Wind-diesel microgrid system for remote villages in Kenya

Kenya, like most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is faced with the problem of limited electricity access especially in rural areas, which in turn hinders national socioeconomic development. To address this issue, this paper proposes the use of wind-diesel microgrid systems to achieve rural electrification. A power flow model is developed to analyze the reliability of a remote wind-diesel microgrid system as demand grows over a period of time. A remote village in Northern Kenya, which is currently being served by an off grid wind-diesel system is used as a case study. The power flow model is used to investigate how the percentage of wind and diesel energy input to the system due to varying diesel unit sizes and wind capacity affects system reliability as demand increases.