The Growing State of Distributed Generation and ... - IEEE Xplore

The Growing State of Distributed Generation and Microgrids in the Ibero-American Region: A View from the RIGMEI Network Mario Gomes

Miguel Castilla Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (UPC) Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, SPAIN

Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT) Tomar, PORTUGAL

Pedro Mercado

Carlos Moreira

Instituto de Energía Eléctrica Universidad Nacional de San Juan (UNSJ) San Juan, ARGENTINA

Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Tecnologia e Ciência (INESC TEC) Porto, PORTUGAL

Juan Negroni

Jorge Sosa

Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana del Estado de Chile Santiago de Chile, CHILE

Universidad de los Andes (ULA) Mérida, VENEZUELA

Antonio Carlos Zambroni de Souza Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI) Itajubá, BRAZIL. Abstract—The Ibero-American Network of Distributed Generation and Intelligent Electrical Microgrids is a thematic network of the CYTED programme that performs cooperation activities between leading companies and research groups of the Ibero-American countries in the renewable energy area. This paper presents the results and conclusions of a study carried out recently by the network, which focused on the state of penetration of the distributed generation and the electrical microgrids in the Ibero-American countries that collaborate with the network. A list of these countries, together with the contact details of the main researchers, can be found in Apendix I. Index Terms—Renewable energy, distributed generation, electrical microgrids.

I. INTRODUCTION

T

Ibero-American programme for Science, Technology and Development (CYTED programme) promote the creation of thematic networks in several research areas. In the energy area, the objectives of the programme are: 1) to promote the cooperation between the Ibero-American companies and research groups through the strengthening of R&D activities which contribute to sustainable development, 2) to ensure that economic growth and social development are encouraged by providing access to the appropriate technology for the use of clean energy sources, for energy saving and for energy efficiency through more effective use, and 3) to ensure HE

This work was supported by the CYTED programme under grant 713RT0475 Ibero-American Network of Distributed Generation and Intelligent Electrical Microgrids.

that the knowledge and technology obtained from developments in the energy area can be transformed into a benefit to society, contributing to an improvement in the quality of life and sustainable development in Ibero-America. The Ibero-American network of Distributed Generation and Intelligent Electrical Microgrids (RIGMEI, www.rigmei.com) is a thematic network of the CYTED programme. It was founded in January 2013 and it aims to perform cooperation activities between leading companies and research groups of the Ibero-American countries in the renewable energy area and, in particular, in distributed generation [1]-[4], electrical microgrids [4]-[6] and technological innovation for the sustainable development [7]-[9]. In the first year, the network performed a study on the state of penetration of the distributed generation and the electrical microgrids in the Ibero-American countries involved in the network. This paper summarizes this study, including the main results and conclusions. It is worth mentioning that similar studies discussing these topics for other regions of the world can be found in the literature [7][11]. However, as far as the authors know, there are no recent works about the Ibero-American region. II. CURRENT SITUATION IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL Spain and Portugal are neighboring countries in the Iberian peninsula. They share an interconnected electric power system and must follow the decisions and recommendations of the European community in terms of energy policy. Therefore, the situation of the renewable energy in these countries can be explained jointly given its great similarity.

The distributed power generation in Spain and Portugal is regulated by the special regime [12]-[14]. The special regime is a treatment for the production of electric energy from facilities using renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro and biomass), waste and cogeneration and relying on remunatory scheme based on feed-in tariffs. This type of generation raises a number of advantages over ordinary regime production (nuclear, coal, fuel, gas, and large hydro): 1) it promotes renewable energy, 2) it reduces power losses (due to long transmission distances) by producing energy in the consumption environment, 3) it increases efficiency by using the heat in CHP or combined cycle installations, 4) it decreases the implementation time of projects, with short-term solutions and avoiding large investments in conventional infrastructure. The annual evolution of the energy produced by the special regime in Spain and Portugal is characterized by a sustained growth in recent years. In particular, in 2010, the energy sold by the special regime reached 22.8% of annual demand in Spain [15]. A slightly higher figure, 24.1% was achieved in Portugal that year [16]. It is worth mentioning the large penetration achieved by the produced energy of the special regime in these two countries. The dominant vector is wind energy, both in its ability to produce energy and in the magnitude of installed capacity. In 2010, 49.7% of the energy sold in Spain under the special regime corresponded to wind energy [15], [17]. In Portugal, during the same period, 53.7% of the energy produced by the special regime was also from wind [16]. Special regime installations in Portugal can be categorized in different classes as follows: a) Microgeneration. Each low voltage client can become a micro-producer and it can install a micro-generation system (typically solar photovoltaic) with an installed power that can not exceed 50% of the contracted power, with a maximum of 5.75 kW (general regime) or 3.68 kW (subsidized regime). b) Minigeneration. This kind of systems ranges from 5.75 kW up to 150 kW. c) Mini-hydro. Up to 10 MW and they can use either synchronous or asynchronous generators. Power output exceeding 10 MW in hydroelectric production is considered as ordinary regime. d) There are no specific limits for the installed power in electric power plants based on technologies such as wind, cogeneration, biomass, etc. e) Wind farms must meet the requirements of fault ride through and they must inject reactive current in the network during a short circuit. In normal operation they should be able to control the power factor according to the demands of the transmission sytem operator. In Spain, the RD 1699/2011 regulates the connection of small power facilities to the electrical grid and allows, for the first time, the formation of isolated electrical microgrids

(which are referred to in the document as internal networks) [18]. Specifically, the RD applies to regular and special regime installations of not more than 100 kW of technologies referred to in categories b and c of Article 2 of Royal Decree 661/2007 [12]. The technical requirements for the connection of the internal networks to the distribution systems have very severe constraints. Below is a list of these requirements [18]: a) The circuits must comply with the principle of minimizing power losses in the system, favoring the maintenance of security and quality of supply and enabling the operation in island, on their own consumption, never feeding other network users. The connection settings should ensure the reliability of the measures of energy produced and consumed. b) The contribution of generators to increase or decrease the voltage in the distribution line, between the substation where the voltage regulation is made and the point of common coupling, in the worst case scenario for the grid, should not exceed 2.5 percent of nominal voltage. c) The power factor of the internal network in the point of commom coupling should be as close as possible to the unit and, in any case, it must be greater than 0.98 when the system operates at a higher power to 25 percent of its rated power. From the analysis of these severe technical restrictions, it is possible to conclude that electrical microgrids are seen today as a source of disturbance to the transmission and distribution networks rather than a real solution to the current energy problem. III. STATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ARGENTINA The electricity sector in Argentina relies mainly on hydroelectric plants and thermal generators powered by natural gas. In 1998, a large amount of the electricity demand was supported by these energy sources (natural gas: 45 %, hydro: 30 %). However, in this same year, the government promoted the installation of generation plants based on renewable energy, mainly solar and wind energy [19]. The incentive policies consisted in tax reductions and special tariffs (feed-in-tariff, FIT) for the energy supplied in a period of 15 years after the entry into force of the law. Some wind parks were installed in isolated autonomous systems (accounting for 30 MW in 2008), mainly in Patagonia where the greatest wind resource is available. Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation was used only in small autonomous systems, located mostly in rural areas where no other form of energy supply exists. Almost all of these PV systems were installed through a government project funded primarily by international institutions [20]. In 2006 a new law was passed to promote all types of renewable energies. The aim was to achieve the supply of 8% of energy consumption from renewable energy sources,

excluding large hydroelectric generation plants [21]. A tax on the total electricity consumption was applied for 15 years in order to pay the power plants based on renewable energy. The first regional proposal to integrate significant amounts of solar PV in the electricity generation system was developed by the government of San Juan, a province located in the northwest region of Argentina. The regional company Energía Provincial S.E. promotes a solar PV plant of 1,2 MWp located in the village of Ullúm (near the city of San Juan). The contract was signed in Desember 2009, the plant was build during 2010 and it was put into service in February 2011. This plant was the first of its kind in Argentina and the largest plant in South America. In order to accelerate the use of renewable energy, the national company Energía Argentina S.A. (ENARSA) in May 2009 promoted the installation and operation of generation plants based on different types of renewable energy. The projects approved in several regions of Argentina totaled 754 MW of wind capacity, 110.4 MW of thermal generation including bioenergy, 10.6 MW of small hydro, and 20 MW of solar PV generation. From these projects, the solar PV plant located at Cañada Honda (5 MW) was put into service in 2012. Also two wind farms of 25 MW and 86 MW located in the northwestern of Argentina and Patagonia, respectively, started the operation in 2012. All these facilities supply the generated power to the interconnected electricity grid (CAMMESA, 2013) [19]. With such low penetration levels of renewable energy, no integration problems with the transmission and distribution networks are expected. Mainly for this reason, Argentina currently lacks of legislation for the installation of distributed generation and microgrids. The research work done by the Instituto de Energía Eléctrica from the Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Argentina, aims to achieve sufficient practical experience in the application of distributed generation based on solar PV as a basis for the proposal of installation codes, legislation and incentives to increase the penetration of renewable energy in this country.

environment. According to the latest amendment of LGSE (Law 20.257) [23], the means of non-conventional renewable generation are those whose primary energy source is wind energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy, tidal energy, hydropower and solar energy, whose maximum power is less than 20 MW [24]. As a significant sample to the situation in the energy market in Chile, it should be noted that in 2007 generation from conventional power plants constituted 96.9% of total electricity production, while only 3.1% was remaining produced by non-conventional renewable power plants [24]. The Chilean government is sensitive to this situation and in 2008 developed a national plan to promote the use of nonconventional renewable energy. The Law 20.257 requires companies that sell energy to final customers, proving that a certain percentage of this comes from NCRE sources and sets fines for companies that do not conform to current regulations [23]. For new contracts, it is necessary to ensure that the percentage of NCRE is at least 5% during the years 2010 and 2014. This minimum percentage will increase by 0.5% between 2015 and 2024. Finally, the percentage will be fixed at 10% from 2024. Recently, an amendment to the Law 20.257 has been published which is double the target provided in this Law. Specifically, it has been noticed that, by 2025, at least 20% of the energy sold in Chile must come from NCRE sources. Moreover, the Ministry of Energy will bid annually for “energy blocks” to meet the required NCRE fees. In microgrids, Chile is probably the most active country in the region [25], [26]. Huatacondo project is an operative microgrid located in the Atacama desert [25]. Two other projects are now under execution: the Ollagüe microgrid, in Antofagasta, and the Islas Desertores microgrid, in Chiloé [26]. Finally, the Juan Fernández project is currently in the initial design phase. The two most significant features of these microgrids are that they are designed to operate in islanding mode, and that they promote the active participation of the local community [26].

IV. STATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN CHILE

V. STATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN VENEZUELA

Chile is a developing country rich in natural resources and, in particular, in renewable energy resources such as abundant sunlight from the north to the south. However, to date, the Chilean energy matrix has been developed mainly based on hydroelectric power plants and thermal plants supplied by coal [22]. In fact, the coal mining industry has a very significant development in the country. The energy supply in Chile is based fundamentally on conventional power plants, which use standard technologies and mature technical and commercial solutions. In particular, we can idenfity the thermoelectric plants (using coal, diesel, gas, and oil) and the large hydroelectric plants [22]. The generation plants using non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) is the most suitable alternative for the

The electrical system in Venezuela is an interconnected system that combines large hydro and thermal power plants. The hydroelectric power plants contribute more than 62% of the electrical potential that reaches households and industries across the nation, while 35% of electricity generation comes from thermal power plants, and almost 3% corresponds to distributed generation systems that have been installed in the last six years [27]. The geographical and climatic conditions provide a very encouraging scene for the development of alternative energy systems. The north of the Venezuelan territory has a great potential in the field of wind energy and solar irradiation. Also the central regions have good solar irradiation levels, which put Venezuela as an ideal region for the implementation of

such energy projects. However, the development and use of these types of energy are found in a very limited state mainly due to the lack of foreign exchange and the low cost of fossil fuels. However, the ongoing energy crisis of the electricity sector is forcing the development of plans that include the use of available resources to minimize the generation deficit [28], [29]. The national government has developed plans for the domestic energy saving and the use of alternative energy sources. The National Plan of Wind Generation and the Light Sowing Plan are two examples, both launched in 2006 [28], [29]. The National Plan of Wind Generation has proposed the construction of four wind power parks in the country, which will produce 175 MWh. The Light Sowing Plan has allowed the installation of several isolated PV systems with different battery backup power levels (1200 Wp, 600 Wp, 300 Wp, etc.) for the electrification of schools, canteens, medical centers, communication centers and water purification systems in areas of difficult access and limited economic resources. This plan has helped more than 500 communities in 22 states of the country. This plan also considers the installation of hybrid systems formed by PV systems and small diesel and wind generators, which can meet the electricity needs of isolated communities. As far as regulations are concerned, it should be noted that the Venezuelan government is the responsible for generating and distributing electric power through a public company (Corpoelec), as referred to in Article 8 of the Basic Law of Electric Service (LOSE). This law provides for the selfgeneration and gives priority to the use of alternative energy sources, as can be interpreted in Articles 44 and 45, allowing in principle the creation of microgrids in island mode. However, in normal operation, the self-energy produced by alternative energy sources cannot be selling to the public company. Only in exceptional circumstances the public company should pay for the sell energy, as set out in Article 47. Venezuela is starting the implementation of alternative energy systems, which undoubtedly, will lead the country to a new dimension in energy concerns. However, these activities are being conducted by the Venezuelan government without a specific regulation, which may give rise to problems of standardization as the origins of the systems being installed are very different. Therefore, a legislation encouraging the use of green energy should be developed and a legal framework should be created to support and benefit anyone who is inclined to its application. VI. STATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN BRAZIL Electricity generation in Brazil is carried out mainly by hydraulic power plants. In December 2010, 79.3% of the installed capacity was based on such sources, including large hydraulic production and small hydro. The remaining capacity is distributed in thermal power plants based on natural gas

(8.6%), biomass (4.2%), diesel (3.9%) and coal (1.3%), nuclear plants (1.9%) and wind power plants (0.8%) [30]. Solar generation is very unrepresentative in this distribution and no specific data are included in [30]. It is expected that by the end of December 2015, solar and wind power can reach 3.8% of the total capacity of power generation. At the same time, biomass power plants could represent 5.3% of the production capacity. The low wind production in the country contrasts with the high availability of wind. The greatest potential for wind is measured in the northeast, primarily along the coast, in the east (Jequitinhonha Valley) and in the south, in which the largest wind farm of the country is installed (Osorio, Rio Grande do Sul) with an output of 150 MW. Installed wind capacity in the country until December 2010 was 826 MW [30], which corresponds to less than 1% of available power. However, nowadays the wind is mainly used in the country for pumping the irrigation water. Brazil is also a country with high solar radiation. Some measures have been registered between 8 and 22 MJ/m2. In particular, the northeast region has solar radiation levels comparable to those of the best regions in the world, as the city of Dongola in the desert region of Sudão and Dagget in the Mojave Desert. These levels can also be achieved in other more distant locations to the line of Equator, as South and Southeast regions, where most of the country's economic activity is concentrated. The expectation is that the expansion of PV production occurs in rural areas, from projects that pursue the electrification of the most disadvantaged communities. The Light for All program, launched in 2013 by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, installed several PV systems in the State of Bahia [31]. In order to bring electricity to more than 10 million people living in the interior of the country, the program covers care demands in rural areas through three types of initiatives. The first is the extension of the distribution network to the most disadvantaged areas, the second includes the installation of distributed generation in isolated systems and, finally, the third approach is based on the installation of micro-production systems [31]. In relation to the current regulations, it should be noted that the Brazilian electric system is governed by the laws dictated by the Ministério das Minas e Energia regarding the marketing of electricity, infrastructure incentives and incentives to installation of renewable energy sources [32]. In Brazil, the microgrid initiatives are focused on locations which may never be connected to the national grid due to their remoteness. Two examples are the Lençóis island [33], an operative microgrid located in the Northeast region of Maranhao, and the Trinidad Island, a project under feasility study in the Rio State [26].

TABLE I RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE IBERO-AMERICAN COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN THE RIGMEI NETWORK Countries

Production of RE

Future plans for the production of RE

Requirements for the grid injection of RE

Technical requirements for electrical microgrids

Argentina Brazil Chile Spain Mexico Peru Portugal Venezuela

0,7 % (2009) 5,0 % (2010) 3,1 % (2007) 22,8 % (2010) 2,7 % (2006) 1,0 % (2010) 24,1 % (2010) 3,0 % (2012)

8 % (2016) 9,1 % (2015) 20 % (2020) 31 % (2020) 20 % (2015) 23 % (2021) 31 % (2020) *

No No No Yes No No Yes No

No No No Yes No No No No

* data not available

energies is much higher in Spain and Portugal (about 35% of consumed energy comes from clean sources) compared with the situation prevailing in IberoAmerican countries.

VII. RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MICROGRIDS IN THE IBEROAMERICAN REGION As a summary, Table I shows the most significant data in relation to the production and future plans for renewable energy in the Ibero-American countries participating in the RIGMEI project. The table also includes the existence (or not) of technical requirements related to the connection of RE systems to the electrical grid as well as those requirements regulating the creation of electrical microgrids. It is interesting to note that the current production of energy from renewable energy sources is less than 5% in most of the considered countries, except in the case of Spain and Portugal. The table also reveals that, precisely because of the low penetration of distributed generation, in most countries there are no technical requirements for connecting these RE systems to the grid. A more detailed analysis of the data shown in Table I leads to conclusions which are discussed in the following section. Apart from the microgrid initiatives presented above in Chile and Brazil, other experiences are identified in Mexico and Colombia. Puerto Alcatraz, San Juanico, is an operative microgrid located in Baja California. Puertecitos is a project under execution, also in Baja California. In Hidalgo State, there is nano grids installed in poor houses. In Bogotá, Silice project is a pilot smart microgrid application [26].

c) The technical requirements regulating the operation of electrical microgrids are very new in Spain. Nowdays it is possible to use microgrids in low voltage distribution systems and for micro-production environments. The requirements used to connect a microgrid to the distribution system present severe technical constraints. Today electrical microgrids are not considered as a real solution to the energy problem. d) Ibero-American countries do not have a specific legislation for creating electrical microgrids. Some of them even do not have a legislation that allows the connection of micro-generators to the power grid. e) Microgrids are very complex power systems, including power generation, storage and consumption devices. Their study, design and implementation require a wide range of specialists in different topics such as energy sources, power electronics, power systems, control and power management, and communications. The RIGMEI network is made up of experts in all these areas, facilitating a fluid dialogue and exchange of scientific and technical knowledge among its members and the rest of society.

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

f) Current microgrid installations in the Ibero-American region are designed to basically operate in islanding mode. They are devised to provide power to places that can never be connected to the national power grid due to their remoteness.

The thematic network RIGMEI has conducted a study on the growing state of distributed generation and electrical microgrids in the Ibero-American countries involved in the network. The findings are detailed below: a) The Ibero-American countries are rich in fossil fuels, for example, oil in Venezuela and coal in Chile. The current low cost of these fuels makes penetration of distributed generation based on renewable energy sources low. b) Governments are sensitive to environmental problems arising from the use of fossil fuels and they have developed national plans to promote the use of renewable energy. The state of penetration of these

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