Electrification is regarded as a leading driver of socio-economic development, delivering crucial benefits such as improved healthcare, education, and economic productivity, leading to an enhanced quality of life, industrial growth, and poverty alleviation. This aligns with the United Nations' 7th Sustainable Development Goal , which aims to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Achieving this goal necessitates a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to electrification planning, integrating technological, economic, social, and environmental perspectives. This thesis aims to contribute to the existing literature by not only proposing a exhaustive electrification framework, but also deepening the understanding of crucial aspects essential to addressing the topic. Fostering a comprehensive multi-disciplinary approach, it utilizes concepts from computational geometry, operations research, data science and electrical engineering, enhanced with the adoption of geographic information systems alongside geospatial datasets to integrate economic, technological, social and environmental perspectives. The thesis promotes an open-source and well-detailed approach that is provided as a software package, promoting transparency and ensuring effective strategies are accessible to all interested stakeholders. The methodology proposed is structured into distinct blocks, properly addressing each of the necessary steps towards cost-efficient electrification pathways. Special attention is given to proper modeling of the distribution system expansion planning within the electrification framework, ensuring efficient energy and enhancing the quality for supply. Additionally, it enables a clear comparison among the different means of electrification and an accurate estimation of the related costs, which is an indispensable information for stakeholders. The ultimate electrification planning problem is designed as a linear optimization model with two distinct solving strategies, one exact approach utilizing a commercial solver, as well as an efficient customized heuristic algorithm. The framework was applied on two real life case studies, one in the region of Zambezia in Mozambique and the region of Butha-Buthe in Lesotho, that exhibit rather different situation in terms of size and initial access to electricity, which due to the different characteristics resulted in a different preference for the electrification solutions.
L’elettrificazione è uno dei principali fattori trainanti dello sviluppo socio-economico, portando benefici cruciali nei settori della sanità, dell’istruzione e della produttività economica, migliorando così la qualità della vita, favorendo la crescita industriale e contribuendo alla riduzione della povertà. Questo è in linea con il settimo Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile delle Nazioni Unite, che mira a garantire energia accessibile, affidabile, sostenibile e moderna per tutti entro il 2030. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo è necessario un approccio globale e multidisciplinare alla pianificazione dell’elettrificazione, capace di integrare prospettive tecnologiche, economiche, sociali e ambientali. Questa tesi si propone di contribuire alla letteratura esistente non solo attraverso la presentazione di un quadro esaustivo per l’elettrificazione, ma anche approfondendo la comprensione di aspetti fondamentali per affrontare questo tema complesso. Promuovendo un approccio multidisciplinare, la metodologia adottata integra concetti di geometria computazionale, ricerca operativa, data science e ingegneria elettrica, arricchiti dall’uso di sistemi informativi geografici e dataset geospaziali per includere prospettive economiche, tecnologiche, sociali e ambientali. La tesi promuove un approccio open-source dettagliato sotto forma di un pacchetto software, che favorisce la trasparenza e rende disponibili strategie efficaci a tutti gli stakeholder interessati. La metodologia proposta è strutturata in blocchi distinti, con particolare attenzione riservata alla modellazione dell’espansione della rete di distribuzione nel contesto dell’elettrificazione, garantendo un approvvigionamento energetico efficiente e di qualità. Inoltre, il framework consente un confronto chiaro tra i diversi mezzi di elettrificazione e una stima accurata dei costi associati, informazioni indispensabili per gli stakeholder. In ultima analisi, il problema della pianificazione dell’elettrificazione è formulato come un modello di ottimizzazione lineare, risolto attraverso due strategie distinte: un approccio esatto che utilizza un solver commerciale e un algoritmo euristico personalizzato. Il framework è stato applicato a due casi studio reali, uno nella regione di Zambezia in Mozambico e l’altro nella regione di Butha-Buthe in Lesotho, che presentano situazioni piuttosto diverse in termini di dimensioni e accesso iniziale all’elettricità. A causa delle diverse caratteristiche, si è optato per una diversa preferenza per le soluzioni di elettrificazione.
Multi-disciplinary approach to electrification planning
Dimovski, Aleksandar
2024/2025
Abstract
Electrification is regarded as a leading driver of socio-economic development, delivering crucial benefits such as improved healthcare, education, and economic productivity, leading to an enhanced quality of life, industrial growth, and poverty alleviation. This aligns with the United Nations' 7th Sustainable Development Goal , which aims to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Achieving this goal necessitates a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to electrification planning, integrating technological, economic, social, and environmental perspectives. This thesis aims to contribute to the existing literature by not only proposing a exhaustive electrification framework, but also deepening the understanding of crucial aspects essential to addressing the topic. Fostering a comprehensive multi-disciplinary approach, it utilizes concepts from computational geometry, operations research, data science and electrical engineering, enhanced with the adoption of geographic information systems alongside geospatial datasets to integrate economic, technological, social and environmental perspectives. The thesis promotes an open-source and well-detailed approach that is provided as a software package, promoting transparency and ensuring effective strategies are accessible to all interested stakeholders. The methodology proposed is structured into distinct blocks, properly addressing each of the necessary steps towards cost-efficient electrification pathways. Special attention is given to proper modeling of the distribution system expansion planning within the electrification framework, ensuring efficient energy and enhancing the quality for supply. Additionally, it enables a clear comparison among the different means of electrification and an accurate estimation of the related costs, which is an indispensable information for stakeholders. The ultimate electrification planning problem is designed as a linear optimization model with two distinct solving strategies, one exact approach utilizing a commercial solver, as well as an efficient customized heuristic algorithm. The framework was applied on two real life case studies, one in the region of Zambezia in Mozambique and the region of Butha-Buthe in Lesotho, that exhibit rather different situation in terms of size and initial access to electricity, which due to the different characteristics resulted in a different preference for the electrification solutions.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Dimovski_PhD.pdf
accessibile in internet per tutti a partire dal 17/11/2025
Dimensione
5.73 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
5.73 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/231673