(35a) Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Technologies for Electricity Generation of Renewable Energy Sources for Non-Interconnected Zones in Colombia By Using Fuzzy Logic

Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Technologies for Electricity Generation of Renewable Energy Sources for Non-Interconnected Zones in Colombia by using Fuzzy Logic

Ana M. Rosso Cerón*, Viatcheslav Kafarov^,

School of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Industrial de Santander, calle 9 carrera 27, Bucaramanga, Colombia

* Presenting author: anarosso10@gmail.com

In the Colombian case, approximately 421,000 households do not have electricity service, since most of these households are located in in non-interconnected zones (ZNI), characterized by low population density, limited and unsuitable public services, unsatisfied basic needs, covering almost 66% of the national territory, including about 1,200 settlements, 16 departments, and 91 towns. Nevertheless, the implementation of renewable energy technologies for the generation of electricity in situ is presented as a solution for the people who do not have this service.

The decision on choosing energy supply alternatives in rural areas has traditionally been made based on technical and economic criteria, disregarding the environmental issues. Yet, the task of comparing different alternatives in terms of their environmental issues requires a tool that may take into consideration diverse characteristics of environmental impacts.

Therefore, this work analyses what electricity generation technology is more sustainable from an environmental point of view in ZNI through a multicriteria fuzzy logic method. For this purpose, the current solution of diesel engine and renewable energy technologies (photovoltaic, small hydropower, wind turbines, and biomass combustion) is considered. Furthermore, the analysis takes into account the availability of energy resources,  energetic demand in each area, and indicators of life cycle analysis and environmental impact data from the literature. The results indicate that the small hydrotechnology is the first alternative in departments such as  Amazonas, Caquetá, Chocó, Guaviare, Putumayo and Vaupés, while photovoltaic is the top alternative in Guainía, Meta, Arauca, Casanare and Vichada.