The cost and emissions advantages of incorporating anchor loads into solar mini-grids in India

Beath, Hamish; Hauser, M.; Sandwell, Philip; Gambhir, Ajay; Few, Sheridan; Chambon, Clementine L.; Nelson, Jenny

doi:10.1016/j.rset.2021.100003

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This perspective is also key when considering the environmental impacts of different electricity sources. For example, solar PV and battery systems can have ten times lower carbon intensity compared to diesel-only systems in India (Beath et al 2021). Similar methodologies have been applied to investigate the costs and emissions intensity implications for mini-grid design in India (Few et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in which the terms accommodate conversion and transmission efficiencies in the CLOVER calculations, but these terms are not shown here for brevity. The energy balance is used to assess the usage of the storage based on the net demand for electricity, the state of charge of batteries, and the battery discharge current (C-rate), with further description of the storage energy calculations available in Beath et al (2021). Following this, system performance metrics, such as total used energy, unmet demand and unutilised energy, were generated over the entire investigation period.…”

Section: Energy System Simulation and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Sizing solar-based mini-grids for growing electricity demand: Insights from rural India

et al. 2022

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Mini-grids are a critical way to meet electricity access goals according to current and projected electricity demand of communities and so appropriately sizing them is essential to ensure their financial viability. However, estimation of demand for communities awaiting electricity access is uncertain and growth in demand along with the associated cost implications is rarely considered during estimation of mini-grid sizing. Using a case study of two rural communities in India, we assess the implications of demand growth on financial costs and performance of a mini-grid system consisting of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage using two different system sizing approaches. We show a cost-saving potential of up to 12% when mini-grids are sized using a multi-stage approach where mini-grids gradually expand in several stages, rather than a single-stage optimisation approach. We perform a sensitivity analysis of the cost of the two sizing approaches by varying six key parameters: demand growth rate, logistics cost, system re-sizing frequency, likelihood of blackouts, solar PV and battery cost, and degradation rate. Of these, we find that system costs are most sensitive to variations in demand growth rates and cost decreases in solar PV and batteries. Our study shows that demand growth scenarios and choice of mini-grid sizing approaches have important financial and operational implications for the design of systems for rural electrification.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Energy System Simulation and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Sizing solar-based mini-grids for growing electricity demand: Insights from rural India

et al. 2022

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“…The literature is strong and consistent in proposing the Anchor-Business-Community (ABC) model as the most promising approach to achieving financial sustainability of mini-grids (AfDB 2016; Beath et al 2021;Knuckles 2016;Safdar 2017). In the ABC model, a customer with a high and stable load, such as an agro-processing factory, a telecom tower or a hospital, acts as an anchor client.…”

Section: Revenue-generation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Quest for Scalable Business Models for Mini-Grids in Africa: Implementing the Keymaker Model in Tanzania

Pueyo¹,

Ngoo²,

Daulinge³

et al. 2022

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Achieving universal electrification in sub-Saharan Africa requires creative solutions. Renewable mini-grids are a promising technology to electrify remote communities with a substantial productive demand, mainly from agro-processing. Mini-grids have experienced fast growth and there are now around 2,200 systems in the sub-Saharan Africa region. However, their economic case in the sub-continent is unclear. Most mini-grids are struggling not only to obtain a profit but also to recover costs. This Research Report describes the case of a private company in Tanzania implementing a business model for mini-grids that promotes productive uses of energy to achieve financial sustainability (the ‘Keymaker model’). A group of researchers worked jointly with the mini-grid developer to procure equipment for fish processing activities, support local entrepreneurs to use electricity productively, and to document and learn from the process. Although the business model was ultimately unsuccessful – facing high regulatory risks, high initial tariffs required to recover costs, and complex management of agro-processing activities – the project offers useful lessons and considerations for future efforts to promote mini-grids, and how public–private partnerships can help improve affordability and reduce regulatory risks.

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“…Secondary target groups include development practitioners and energy service providers, such as non-governmental organisations or businesses, which could use CLOVER to inform their strategies and operations. These two main target groups have collaborated to deliver academic research with a focus on the practical implementation of sustainable electricity systems in developing countries (Beath et al, 2021;Few et al, 2022;Matthey-Junod et al, 2022).…”

Section: Statement Of Needmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Users can specify the types of technologies available to include in the system and CLOVER uses an iterative heuristic search algorithm to identify the optimum combination and capacities to meet the needs of the community over its lifetime. A diagrammatic overview of this process is shown in Beath et al (2021).…”

Section: Optimisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

CLOVER: A modelling framework for sustainable community-scale energy systems

Sandwell¹,

Winchester²,

Beath³

et al. 2023

JOSS

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Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to provide sustainable, affordable, reliable and modern energy access to all by 2030 (United Nations, 2015). In order for this goal to be achieved, sustainable energy interventions in developing countries must be supported with design tools which can evaluate the technical performance of energy systems as well as their economic and climate impacts. CLOVER (Continuous Lifetime Optimisation of Variable Electricity Resources) is a software tool for simulating and optimising community-scale energy systems, typically minigrids, to support energy access in developing countries (Winchester et al., 2022). CLOVER can be used to model electricity demand and supply at an hourly resolution, for example allowing users to investigate how an electricity system might perform at a given location. CLOVER can also identify an optimally-sized energy system to meet the needs of the community under specified constraints. For example, a user could define an optimum system as one which provides a desired level of reliability at the lowest cost of electricity. CLOVER can provide an insight into the technical performance, costs, and climate change impact of a system, and allow the user to evaluate many different scenarios to decide on the best way to provide sustainable, affordable and reliable electricity to a community. CLOVER can be used on both personal computers and high-performance computing facilities. Its design separates its general framework (code, contained in a source src directory) from user inputs (data, contained in a directory entitled locations) which are specific to their investigations. The user inputs these data via a combination of .csv and .yaml files. CLOVER's straightforward command-line interface provides simple operation for both experienced Python users and those with little prior exposure to coding. An installable package, clover-energy, is available for users to download without needing to become familiar with GitHub's interface. Information about CLOVER and how to use it is available on the CLOVER wiki pages.

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The cost and emissions advantages of incorporating anchor loads into solar mini-grids in India

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Sizing solar-based mini-grids for growing electricity demand: Insights from rural India

Sizing solar-based mini-grids for growing electricity demand: Insights from rural India

The Quest for Scalable Business Models for Mini-Grids in Africa: Implementing the Keymaker Model in Tanzania

CLOVER: A modelling framework for sustainable community-scale energy systems

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