AI-Powered renewable Mini-Grids (AR-Mini) for rural areas in Sri Lanka
‘AI-Powered Renewable Mini-Grids (AR-Mini) for rural areas in Sri Lanka’ is a collaboration between Alta Vision (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka and Robert Gordon University (RGU) in the UK.
AR-Mini aims to fill the energy gap in remote areas in Sri Lanka that are not connected to the national grid. The project is funded by Innovate UK – the United Kingdom’s innovation agency.
A mini-grid, also known as a microgrid, is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or in conjunction with the area’s main electrical grid. It typically provides electricity to a localized group of customers, such as a village, small town, or an industrial compound.
Mini-grids are often powered by renewable energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, or small hydroelectric generators, making them a sustainable option for remote or off-grid areas. They are equipped with their own power-generating capacity and sometimes energy storage systems, allowing them to maintain power supply even when there’s a disruption in the main grid.
Mini-grids play a crucial role in enhancing energy access, especially in developing countries, by offering a reliable, affordable and cleaner energy alternative to communities not served by the main grid.
The first AR-Mini deployment will happen in Colombo as a pilot location to conduct research and development to improve the technology. It consists of solar panels and a wind turbine as power sources, a battery storage system and a generator as a backup. Rather than deploying a traditional mini-grid only focusing on power-generating infrastructure, with AR-Mini, we exploit the advances of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize mini-grid management, considering the supply of multiple energy sources, storage capacities, demand and other aspects like weather and social factors. AI will be utilized to manage supply and demand uncertainties, optimizing renewable sources’ use while minimizing reliance on the grid.
The end objectives of the project include designing and developing AR-Mini, managed by an AI-powered mini-grid management system that optimizes core operations and assessing the feasibility of AR-Mini in terms of improving access to low-carbon, reliable and affordable energy in Sri Lanka.
The project uniquely addresses the energy ‘trilemma’ (distribution control, demand-side management and operation & maintenance) by ensuring energy is low-carbon, affordable and reliable. This initiative promises to mitigate environmental impacts and offers a cost-effective solution to energy provision in remote areas where grid connectivity poses a significant challenge.
The market opportunity for AR-Mini is vast. The project sets the stage for a scalable and replicable model that can be adopted in other regions facing similar challenges, including South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
As AR-Mini moves towards realization, its success will transform energy access in rural Sri Lanka and inspire a global shift towards more sustainable, equitable and resilient energy systems powered by AI.
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