Remote Microgrids Digitization: Design and Implementation for Sustainability

Abstract

The development of Microgrids is taking a significant boom worldwide as they complement traditional electrical systems by providing concrete solutions to very different issues such as resilience, reliability, lower emissions and lower operating costs. Several countries, serving remote communities, have a large number of unsustainable remote microgrids with high operating costs and low continuity and quality of service to end consumers. A way to improve the sustainability of the MGRs through their digitization using measurement, communications and systems is presented. This allows monitoring, supervision and control of the generation assets and its networks and loads. The digitization implements an economic operation of the generation resources, including distributed renewable energy resources (DERs), gradually normalizing the collection of revenues supporting the fulfillment of supplying electricity to everyone, one of the objectives of the United Nations for the sustainable development.