Technical viability of mobile solar photovoltaic systems for indigenous nomadic communities in northern latitudes

Svetlana V Obydenkova , Joshua Pearce (1)

1 Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Laboratory

The paper assesses the viability of photovoltaic (PV) to be used in northern latitudes as a part of energy supply system for remote nomadic camps of northern communities of indigenous people involved in reindeer husbandry. Two borderline locations were for the analysis: the southern area of Yakutia, Russia, 56°41'N; 120°46'E, and the northernmost area in Norway, Finnmark, 68°51'N; 24°43'E. The analysis involved 16 simulation scenarios based on different energy consumption models, light sources and electric load schedules. It has been shown that under different economic conditions and given fuel prices a PV-based system in all scenarios is beneficial to serve camp needs when compared to solely fuel-based system. The results show incandescent lights, which are currently common for such settlements, should be replaced with LED lighting to enable PV system portability by reindeer sled. For areas with significant minimal solar flux days partial load scheduling is necessary for economically viable systems. The specific weight of the system (excluding support structure) measured as the system total weight to the number of camp residents ratio can be reduced by a factor of two for optimized loads to 5.8 kg/person for a low energy-intensive camps and 11.0 kg/person for a high energy intensive camps.

Mots clés: solar photovoltaic; mobile solar; cold climate; isolated communities; nomadic; stand alone

Domaines: Energie électrique; Optique / photonique

Svetlana V Obydenkova, Joshua Pearce. Technical viability of mobile solar photovoltaic systems for indigenous nomadic communities in northern latitudes. Renewable Energy, 2016, 89, pp.253-267. ⟨10.1016/j.renene.2015.12.036⟩. ⟨hal-02113570⟩