Socio-economic impact of a rural microgrid

Microgrids are in demonstration phase for rural electrification in Nepal. There are different viable options of forming rural microgrids by the interconnection of distributed energy resources like micro-hydropower plant (MHP), Wind Turbines (WT) and photovoltaic (PV) systems. The rural microgrid under study includes three renewable energy sources MHP, WT and PV system, and battery bank for energy storage. The paper presents the current socio-economic status of rural community fulfilling its electrical need from the rural microgrid. The socio-economic challenges for the sustainability of the rural microgrid are also discussed.