A Sustainable Rural Electrification of Morocco Using Stevia Biomass Power Generation: Lessons for Paraguay

Authors

Keywords:

Crop biomass, Rural electrification, Stevia residues, Electric power yield

Abstract

There is an overreliance of the energy sector of many developed and developing countries on fossil fuels to satisfy their growing energy needs. Paraguay and Morocco are noted to derive the greater share of their energy from fossil fuel imports. However, the high import bills and carbon emissions, as well as the depleting nature of fossil resources have compelled these countries to seek sustainable power sources. Bioenergy from agricultural residues is an example of such sources due to the high agricultural production in Paraguay and Morocco. Therefore, in this study, the potential of electric energy generation from the biomass of three different varieties of Bertoni namely; Gawi, SugHigh3, and Pop in rural regions of Morocco has been analyzed. The analysis showed that the capacity of the electricity generation from stevia biomass for the different regions considered in the study ranged from 421.2 to 16865 W/ha, while the leaf yield and HHV variation for the different varieties ranged between 2.15 t/ha and 7.86 t/ha, and 21.24 MJ/kg and 27.83 MJ/kg, respectively. By considering a 1.66-kW biogas generator with operating hours of 8761 per year and LHV of 26.436 MJ/kg, as well as gasification ratio of 0.7 and 63.1% carbon content for HOMER simulation, a total capacity of 6.64 MW is suggested for installation in Tazuta. The findings indicate that Bertoni’s dry leaves are excellent biomass resources for energy production in rural regions of Berkane, Larache, Marrakech, Rabat, and Sefrou and they can give us good lessons for rural electrification of Paraguay.

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Author Biographies

Meisam Mahdavi, University of Brasilia (UnB)

Meisam Mahdavi (Senior Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran, in 2015 and the Ph.D. degree in Bioenergy from the São Paulo State University, Brazil, in 2023. From 2017 to 2019, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Department of Electrical Engineering, São Paulo State University. Also, he was a researcher with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Jaen, Spain, from 2022 to 2024. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Brasilia, Brazil. Dr. Mahdavi is the author of three books, seven book chapters, and more than 160 journal and conference papers. His research interests include bioenergy, biomass, renewable energies, distributed generation, transmission and distribution systems, power grid operation and planning, network reliability, maintenance, and application of computational algorithms in optimization. He has performed more than 350 reviews for IEEE Transactions and Journals as well as Elsevier, Springer, IET, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis Journals.

Augustine Awaafo, University of Energy and Natural Resources

Augustine Awaafo received his BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and MSc degree in Sustainable Energy Engineering and Management all from the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana in 2017 and 2022, respectively. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Jaen, Jaen, Linares, Spain. Mr. Awaafo is also an assistant lecturer at the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering of the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana. His research interests include bioenergy, biomass, renewable energies, distributed generation, distribution systems, and power system optimization.

Francisco Jurado, University of Jaen

Francisco Jurado (Senior Member, IEEE) received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the National University of Distance Education, Madrid, Spain, in 1995 and 1999, respectively. He is currently a Full Professor with Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Jaen, Campus of Linares, Jaen, Spain. He is the author of six books and more than 800 journal and conference papers. His research interests include renewable energy, biomass, distribution networks, electrical power systems, power generation, and power system modeling.

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Published

2024-10-22

How to Cite

Mahdavi, M., Awaafo, A., & Jurado, F. (2024). A Sustainable Rural Electrification of Morocco Using Stevia Biomass Power Generation: Lessons for Paraguay. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 22(11), 911–919. Retrieved from https://latamt.ieeer9.org/index.php/transactions/article/view/9123

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 11 (2024): Ordinary Issue

Section

Electric Energy