The importance of microgrids & renewable energy in meeting energy needs of the Brazilian Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon is located in the Northern region of Brazil with rich and unused resources. In spite of the availability of the sources, the region has been characterized with the lack of electricity and, consequently, has a higher level of poverty in the country. Reasons include very low rural electrification, low electricity demand, topographical difficulties, dispersed communities, and small investments to Amazon region which is not supplied by regular. This paper investigates the possibility of using renewable energy based microgrids as an option to electrify in remote areas, in the state of Amazonas. The load profile is generated based on the local information and the available loads. Renewable energy sources such as solar and hydro are utilized in the design of hybrid off-grid microgrid systems. Then, the system is modeled in HOMER. The simulations are run to obtaion an optimal microgrid configuration for Torre da Lua which is an isolated community in the Brazilian Amazon. It is shown that renewable energy based microgrid concept can be utilized to meet the local demand and electrify these isolated communities in a feasible and clean way.