Electrification is a relevant subject in the industrial market and provides many benefits. The motivation for this project is to reduce the fire hazard by removing the hydraulic fluids from the steel mill environment. This project aims to analyze the existing hydraulic sealing unit and evaluate the electrification alternatives. This was done by assessing the performance of the current sealing unit to identify the needs that are essential for the product. Concepts that fulfill these needs were then generated and evaluated to decide the optimal solution for this application. The final solution of this project is a concept that replaces the hydraulic cylinder with an electromechanical actuator in the form of a planetary roller screw. This results in a product that performs the punch operation at a sequence time of 0.6 seconds. This solution reaches the goal of electrifying the function while still being compatible with the steel mill environment and spatial constraints.

No description available.

Station Service Voltage Transformer (SSVT) is a special class of single-phase high voltage instrument transformer with a power winding and optional metering winding at the secondary. The SSVT is capable of being connected directly to the transmission line and providing 120 to 480 V at the secondary power terminals and 115 V at the metering terminals. The power rating of the secondary is normally anywhere from 25 kVA up to 333 kVA. The SSVT was initially developed as a means to provide control power in a substation without the need for stepdown and distribution transformers. Over time, the properties of the SSVT made it an ideal power source for many different applications. Today the SSVT is being installed in numerous applications around the world. Some typical applications include but are not limited to: remote cell towers, transmission tower lighting, oil and gas, mining projects, substation auxiliary power and rural electrification. In any of the listed applications, it is still necessary to acquire accurate revenue metering for the power companies to charge for power usage. In many cases this requires the installation of instrument transformers to perform the metering. Unfortunately, the metering and power windings of the SSVT cannot be operated simultaneously. When a load is applied to the power winding on the SSVT, a load current is reflected back into the primary winding. This current generates a drop in voltage through the primary reactance and resistance. It is these values which are reflected back into the metering winding. The accuracy of the metering winding will fall out of acceptable limits when the voltage drop is present. This research proposes a new method to provide both power and accurate metering, simultaneously, in a dual secondary SSVT. The accuracy of the metering winding remains essentially unaffected by the load on the power winding if the load is less than the maximum rating of the compensator. The result is a single transformer capable of replacing the functionally of two separate transformers. This new approach will have a broad impact in the development of future substation designs.

No description available.

No description available.

Electricity is a fundamental energy carrier for modern life and for economic prosperity. All kinds of equipment use electricity as their power source, including domestic and industrial applications. There is a trend to adopting more electricity-based equipment in all areas. The modern power infrastructures can sufficiently supply most cities and developed areas. However, certain rural areas are still unable to get access to electric power due to the inconvenient locations or less developed economy. This makes the living conditions in such areas extremely inconvenient and further hinders the economic development in those areas.Electrification for rural areas has been a critical task for some developing countries. To accomplish this task, the options are limited to build a stand-alone power system or construct a power transmission line for the chosen location. A stand-alone power system has commonly been based on fossil fuel, such as a diesel generator, with low capital cost compared to a long connection, but with significant running cost of fuel. Recent improvements of renewable sources and storage, and more efficient loads, have made renewable sources much more competitive than before for a stand-alone electricity supply. The choice between different renewable energies depends on the local natural resources. It is a more flexible way to providing the electricity and a more efficient and environmental-friendly way since the energy loss caused by transmission is eliminated. On the other hand, the grid connection option involves building a transmission line to connect the rural area to the national grid, which is a more traditional approach to provide power. The cost of this method depends on the relative distance between the rural area and the nation grid.The choice between the above two mentioned electrification options is the first step when considering providing power to the rural area. This thesis focuses on the electrification for rural areas and comparing the above two methods, finding out the break-even point. It is of current interest as the technology for both options is changing, and the break-even is also changing.In this thesis, a mathematical model for on-grid electrification is proposed and simulated on MATLAB. The off-grid option is simulated by HOMER. The results show how the LCOE of on-grid and off-grid electrification as well as the off-grid configuration are affected by different parameters like the distance to grid, load demand level, PV cost, WT cost, storage cost, the diesel price and so on. By comparing the results, the break-even point of two options is also presented. / Elektricitet är den viktigaste energibäraren för det moderna livet och för ekonomiskt välstånd. Många typer av utrustning använder el som sin kraftkälla, i hushållet såväl som I industrin, och det finns en tendens att öka användning av el inom alla områden. Moderna elnät levererar till de flesta städer och utvecklade områden. Dock har vissa landsbygdsområden fortfarande inte elförsörjning, på grund av svårtillgängliga områden och mindre utvecklade ekonomier. Detta gör att levnadsförhållandena i sådana områden är lägre än om man hade haft tillgång till el, och ytterligare hindrar den ekonomiska utvecklingen i dessa områden.Elektrifiering för landsbygdsområden har varit en viktig uppgift för vissa utvecklingsländer. Två extrema fall är att bygga ett fristående lokalt kraftsystem, eller att bygga nya kraftledningar för att ansluta till ett befintligt elnät. Ett fristående kraftsystem har historiskt sett typiskt berott på fossila bränslen, till exempel med en dieselgenerator, vilket ger lägre kapitalkostnad än en lång ledning, fast med betydande driftskostnader för bränsle. De senaste förbättringarna av förnybara källor och lagring, samt effektivare laster, har gjort förnybara källor mycket mer konkurrenskraftiga än tidigare för en fristående elförsörjning.Valet mellan de två ovannämnda alternativen är det första steget när man elektrifierar ett landsbygdsområde. Denna uppsats fokuserar på elektrifiering för landsbygdsområden och jämför dessa två metoder. Det är av aktuellt intresse eftersom tekniken för båda alternativen är i förändring.I denna uppsats, en matematisk modell för on-grid elektrifiering är föreslås och simuleras på MATLAB. Alternativet off-grid simuleras av HOMER. Resultaten visar hur LCOE av on-grid och off-grid elektrifiering såväl som nätverkskonfigurationen påverkas av olika parametrar som avståndet till rutnätet, lastbehovsnivå, PV kostnad, WT kostnad, lagerkostnad, dieselpriset och så vidare. Genom att jämföra resultaten, jämnpunkten av två alternativ är också presenterad.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

In this thesis I study the impact of electrification using solar photovoltaic panels in the rural Ecuadorian community of Las Balsas. Many large-scale development organizations like the World Bank promote small-scale renewable energy technologies like solar photovoltaics as being crucial in helping poor rural communities generate more income. My research however, both in the field and in the literature, shows income generation from these projects tends to be minimal. I find that the introduction of solar electrification is most important for social applications like music, movies, cell phones, and lighting. FEDETA, the NGO that installed the solar photovoltaics, promotes the development project not as a neoliberal market-based income-generation project, but rather as a humanistic improvement in the “quality of life” of local residents. I analyze this goal of the project in light of the development theories developed over the past few decades. I question how well solar photovoltaics fits into the “small is beautiful” appropriate technology sector. While solar photovoltaic systems have the potential to build small-scale islands of autonomous electricity production in a more environmentally sustainable manner than grid electricity based on fossil fuels, I caution that this is not necessarily the most equitable way to provide electricity to the rural poor in developing countries. While solar home systems have much potential to provide (often minimal amounts of) electricity to extremely rural areas, the service provided is in many cases inferior to grid electricity. While solar photovoltaic technology does provide many potential benefits in areas not reached by grid electricity, NGOs and policy makers should be wary of seeing the technology as a panacea for sustainable development. Solar photovoltaics as a technology has a long way to go to provide energy services comparable to that offered by most grid systems. As with any technology its actual use is not predetermined, but rather is influenced by the local social and cultural contexts. / text

Energy plays a pivotal role in human development. Not only is it sine qua non for national economic development, but it also provides services that enhance social development including, health and sanitation, education, potable water, cooking. In spite of this, at present, there are about two billion people without access to modern sources of energy, most of them in the rural areas of the developing world. Consequentially, the social and economic development of these two billion people hangs in the balance. In recent times, however, considerable advocacy has taken place in the academic and policy studies, environmental fora, and national agenda about solar PV energy technology serving as a panacea to the energy problems of rural populations in developing countries, especially Sub-Sahara Africa, whilst also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Notwithstanding this great advocacy, the literature on the dissemination of this technology has been incomplete in fostering understanding on the discourses surrounding its low dissemination rates in rural Ghana compared to countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe; the sustainability of installed solar PV systems; and the usefulness of solar PV in serving the needs of the rural poor. In resorting to an interdisciplinary approach (methodology and theoretical foundation), this study has explored the energy perspectives of Ghana, the dynamics of rural electrification and energy needs, and the interplay of processes and forces underpinning the adoption and non-adoption of solar PV in rural Ghana. Results of this study show that, Ghana has abundant renewable energy resources, especially solar radiation. However, the study further reveals that the resource base alone of solar PV technology is not the panacea to its successful dissemination and the energy needs of all in rural Ghana. Significantly, this study has shown that the adoption and non-adoption perspectives of solar PV in rural Ghana and the sustainability of installed solar PV systems, as well as the disparate levels of solar PV dissemination in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe, are contingent on multi-dimensional circumstances. This stands in contrast to the majority of literature that often emphasise cost as the sole determining factor of the non-adoption of solar PV in most developing countries. Results of this study therefore have implications for rural energy supply policy approaches and other institutional arrangements on solar PV issues in Ghana.

The recent awareness created by the UN Secretary General on the need to provide universal energy for all by 2030, which culminated in the declaration of 2012 as the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All”, laid particular emphasis on the challenge of funding rural electrification in developing countries, and the need for innovative ways and financing options to be developed at national, regional and global levels towards achieving the ‘energy for all’ target of 2030. This research, as part of efforts towards remedying the rural electrification scourge of developing countries, particularly in Nigeria, provides financing options for rural electrification as far as the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) context is concerned. The study does this by first identifying appropriate least-cost electrification supply mode (Grid, Mini-grid and Off-grid), and estimating the financing requirement for providing universal energy access to rural Nigeria by 2030, using a spatial electricity planning model called the ‘Network Planner’. Results from this research shows that by the end of the seventeen year planning period (2013-2030), 98% of currently un-electrified communities will be viable for grid expansion, while only 2% will be mini-grid compatible. This is based on a proposed MV line extension of 12,193,060 metres or (12,193 kilometres), LV line length proposal of 711,954,700 metres or (711,954 kilometres), and an estimated total cost of US$34.5 billion investment within the planning period. More so, a total number of 28.5 million households are to be electrified by 2030, which is equivalent to an estimated 125million people to be provided electricity by 2030.The analysis was done for the 36 states of Nigeria and the entire country, using data from the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria. In addition to the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) of the FGN, which gets funding from yearly budgetary allocations from the FGN, fines obtained by NERC, surplus appropriation, interests accruing to the REF and donations from various sources, the following financing options were recommended for rural electrification in Nigeria: The establishment of a Renewable Energy Development Charge (REDC); The establishment of a Rural Electrification Fund Tax (REFT) Law; adopting rural electrification as part of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) for oil and other companies; Exploring the option of Crowd-funding; and Establishing a Renewable Energy Private Equity Fund in Nigeria.