Hybrid PV/Diesel system in the community of Remanzo,Beni

Context

During the rainy season, the community is almost inaccessible traveling by land. The transport of diesel to the community, to operate the generator requires a huge logistical effort.
From the central level, diesel is bought on the world market for around USD 1.00 / l, and sold, in subsidized form, for around USD 0.15 / l to electricity companies and authorized cooperatives.

Approach to the problem

For the Remanzo community, it was decided to implement a hybrid system, this with the objective of reducing diesel consumption and reducing the costs of electricity.

A hybrid system was built, consisting of a photovoltaic system and a diesel generator. In addition, there is also a modern battery system that helps store the energy generated from the photovoltaic system.

In the case of Remanzo, it is expected that diesel consumption will be reduced by 100%. This photovoltaic system is designed to operate autonomously for two days in the absence of sunlight, without having to turn on the generator.

Expected impacts 

Through this FV / Diesel hybrid system the following impacts are expected for the community of Remanzo:

• Increse in electricity supply from the current 4 hours to a 24 hours power supply.
• Reduction of electricity generation costs by approximately 50%. This represents a financial saving of around USD 72000 per year.
• Savings of up 85000 liters of diesel per year, corresponding to approximately 225 tons of CO​2.​

​The improvement of the electric service will lead to the following impacts:

• Conversion of streer lighting to the most modern LED technology. This leads to better lighting of public roads , while reducing the cost to the community budget.
• Modernization of domestic electrical connections that currently represent a huge accident risk.