Design of a solar energy centre for providing lighting and income-generating activities for off-grid rural communities in Kenya

Roche, O.M.; Blanchard, Richard E.

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2017.11.053

Cited by 53 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In rural areas with no access to electricity from the grid, renewable energy technology could be a viable option.These alternative technologies for producing electricity have received greater attention in recent years, due to their cost effectiveness in operation, environmental friendliness as well as sustainability [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In the case of rural health facilities, a solar/wind/diesel generator hybrid system can be deployed to cater for the need of un-electrified rural health centers.…”

Section: Figure1mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The optimal hybrid renewable system configurations emitted 1,119. 8 Since diesel generator consumed diesel fuel to produce power, thus the higher diesel operating hours experienced at both Port Harcourt and Iseyin site has led to higher CO2 emission as seen in Figure 13. On the other hand, the remaining sites experienced low emission due to high availability of renewable energy resources leading to utilizationof hybrid PV/wind to power the rural health clinics majority of the time during the year rather than diesel generator system.…”

Section: Combined Energy Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Hybrid renewable energy supply for rural healthcare facilities: An approach to quality healthcare delivery

Olatomiwa

Blanchard

Mekhilef

et al. 2018

Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The lack of modern electricity supply has been a major impediment to proper functioning of the healthcare centers in the rural areas, contributing to high maternal and child mortality rates in a country. Therefore, this study focuses on how to address the identified problem so that the healthcare centers or clinics in the remote areas can provide timely delivery of medical services for the concerned people. This paper, then, presents the analysis of stand-alone hybrid renewable energy systems for basic healthcare services in the rural areas, where there is no grid energy supply or the supply from the existing grid is erratic and unreliable. One major factor that informs the selection of the hybrid energy system in this study is that it promises high reliability compared to a single energy system. The research presents a statistical analysis of the potential of wind and solar energies for a selected rural locations in Nigeria based on the available long-term hourly and daily meteorological data. It employs an optimal technical and economic design and sizing of hybrid electrical power systems' components such as the wind, PV, battery and inverter systems, using the hybrid optimisation software (HOMER). Results show that Sokoto and Jos sites exist in the high wind potential regions, while the remaining sites are only suitable for small wind applications. Values obtained for global radiation show that all the sites enjoy considerable solar energy potential suitable for varying degree of solar energy applications. PV/wind/diesel/battery hybrid system configuration is considered optimum for rural health center at Iseyin, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Jos and Enugu, while hybrid systems involving PV/diesel/battery is considered ideal for Port-Harcourt, due to the quality of renewable energy potential. Hence, it was concluded that, the abundance of wind and solar resources in the country create an ideal environment for inclusion of renewable energy systems in the design and implementation of standalone power supply systems to improve rural healthcare delivery.

show abstract

Section: Figure1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Combined Energy Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid renewable energy supply for rural healthcare facilities: An approach to quality healthcare delivery

Olatomiwa

Blanchard

Mekhilef

et al. 2018

Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In recent years, a clear increase in the successes of Solar Home Systems (SHS) has been noted globally [9], with a wide body of literature documenting the successes and limitations of different business models in facilitating the growth in the sector. Similarly, the impacts of access to electricity via SHS is being reported on issues as diverse as health, education, security, communications and income [10,11].…”

Section: Solar Microgrids As An Electrification Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Market for Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Microgrids in Malawi

2020

J Sustain Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Access to energy is widely acknowledged as an enabler for development, and a lack of energy is a barrier to economic empowerment. Currently just 12% of the Malawian population have access to the national electricity grid, with rural electrification at only 5.3%. Solar photovoltaic (PV) microgrids offer increased access levels over pico-solar systems and solarhome systems, and are a successful rural electrification method in many areas of Africa. This paper addresses the research question of: "what is the market potential for solar microgrids in Malawi?" through a multidisciplinary methodology and outlines necessary steps to overcome the key risks and barriers for implementation nationally. Case studies of existing initiatives in Kenya and Rwanda have been used to inform a system and business design appropriate to Malawi. The market potential of PV microgrids in Malawi has been identified and quantified through a novel approach combining microgrid optimisation software HOMERPro with Geographic Information Systems tools. The methodology also includes an energy ecosystem mapping exercise to identify and frame influencing parameters affecting microgrid implementation nationally. The findings show that solar microgrids are cost competitive with diesel microgrids in all locations in Malawi, although the addition of dispatchable diesel generation may provide economic benefits in larger, more urban systems. To implement solar microgrids would cost approximately $210 per person and average operational expenses of $17 per person per year. It was determined that 42% of Malawians may be most cost effectively served by existing infrastructure, 37% would be best served by microgrids and 21% would be best served by solar-home systems.

show abstract

“…6 [13,35,36] Technology layout for hybrid PV-wind energy system design for basic lighting and mobile phone charging provision purpose. 7 [37,38] Solar smoother techniques for analysis of PV integrated systems and estimation of permissible PV penetration ratio.…”

Section: [32]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Insights and Knowledge Headways for Developing Remote, Off-Grid Microgrids in Developing Countries

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent reports from international energy agencies indicate that more than a billion of the population in the world is deprived of basic electricity provisions, confined mainly to the remote communities of developing nations. Microgrids are promoted as a potential technology for electricity provisions to off-grid rural communities, but have failed to reach their value proposition in the context of rural electrification access. In view of the rampant rural electrification issues, the objective of this paper is to furnish an understanding of, and advance the knowledge into, methods to facilitate the design and development of microgrid systems for remote communities in developing countries. The methodology involves an integrative review process of an annotated bibliography to summarise past empirical or theoretical literature. As such, this research is based on evaluation attributes, and identifies the challenges and barriers for remote microgrids through an analysis of 19 case studies. The paper concludes by proposing key aspects that need to be considered for developing a framework to improve the sustainability of electricity provisions for off-grid rural communities in developing countries.

show abstract

Design of a solar energy centre for providing lighting and income-generating activities for off-grid rural communities in Kenya

Cited by 53 publications

References 15 publications

Hybrid renewable energy supply for rural healthcare facilities: An approach to quality healthcare delivery

Hybrid renewable energy supply for rural healthcare facilities: An approach to quality healthcare delivery

Assessing the Market for Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Microgrids in Malawi

Research Insights and Knowledge Headways for Developing Remote, Off-Grid Microgrids in Developing Countries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About