Smart Grid | Success Stories
Research and Demonstration of Photovoltaic Mini-grid Hybrid System in a Remote Community in British Columbia
This is an example of a rural electric cooperative independently managed by local residents. Due to the high cost of electricity from three diesel generators (3 X 90 kilowatt), the community installed smart pre-payment meters that would provide the 22 residential home owners with information on their daily electricity use through a “pay-as-you-go” program.
This research and demonstration project evaluated the benefits of three key improvements: the first was to install photovoltaic systems distributed on six houses in the residential sector of the mini-grid totalling 27 kilowatts; the second was to replace a 90kW generator with a smaller 30 kilowatt unit and improve the system control of the new mini-grid photovoltaic hybrid system; and the third was to install a switch for the control of commercial and institutional loads to improve the overall efficiency of the mini-grid. The annual savings in diesel fuel was evaluated at 26 000 litres compared to the reference year - a savings of 25% of fuel and a reduction of 73 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information about this project, read the fact sheet "International R&D Collaboration on Photovoltaic Hybrid Systems Within Mini-grids".