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Implementing Gridshare Technology in Rural Bhutan: Analyzing Effects on Electrical Brownouts and Assessing Community Acceptance

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Implementing Gridshare Technology in Rural Bhutan: Analyzing Effects on Electrical Brownouts and Assessing Community Acceptance IMPLEMENTING GRIDSHARE TECHNOLOGY IN RURAL BHUTAN: ANALYZING EFFECTS ON ELECTRICAL BROWNOUTS AND ASSESSING COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE by Margaret Joyce Harper A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Environmental Systems: Energy Technology and Policy Committee Membership Dr. Arne Jacobson, Committee Chair Dr. Eileen Cashman, Committee Member Dr. Mark Baker, Committee Member Dr. Chris Dugaw, Graduate Coordinator July 2013 ABSTRACT IMPLEMENTING GRIDSHARE TECHNOLOGY IN RURAL BHUTAN: ANALYZING EFFECTS ON ELECTRICAL BROWNOUTS AND ASSESSING COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE Margaret Harper This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot installation of GridShares, demand-side management devices designed to reduce the severity of brownouts on isolated, power-limited mini-grids. The low voltages associated with brownouts cause lights to dim and resistance heating appliances, such as rice cookers and water boilers, to function poorly. GridShare devices and the accompanying education program were designed by a team consisting of the author and fellow undergraduate and graduate students from Humboldt State University. In coordination with partner organizations, the team built and installed 90 GridShares in all households and businesses connected to a 40 kW village micro-hydroelectric system in Rukubji, Bhutan in July 2011. Prior to the installation, residents of Rukubji faced routine brownouts due to the use of high- wattage appliances to cook breakfast and dinner. Through a combination of education, indication and enforcement, the GridShare limited this peak demand while still enabling the use of these large appliances when excess energy was available. After the GridShare installation, the village experienced severe brownouts on 92% fewer days than in the prior year. Though the installation did not eliminate the brownout problem entirely, in ii household surveys, residents stated that the GridShares made the grid more predictable and provided information necessary for residents to make informed decisions regarding their electricity use. Additional data from electricity billing records, individual household data loggers and GridShare serial data provide further insight into the functioning of the system. Following the one-year pilot test agreement, the community of Rukubji decided by consensus to keep the GridShares installed, and the Bhutan Power Corporation continues to support the effort. This pilot project indicates that user- interactive demand-side management strategies, such as the GridShare, are effective at reducing brownouts on mini-grids. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all of the team members at HSU and in Bhutan who helped make this project possible. Core members of the GridShare team have included James Apple, Nathan Chase, Chhimi Dorji, Joey Hiller, Kirstin Hervin, Kyle Palmer, Tom Quetchenbach, James Robinson, and Jenny Tracy. This project would have never reached its level of success without any one of you. I also thank Peter Alstone, Jessica Arnold, Shilo Harley, Blair Kinser, Patricia Lai, Nathan Lohse, Kristen Radesky, Adam Schumaker, Colin Sheppard and Zak Stanko, who all kindly volunteered their time and ideas. Dr. Arne Jacobson, Dr. Eileen Cashman, Dr. Mark Baker, Dr. Peter Lehman and Dr. Josh Meisel have served as faculty advisors both for the project and/or for my effort on this thesis. I appreciate all of the support, advice and experience you each provided. I also thank Dr. Ken Bahn of James Madison University for his thoughtful advice and review. Additionally, local experts Rick Mayberry, Dr. Wes Bliven, Dean Davenport and Burt Campton provided technical advice for the design and installation, while Jerri Jones, Steve Karp, Alina Taalman, Carolyn Ortenberger, Allison Oakland, Kacie Flynn and Anthony Johnson offered administrative support for the project. Thanks as well to everyone at SERC for sharing space, equipment, ideas and enthusiasm. Further, I owe thanks to Dr. Chris Greacen, both for originally proposing the idea of the GridShare and for providing significant and constructive comments on my review of demand-side management measures which I incorporated in this thesis. Others who provided valuable commentary on this section include Richard Engel, Ranjit Deshmukh, Juan Pablo Carvallo, Tom Quetchenbach, Ashwin Gambhir, Christian Casillas, Andrew Carter, Daniel Schnitzer, Xavier Vallvé and an anonymous reviewer. Parts of this thesis are based upon analysis we conducted and presented as a team in Quetchenbach et al. (2013). I would like to again thank my co-authors and the anonymous reviewers of that article who helped to refine my thought process and presentation of this material. iv Our project partners at the Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC) and Department of Energy of Bhutan (Bhutan DoE) were indispensable. BPC engineers and electricians Chhejay Wangdi, Kuenley Dorji, Sangay Phuntsho, Phuentsho, Ngawang Norbu, Kinley Tenzin and Dawa Tshering helped implement and manage the project in Rukubji, while administrative support was graciously offered by the BPC MD, Dasho Bharat Tamang, as well as Kinley Dorji, J.D. Sharma, Norbu Tshering, Nawaraj Chhetri and Dorji Namgay. Chhimi Dorji served so many roles in this project, as a student team member, site logistics coordinator, Bhutan DoE liaison, translator and friend. Chhimi, I can’t thank you enough. In addition to inspiring the project, Karma P. Dorji, along with Ngawang Choeda, provided additional administrative support from the Bhutan DoE. Along with the BPC and Bhutan DoE engineers and electricians, local translators Phub Dorji, Kinley, Deki Choeden and Sonam Tobgay Tshering enabled cross-cultural communication. Lastly, I would like to sincerely thank the residents of Rukubji, Bumiloo, Sangdo and Tsenpokto, particularly Phub Gyeltsen and Wangmo, our hosts in Rukubji, for graciously welcoming us into their homes, providing us with practical feedback and keeping us full of butter tea. This pilot project was largely funded by a grant from the US EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition. Although the research described in this thesis has been funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency through grant SU834749 to HSU, it has not been subjected to the Agency’s required peer and policy review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. Additionally, this material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1011464. Further funds and in-kind donations were provided by the Schatz Energy Research Center, the BPC, DoE Bhutan, Sunstone Circuits, Screaming Circuits, Eureka Rotary Club, Geoffrey Bain Memorial Fund and Industrial Electric of Arcata, California. And of course, on a more personal note, I would like to thank my ever-supportive parents, my inspirational housemates and friends, and my dear Levon for helping me stay healthy and grounded throughout this project and thesis process. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x LIST OF ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 1.1. GridShare Development and the EPA P3 Design Contest ............................... 2 1.2. GridShare Technology and the Three-Prong Approach: Education, Indication and Enforcement .................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............................. 10 2.1. Mini-grids ....................................................................................................... 10 2.1.1. Limited Generation and Brownouts on Mini-grids ......................... 12 2.2. Methods for Addressing Load Management on Mini-grids ........................... 15 2.2.1. DSM Strategies ............................................................................... 16 2.2.2. DSM Technologies .......................................................................... 28 2.2.3. Summary of DSM Measures ........................................................... 39 2.3. Bhutan ............................................................................................................ 41 2.3.1. Government and History ................................................................. 43 2.3.2. Culture, Language and Literacy ...................................................... 44 2.3.3. Gender Equality ............................................................................... 46 2.3.4. Economy .......................................................................................... 47 vi 2.3.5. Energy Production and Consumption ............................................. 48 2.3.6. Energy Management
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