Design and Optimization of a PV-Diesel Hybrid System with Storage for Supplying an Off-Grid Site in Burkina Faso: Integration of a Smart Grid

Abstract

Burkina Faso has a very low rural electrification rate (7.02 % in 2023), a situation exacerbated by a growing population. This work proposes a decentralized electrification solution. The country possesses significant solar potential (5.5 kWh/m 2 /day), which is harnessed here through a PV-Diesel hybrid mini-power plant equipped with a smart management system (Smart Grid). Designed to supply 100 off-grid households, this plant has the dual objective of facilitating production control and minimizing its cost. Sized to meet an average daily demand of 600 kWh/day, the designed plant integrates PV-Diesel generators, a storage system, an inverter, and a Smart Grid. Implementing the smart grid via the HOMER Pro software enabled the optimization of energy production from each plant component. A study of the influence of the plant’s operational parameters on its performance showed that the size of the energy storage and the PV array reduces the operating time of the diesel generator. Furthermore, the solar fraction is more sensitive to the size of the PV array than to that of the batteries, whose influence becomes negligible beyond three days of autonomy. Five scenarios, obtained by removing one or several components from the initial system, were compared based on the Life Cycle Cost (LCC), the initial investment, and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs over 20 years, while integrating pollutant emission abatement costs. The scenario including the PV-Diesel generators, storage, and the inverter proved to be the best compromise, combining economic optimization with environmental preservation.