Design of a Containerized Microgrid for Electricity Supply in Colombian Non-Interconnected Zones

This paper describes a five-step methodology for designing a containerized Photovoltaic (PV)-based microgrid to provide energy in Colombian Non-Interconnected Zones (NIZs). The proposal includes defining the design requirements and constraints, preliminary studies on solar radiation and load behavior, equipment selection, control system design, and a basic economic analysis. The methodology is applied to design a microgrid and evaluated for the best-and worst-case scenarios of solar irradiance in Colombian NIZs, resulting in a containerized solution including 60 solar panels, 6 inverters, 28 batteries, and a diesel generator. This microgrid is able to feed 50 NIZ users during most of the day from solar energy alone, and store all generation surplus in properly sized batteries for later use.