A design methodology of microgrids for noninterconnected zones of Colombia

Abstract

A methodology for microgrids design in non-interconnected zones of Colombia is proposed in this paper. The microgrid design is carried out following the Colombian electrical normativity. The stages of the methodology are: collection of the field information, evaluation of renewable and nonrenewable resources, load profile estimation, sizing of the generators, design of microgrid topology, and electrical analysis. The size of conductors is selected according to NTC 2050. A study case is presented, where the region of Taroa, in the Department of Guajira, is selected. Taroa is located in a not interconnected zone of Colombia. From meteorological information of the zone and the load analysis, the generation equipment is selected using the software HOMER. The voltages on the microgrid are computed applying power flow analysis using the software Power System Analysis Toolbox. The generators are represented with reduced models to streamline the design. The voltage variations in the buses of the designed microgrid are in the 3% of the nominal voltage. This variation range is defined in Reglamento Técnico de Instalaciones Eléctricas (RETIE). Simulation results, using actual data, assess the feasibility of the proposed methodology.

Keywords

• Power flow
• methodology of design
• standalone microgrids
• NTC 2050
• RETIE