Methodology for selecting rural energy alternatives applied to the Colombian context

Rural electrification is a current need, especially in developing countries; in this context, the selection of energy alternatives is an important challenge that goes beyond simply providing energy, as the processes must guarantee the triple bottom line for the sustainability of the solution. There are several methodologies that have considered this aspect, but they are not applicable in all contexts, as there may be limitations in the regions where the analysis is required for community electrification. In the case of Colombia, the entity responsible for implementing energy solutions in noninterconnected areas is the Institute for Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions, IPSE. This study has analyzed the processes documented by IPSE for the evaluation of energy alternatives in rural areas and found that they have a general approach and require greater specificity to identify the most appropriate energy alternative according to the location, revealing the opportunity to offer greater robustness in the processes, selection, and weighting of criteria. In order to identify opportunities for improvement and to arrive at a successful methodology, a comparative analysis was carried out against existing state-of-the-art rural electrification methodologies, accompanied by institutional guidance documents. As a result of the comparison, a proposed methodology scheme was constructed that includes the relevant criteria for the Colombian context, including the implementation of microgrids as an alternative.