Micro Hydro Power Plant for Sustainable Energy in Rural Electrification: A Case Study in Cameroon

The state of Cameroon, faced with the situation the electricity deficits, is promoting the development of renewable energies in general and to meet rural electrification needs in particular. The purpose of this work is to study the feasibility of the MHP of Batcheu, to show its contribution to sustainable development in this locality and to prove that it is a profitable project. After study, it appears that the waterfall of Batcheu is favourable to the establishment of a MHP with an installed power of 260 kW with an operating diagram corresponding to a Francis turbine. Given that it is a renewable energy that can supply more than 800 households in rural areas, its contribution to sustainable development is obvious. Its investment cost is estimated at 171,465,396 FCFA. It is a profitable project with a payback time of 7 years and 2 months.

Prospects of key technologies of integrated energy systems for rural electrification in China

Owing to increasing environmental concerns and resource scarcity, integrated energy system shave become widely used in communities. Rural energy systems, as one of the important links of the energy network in China, suffer from low energy efficiency and weak infrastructure. Therefore, it is particularly important to increase the proportion of electricity consumption and build an integrated energy system for rural electrification in China(IESREIC) with a rural distribution network as the core, in line with national conditions. In this study, by analyzing the Chinese regional differences and natural resource endowments, the development characteristics of the IESREIC are summarized. Then, according to the existing rural energy problems, key technologies are proposed for the IESREIC, such as those for planning and operation, value sharing, infrastructure, and a management and control platform. Finally, IESREIC demonstration projects and business models are introduced for agricultural production, rural industrial systems, and rural life. The purpose is to propose research concepts for the IESREIC, provide suggestions for the development of rural energy, and provide a reference for the construction of rural energy systems in countries with characteristics similar to those of China.

Design of a Photovoltaic Mini-Grid System for Rural Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents a detailed design of a photovoltaic (PV) system for use in the rural electrification of remote settlements that are far off from the electricity grid. Since investment in building transmission lines from the grid to these localities is not viable, a good solution is an installation in these areas of standalone photovoltaic systems. The design process comprises the choice and dimensioning of the solar panels, the battery storage, DC-AC inverter, and mini transmission grid to the different homes. The design is for a 15 kW PV system including an economic evaluation and analysis using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software. Data on the average monthly solar radiation and temperature were obtained from various sources, including, Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) for Africa. From this data the study area receives a monthly average solar insolation of 6.16 kWh/m2/day with the worst month being August with 5.22 kWh/m2/day. The total daily electrical energy consumption is estimated to be about 72.525 kWh. Simulation results using HOMER software shows that the overall capital cost of the PV system components is $122,337, a replacement cost of $12,889 and an operation and maintenance cost of $29,946 over 10years. A financial analysis of the system showed that the design was both viable and sustainable with low maintenance cost.

Microgrids-as-a-Service for Rural Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa

The majority of the population on the African continent is unable to access basic electricity services,this despite the abundance of renewable energy sources(RESs).The inability to adequately tap into these RESs has led to the continued dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as coal for electricity generation,and kerosene for cooking and lighting,the resulting use of which is poor health conditions.The use of Microgrids(MGs)is being extensively researched as a feasible means of tackling the challenge of electrification,especially in rural and remote areas.Recent times have seen an increasing number of research works focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA),which is one of the regions with the lowest electrification rates in the world.MGs provide the most suitable means to integrate RESs into the electricity generation process,paving the way towards clean energy for the African continent.This paper presents a review of recent literature on the usage of MG technology for rural electrification,with a specific focus on the applicability of MGs in the SSA context.The paper additionally presents the challenges and opportunities to date.Research findings indicate that SSA has already begun the transition towards clean energy via implementation of RES-based MGs.However,two resonating challenges in the literature are adequate support via policy,and proper planning of project implementation.These two major barriers are needed to be overcome in order to fully utilize MGs for rural electrification in SSA.The key methodology derived from this study is that any effort towards rural electrification requires a sufficient amount of investigation,incorporating both the technological and socio-economic aspects into a suitable design for the target location.

The Role of Mini-grids in Rural Electrification Programmes in Africa and beyond:“The State of Art Paper”

During the last two decades,there has been an outcry on how the shortage of power in rural areas can be sorted.Most Developed Countries(MDCs)like the USA,China,German,UK,Taiwan,and Singapore started using renewable energy sources to minimize power shortages in rural areas.Less Developed Countries(LDCs)mostly African countries also followed suit.This was not only to solve the power problem but also to be on the safe side after researches anticipated that in the near future,fossil fuels would be depleted.Over 50 years ago,several countries have attempted to harness power using hydro-power,biomass,solar,tidal,wave thermal,and wind energies.Different researches show that hydro-power has been most developed worldwide due to high levels of investment.Of recent,solar and biomass energies have come on board steadily,gaining trust from people.This still has benefited towns’more than rural areas due to transmission barriers,expected financial returns,and high cost of maintenance.Recently,there has been encouragement and development of solar PV systems and the utilization of mini-grids for rural electrification to minimize the challenge,especially in African countries.International Energy Agency(IEA)has high expectations in mini-grids in playing a significant role in rural electrification.Mini-grid energy solutions are emerging as the next best alternative to rural electricity access coming between the option of large-scale grid extension and solar home systems.This paper,therefore,has discussed the status,Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities and Threats(SWOT)strategies,financing options,risk management systems and current trends in renewable energy mini-grid development in Africa and beyond in an attempt to enhance rural electrification.This research used secondary data,internet resources,published data,and World Bank reports to synthesize the evolution and the update status of mini-grids.

Addressing Barriers to Off-Grid Rural Electrification in Africa： The Botswana and Namibia Experience

Africa is the most affected continent with energy poverty. Wood fuel is the main source of energy for remote and rural populations. At the same time, most parts of Africa are endowed with abundant solar energy. Together with a highly developed global solar industry and ever declining cost of solar systems, solar has unprecedented potential to combat energy poverty in Africa. However, dissemination of solar systems is faced with a number of barriers and challenges amongst where sustainable financing and lack of technological support for installation, maintenance and repair of systems are the most significant. This paper discusses the cases of Botswana and Namibia where financing schemes based on different partnership models have been successfully implemented. These schemes have the potential for success and adaptation by countries with similar socio-economic conditions. We conclude with recommendations on training programs for different levels of intervention to overcome the lack of technological support.

Numerical Modeling and Technico-Economic Analysis of a Hybrid Energy Production System for Self-Consumption: Case of Rural Area in the Comoros

This study aims to provide electricity to a remote village in the Union of Comoros that has been affected by energy problems for over 40 years. The study uses a 50 kW diesel generator, a 10 kW wind turbine, 1500 kW photovoltaic solar panels, a converter, and storage batteries as the proposed sources. The main objective of this study is to conduct a detailed analysis and optimization of a hybrid diesel and renewable energy system to meet the electricity demand of a remote area village of 800 to 1500 inhabitants located in the north of Ngazidja Island in Comoros. The study uses the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) Pro to conduct simulations and optimize the analysis using meteorological data from Comoros. The results show that hybrid combination is more profitable in terms of margin on economic cost with a less expensive investment. With a diesel cost of $1/L, an average wind speed of 5.09 m/s and a solar irradiation value of 6.14 kWh/m2/day, the system works well with a proportion of renewable energy production of 99.44% with an emission quantity of 1311.407 kg/year. 99.2% of the production comes from renewable sources with an estimated energy surplus of 2,125,344 kWh/year with the cost of electricity (COE) estimated at $0.18/kWh, presenting a cost-effective alternative compared to current market rates. These results present better optimization of the used hybrid energy system, satisfying energy demand and reducing the environmental impact.

To Open Up a New Aspect of Rural Hydropower and Electrification——Excerpted from Speeches on Working Conferences of National Rural Hydropower and Electrification Counties Construction

The Role and status of rural hydropower and electrification are reviewed, and the situation and tasks are putforward simultaneously.

Rural Electrification in China: History and Institution

China has been highly successful in electrifying rural areas in the past half century. Institutional structure and its reform are important for investment and, therefore, development of rural electrification. Over time, there have been three major institutional changes initiated by the central government; When the People＇s Republic was Jounded in 1949, it was short of capital, technology and management professionals to promote rural electrification, so rural electricity had a separate administrative system from the urban areas. From 1949 to 1977, China established a comprehensive vertical ,system of rural electricity administration under strict central planning. At the end of the 1970s, with the adoption of economic reform policy, the central government handed over the management of the local electricity system to local government. County level has proved the most effective implementation unit for both planning and project implementation of the rural electricity system. From 1998 to 2002, the central government has been separating local electricity supplyfrom local governments to facilitate the commercial operation of the utility market. Aider 2002, the rural electricity system was merged with the urban system, forming an integrated national electricity administrative system in China.

Effective rural electrification via optimal network: Optimal path-finding in highly anisotropic search space using multiplier-accelerated A* algorithm

United Nations’7th Sustainable Development Goal envisions the availability of modern energy for everyone by 2030.While the progress has been satisfactory in the last few years,further rural electrification is increasingly challenging.The current mainstream approach of electrifying villages individually is becoming cost-ineffective due to uncertainties in both resource availability and energy demand for small,difficult-to-reach,residences.A networked rural electrification model,i.e.a cost-optimized network connecting villages and generation facilities,could improve resources utilization,reliability and flexibility.However,determining optimal paths with common search algorithms is extremely inefficient due to complex topographic features of rural areas.This work develops and applies an artificial intelligence search method to efficiently route inter-village power connections in the common rural electrification situation where substantial topological variations exist.The method is evolved from the canonical A*algorithm.Results compare favorably with optimal A*results,at significantly reduced computational effort.Furthermore,users can adaptively trade-off between computation speed and optimality and hence quickly evaluate sites and configurations at reasonable accuracy,which is impossible with classical methods.

Flexible networked rural electrification using levelized interpolative genetic algorithm

Networked rural electrification is an alternative approach to accelerate rural electrification.Using satellite photos and GIS tools,an electrical distribution network is used to connect villages and properly located generation facilities together to reduce electrification cost.To design the network,optimal paths connecting all node-pairs are identified,followed by finding a network topology that minimizes cost.Earlier work has illustrated that A*(A-star,an optimal path-finding algorithm)is inefficient for this application due to the complex topography in rural areas.The multiplier-accelerated A*(MAA*)algorithm overcomes key performance issues,but,like A*,produces only one path connecting each node-pair.Relying on one path increases project risk because adverse conditions,such as inaccurate GIS estimation,unexpected soil conditions,land-rights disputes,political issues,etc.can occur during implementation.In this paper,a hybrid path-finding method combining genetic algorithm and A*/MAA*algorithm is proposed.The proposed method provides a family of near-optimal paths instead of a single optimal path for routing.A family of paths allows a project implementer to quickly adapt to unexpected situations as new information becomes available,and flexibly change network topology before or during implementation with minimal impact on project cost.

Modeling and Simulation of a Transmission Line Response to a 400 kV/400V Capacitor Coupled Substation

The access to electricity in rural areas is extremely limited, but it is crucial for all citizens. The population in rural areas of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries is generally low, making it economically unfeasible to implement traditional rural electrification (CRE) projects due to the high cost of establishing the necessary distribution infrastructure. To address this cost issue, one alternative technology for rural electrification (URE) that can be explored is the Capacitor Coupled Substation (CCS) technology. CCS is a cost-effective solution for supplying electricity to rural areas. The research is necessitated by the need to offer a cost-effective technology for supplying electricity to sparsely populated communities. This paper examines the impact on the transmission network when a 400 kV/400V CCS is connected to it. The system response when a CCS is connected to the network was modeled using MATLAB/Si-mulink. The results, based on the fixed load of 80 kW, showed negligible interference on the transmission line voltage. However, there was minor impact on the parameters downstream of the tapping point. These findings were further supported by introducing a fault condition to the CCS, which showed that interferences with the CCS could affect the overall stability of the transmission network downstream of the tapping node, similar to the behavior of an unstable load.

Hybrid PV/Wind/Diesel Based Distributed Generation for an Off-Grid Rural Village in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a tremendous resource potential of renewable energy especially solar and the wind. Therefore, utilization of these resources has a special rule for the remote areas where access to the electrical grid or secure power supply is a dream for most of the people. This paper presents a feasibility and usefulness of hybrid power generation based on PV/wind/diesel generator for an off-grid rural village that feeds the load at a rate of average 7.9 kWh/day with 1.32 kW peak load. GsT （geospatial toolkit） is used to obtain the solar and wind data of the site. Windographer software is used to analyze the wind resource data of the site. HOMER Pro software package is used to select the suitable and reliable hybrid generation system and calculate the optimal capacities and costs of the components. Through the study, it is found that this state of the art adaptation could provide vast opportunities for off-grid rural communities such as in Afghanistan where enough high penetration of renewable energy is available.

The Small Hydropower in China-A Focus of World Attention

This paper describes the present situation, construction experiences, existing problems and the principal tasks in the development of small hydropower in China.

A Preliminary Assessment of Load Consumption and Solar Power Potential at Kota Belud,Sabah

This paper presents a detailed preliminary assessment of load consumption and solar power potential at the Eco-Tourism Centre of Liogu Ku Silou-Silou(EPLISSI),Kota Belud,Sabah.This initial investigation assessed the feasibility of an off-grid solar PV system at EPLISSI with a suitable solar panel system for project installation and commissioning purposes.Due to the absence of an electrical grid and power supply,no pre-existing electrical appliances could be found in EPLISSI.Hence,an excel-based software,the ESCoBox,was used to produce the load profiles.The input data for this software came from a list of required electrical appliances(LED lights,fans,and phone chargers)and the historical frequency of visitors to EPLISSI.Meanwhile,to assess the solar power potential at EPLISSI,an online simulator known as Global Solar Atlas version 2.3 or GSA 2.3 was used.As an input for the GSA 2.3,the initial solar panel system capacity was set for 0.5 kWp,and then an increment of 0.1 kWp was entered until specific criteria were met.The selection of the suitable size is made when the system can satisfy the daily total average load demand and a specific load fulfillment demand.As a result,it was found that the site requires a total average demand and a total peak demand of 4.60 and 11.87 kWh/day,respectively.From the GSA 2.3 generated report,an off-grid solar PV system with the capacity of 2.50 kWp solar PV can satisfy the daily total average load demand of this area,where the average PV energy output is within the range of between 7.74–9.80 kWh/day or an average of 8.72 kWh/day.In conclusion,this preliminary assessment indicates that installing an off-grid solar PV system in this area is possible.

Analysis of the Technico-Economic Viability of an Electric Micro-Grid with Renewable Electricity Production Sources in Elokato-Bingerville, Cote d’Ivoire

In this study, the technico-economic viability is studied, on the basis of different scenarios of electric micro-grids with renewable energy production sources, autonomous and supplied by the interconnected grid. HOMER Pro 3.13.3 Pro simulation and optimization software, Xlstat and Energy sentinel software are used for the evaluation of different technical and economic scenarios of system components, in order to obtain the most cost-effective configuration. To do this, the case study of the village of ELOKATO identifies the optimal options for the use of renewable energies for rural electrification in order to increase the electricity coverage rate. In our case study, after the various simulations, HOMER identified 13 scenarios and configurations deemed to be the most profitable, from the parameters and configurations without photovoltaic components have high COEs and very high initial investment costs in the order of several million US $. Renewable energy power generators require high initial investments and relatively low operating costs. The most important costs are generated by the battery park and then come the photovoltaic panels. The hybrid PV/wind/diesel/hydropower system is profitable if the distance from the village to the transformer station is greater than 1.90 km. The results show great potential for using these hybridized production sources with or without a generator to meet the electricity needs of a village.

Modelling and analysis of decentralized energy systems with photovoltaic, micro-hydro, battery and diesel technology for remote areas of Nepal

Remote areas of Nepal suffer from limited or no access to electricity.Providing electricity access in remote areas is one of the foremost challenges of any developing country.The purpose of this study is to develop and propose a reliable and low-cost model for electrification.The study presents an optimized choice between decentralized renewable-energy systems and grid expansion.Opting for an analytical method for the modelling and analysis of electrification options based on life-cycle cost(LCC)and economic distance limit,each energy system for varied load conditions is compared for a better option.A framework for energy-system selection based on available resources is proposed.It compares the grid-expansion option with potential isolated renewable-energy systems to ensure energy access to the area under consideration.Additionally,off-grid configurations that rely on renewable energy sources are also considered for the necessity of backup supply to ensure continuous power to the research area.Techno-economic assessment is carried out for different off-grid and hybrid configurations proposed in this study and their feasibility checks are carefully examined.Commercial efficacy of the proposed hybrid energy systems is assessed by comparing the life cycle and energy cost and by performing different additional sensitivity analyses.The study concludes that reduced generation cost supports the increasing penetration of electrification.The LCC for grid expansion is the most economical under high-load conditions,whereas for the isolated and sparsely settled populations with low-load conditions,photovoltaic power backed up with a diesel generator is the most economical.