economic loss of US$187.7 million in
2012, based on a gross national
product (GNP) of US$9.4 billion. The
economic value lost due to electrical outages was US$22.2 million in
2013, based on a GNP of US$11.1
billion that gives Laos a 135th ranking among world economies.
96
[ Increase coverage for country utiliza-
tiondevelop the electrical distribution system in the four major

cities and facilitate future expansion to the rest of the country.
[ Modernize the systemuse the latest automation technology to
maintain a modern electrical grid
for the future.
[ Allow for future system expan-
sion design for long-term

expansion.
[ Ensure power qualityallow commercial and industrial sectors to
receive good power quality to
maintain consistent operation of
their systems.
[ Limit economic costbe economical to operate, maintain, and grow.
(continued on page 93)
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Does the
work of many.
Takes the
space of few.
Make every inch of precious rack space count thanks to

the Keysight N8900 Autoranging Series. Choose from
5, 10, and 15 kW models that can be easily paralleled
to create one power supply with >100 kW of power.
Now thats a powerful promise.
.H\VLJKW16HULHV$XWRUDQJLQJ'&3RZHU6XSSOLHV
Autoranging output does the job of many power supplies
Up to 15 kW in 3U maximizes rack space
Parallel multiple units for >100 kW of power
28 models: up to 1500 V, up to 510 A
7RoQGWKHULJKWKLJKSRZHUVXSSO\IRU\RXUQHHGV
JHW\RXU3RZHU3URGXFWV6HOHFWLRQ*XLGHDW
ZZZNH\VLJKWFRPoQG1$XWRUDQJLQJ
____________________________
USA: 800 829 4444
CAN: 877 894 4414
Keysight Technologies, Inc. 2014
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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

3RP]=IEV (Print Edition)

3RP]=IEV (Print Edition)

News, analysis and insights on electric vehicles, electric ships,

Access to comprehensive, in-depth technical analysis from engineers

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

Islands in the Sun

The solar power deployment

Examining the Portuguese

Rural Electrification Goes Local.

The Tianjin 2014

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

A PowerBox similar to this one in Narok County,

MISSION STATEMENT: IEEE Electrification

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

T IS OUR PLEASURE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THIS SPECIAL

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2014.2388091

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2014.2382791

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

kerosene lamps and flashlights for

When the subsidies are not available,

The University of Colorado, together with Utah State University,

Electric Drivetrain Technology

for HEV, PHEV, E-REV, and EV

Graduate Education in Battery Controls

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

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Modeling Battery Dynamics

Intro. to Pwr. Elect.

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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

generation but are also able to export

technologies, which serve 652 counties (27%).

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ComEd with an invaluable experience

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

The Viewpoint colthat more than 70% of

EDL is in the process of transforming

IEEE Electrication Magazine is sponsored by

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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

Rural Off-Grid Electricity Service

additional investments of US$20 billion

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

many mass-manufactured and readily

THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND

Payment and Billing

Trunk and Branch

Hub and Spoke

(PBKs). Energy kiosks bridge the gap

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in Narok County, Kenya. The village

3RP]=IEV (Print Edition)

3RP]=IEV (Print Edition)

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