Integrated Modeling and Design of Microgrids—The Case of Marginalized Communities
摘要
Renewable Energy Systems and Microgrids have been proposed as relevant solutions for disadvantaged and marginalized communities. Yet, in practice, they are often available only to well-off communities, due to legal, economic and social barriers. Existing models and tools do not yet sufficiently address non-technical social aspects of community microgrid system design and deployment. An approach is proposed in this paper to allow the wider social context to be integrated in the microgrid system design process. It includes the use of knowledge graphs to map the relevant stakeholders, social and technical aspects. An example is provided for one type of marginalized communities—the Bedouin towns and villages in Southern Israel. Following this, the relevant requirements and constraints of the microgrid system can be mathematically defined based on a knowledge graph. Using such a mathematical model, different analytical operations can be carried out, for example optimal solutions can be identified. This is demonstrated in the case of the conversion of existing energy systems in communities into microgrids, to reduce the risks of extended outages. The process of providing an optimal design for a microgrid system is consequently addressed as a decision-making process in which all relevant stakeholders must be involved, to facilitate an analysis of their requirements, on which the solution can be based.