{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64470"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64470","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Mitiiation of Blackout in Kigali Using a Microgrid with Advanced Energy Storage and Solar Photovoltaics","abstract":"A blackout is defined as the loss of electric power for a given period in a particular area. With increasing dependence on reliable electric power, the social and economic ramifications of blackouts are dire, negatively impacting the productivity, safety, and security of communities. To reduce blackout occurrence, power system planners incorporate redundancy and advanced controls to the grid to make it more adaptable to disturbances. However, adding redundant transmission lines is not only expensive, it is suboptimal in some contexts. While it is unattainable to have no blackout, it is possible and necessary to implement measures that minimize the likelihood and scale of these outages. This work proposes a solution that uses a microgrid with advanced energy storage and solar PV to mitigate blackouts in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. A description and steady state analysis of major weaknesses in the Rwandan electric grid is presented. A microgrid application capable of islanding from the system is simulated in the steady state and shown to strengthen the system and decrease the likelihood of blackouts in Kigali. The composition of the microgrid is then designed, simulated, and optimized for technical and financial feasibility using the HOMER model. A microgrid that uses energy storage and solar PV is shown to not only be feasible, but also competitive with current costs of electricity in Rwanda. For comparison, different combinations that include diesel generation are also simulated.","abstract_html":"A blackout is defined as the loss of electric power for a given period in a particular area. With increasing dependence on reliable electric power, the social and economic ramifications of blackouts are dire, negatively impacting the productivity, safety, and security of communities. To reduce blackout occurrence, power system planners incorporate redundancy and advanced controls to the grid to make it more adaptable to disturbances. However, adding redundant transmission lines is not only expensive, it is suboptimal in some contexts. While it is unattainable to have no blackout, it is possible and necessary to implement measures that minimize the likelihood and scale of these outages. This work proposes a solution that uses a microgrid with advanced energy storage and solar PV to mitigate blackouts in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. A description and steady state analysis of major weaknesses in the Rwandan electric grid is presented. A microgrid application capable of islanding from the system is simulated in the steady state and shown to strengthen the system and decrease the likelihood of blackouts in Kigali. The composition of the microgrid is then designed, simulated, and optimized for technical and financial feasibility using the HOMER model. A microgrid that uses energy storage and solar PV is shown to not only be feasible, but also competitive with current costs of electricity in Rwanda. For comparison, different combinations that include diesel generation are also simulated.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Karugarama, Marvin Kiiza"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Electrical Engineering","degree_department":"Electrical and Computer Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Tam, Kwa Sur"],"committee_members":["Centeno, Virgilio A.","Mili, Lamine M."],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-19","date_published":"2016-01-19","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:20Z","subjects":["Blackouts","microgrids","solar PV","energy storage","Rwanda"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:7077"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:7077","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64470","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Tam, Kwa Sur"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Centeno, Virgilio A.","Mili, Lamine M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Electrical and Computer Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Karugarama, Marvin Kiiza"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2016-01-20T09:00:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-01-20T09:00:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-01-19"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Electrical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Blackouts","microgrids","solar PV","energy storage","Rwanda"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:7077"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64470"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A blackout is defined as the loss of electric power for a given period in a particular area. With increasing dependence on reliable electric power, the social and economic ramifications of blackouts are dire, negatively impacting the productivity, safety, and security of communities. To reduce blackout occurrence, power system planners incorporate redundancy and advanced controls to the grid to make it more adaptable to disturbances. However, adding redundant transmission lines is not only expensive, it is suboptimal in some contexts. While it is unattainable to have no blackout, it is possible and necessary to implement measures that minimize the likelihood and scale of these outages. This work proposes a solution that uses a microgrid with advanced energy storage and solar PV to mitigate blackouts in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. A description and steady state analysis of major weaknesses in the Rwandan electric grid is presented. A microgrid application capable of islanding from the system is simulated in the steady state and shown to strengthen the system and decrease the likelihood of blackouts in Kigali. The composition of the microgrid is then designed, simulated, and optimized for technical and financial feasibility using the HOMER model. A microgrid that uses energy storage and solar PV is shown to not only be feasible, but also competitive with current costs of electricity in Rwanda. 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A microgrid application capable of islanding from the system is simulated in the steady state and shown to strengthen the system and decrease the likelihood of blackouts in Kigali. The composition of the microgrid is then designed, simulated, and optimized for technical and financial feasibility using the HOMER model. A microgrid that uses energy storage and solar PV is shown to not only be feasible, but also competitive with current costs of electricity in Rwanda. 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