Design and analysis of a mini grid PV system for off grid rural areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a developing country with large population of more than 125 million in a total area of 147570 km2 and her energy consumption per capita is extremely low compare to neighboring countries. Only 32% of the total population having access to the grid electricity clearly indicates the acute shortage of electrical power in Bangladesh. The scenario is far worse in rural areas. After sunset the entire rural Bangladesh plunge into darkness. Photovo1taic (PV) systems, which convert light energy into electricity are a perfect fit in these conditions. PV systems fall into two basic categories: stand-alone and grid .connected. Stand-alone PV systems are designed to operate independently of the electric utility grid, and are generally designed and sized to supply certain DC and/or AC electrical loads. Photovoltaic systems that are connected to the utility grid called utility-connected or grid-tie, or line-tie systems. The objective of the project is to design and analyze a 10kWp PV mini grid (stand alone) system for off grid rural areas of Bangladesh using RETScreen software. Such an analysis will be useful for planning any mini- PV grid in rural areas of Bangladesh.