Hybrid Microgrid Optimization for Smart City Planning on Saint Martin's Island in Bangladesh

The Saint Martin is a popular tourist destination and only the coral island in Bangladesh. A huge number of travelers visit from home and abroad. However, severe electricity shortages are hindering its transformation towards a smart city. The existing ground mounted solar PV and diesel generator is insufficient to meet the rising load demand, causing visitor dissatisfaction. The ocean wave converter can extract a significant portion of energy from the surrounding Bay of Bengal that has not yet been analyzed. This study proposes a grid independent microgrid energy management planning addressing Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). The energy demand is estimated under smart city context. The HOMER software optimizes four distinct microgrid topologies, comprising of ground PV (GPV), floating PV (FPV), wind turbine generator (WTG), bio-diesel generator (BDG), eco wave power (EWP), bidirectional converter (BDC), first life battery (FLB) and second life battery (SLB). The results shows that the GPV/FPV/WTG/EWP/BDG/BDC/SLB hybrid architecture is most favorable configuration achieving SDG 7. This topology is affordable, reliable and sustainable for the remote area. The sensitivity analysis is also performed. Overall, the work provides policymakers the multidisciplinary expertise needed to transform a small island towards a tourist-intensive smart city using local energy resources while also ensuring decent lifestyle for islanders.