Lessons learned from the field analysis of PV installations in the Saharawi refugee camps after 10 years of operation

Fuentes, M.; Vivar, Marta; Hosein, H. R.; Aguilera, J.; Muñoz-Cerón, Emilio

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2018.05.019

Cited by 32 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…However, the threats of the system were incorporated into the game for residents to become aware of and to identify ways of addressing them should they occur. The conditions that existed in Kabakaburi and that in the Saharawi [93] accommodations were very different. The difference in environmental, social, cultural, and financial practices among rural communities globally are diverse.…”

Section: Cares Contributionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Moreover, the participation in the load development and analysis puts in motion what Serpa and Zilles [92] calls an irreversible social-cultural change, which the community should be well aware of and if possible identify variables of reversibility should that be the optimal choice. Fuentes et al [93] have identified an extensive list of failure of PV systems which were not representative of any technical problems in Kabakaburi; meanwhile some residents did replace light bulbs no major replacements had been done to the 8 years old system. However, the threats of the system were incorporated into the game for residents to become aware of and to identify ways of addressing them should they occur.…”

Section: Cares Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electrification in Remote Communities: Assessing the Value of Electricity Using a Community Action Research Approach in Kabakaburi, Guyana

2019

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PROBLEM—Provision of electric services in remote communities operating a subsistence economy has been challenging both for policy-makers and engineers. The value of electricity services and the choice structures in remote economies are not well understood. NEED—There are several technical, economic, and environmental challenges to the top-down approach of electrification. There is a need for methods that can integrate multiple dimensions of social development that can fit the environmental, economic, and technical aspects of community development. APPROACH—To create a system that best fits with the rural community, a bottom-up approach is recommended; this depends on community participation to provide a coherent from-the-ground-up decision-making framework for rural residents, engineers, and policy-makers. OUTCOMES—We have developed a from-the-ground-up community participation approach to power system design, where the community activity system is studied before investigating energy development options and assessing the risks and benefits from the perspective of the people in the community. We present the approach called Community Access Resource for Electricity Sustainability (CARES), with its foundation in action research methodology to explore the values in the community, the valued electricity services (VES) that the community feel they need, and the way the community adopts the different value types through problem-solving. We conclude that the CARES approach provides rural residents, engineers, and policy-makers with a new bottom-up approach to rural electrification in remote economies. IMPLICATIONS—The implications of this design calls for designers to extend their workspace beyond the design office and to facilitate with remote communities in devising solutions that best fit their needs. ORIGINALITY—Original contributions are the identification of the different value types and VES from-the-ground-up, and the integration of these into a gamified, interactive, and virtual-reality setting for participants to play through and discuss major consequences from which prudent decisions for development can be made. Additionally, we have proposed a new cost index for the feasibility assessment of rural electrification projects.

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Section: Cares Contributionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Cares Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrification in Remote Communities: Assessing the Value of Electricity Using a Community Action Research Approach in Kabakaburi, Guyana

2019

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“…8. Lacking local IoT expertise [13]: In developing countries, one main challenge is lack of technically knowledgeable personnel [57] due to IoT systems requiring regular maintenance, updates and function testing.…”

Section: ) Technical Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Opportunities of the Internet of Things for Global Development to Achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

2020

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Internet of Things (IoT) makes a significant contribution to development in economical, social and ecological terms. In this work, the current context to successfully apply IoT in developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations is studied. Potential and opportunities of the IoT in the developing world as well as the current challenges of IoT in developing countries are reviewed. The research methodology is focused on the IoT context in the developing world as well as profitable IoT projects carried out in developing countries, using the SDGs as a reference. Key features as a technical challenges, environmental conditions or social differences are studied to contextualize IoT in developing countries. Finally, the combination of low-cost IoT and pay-as-you-go is presented as the best scenario to better disseminate the Internet of Things for Development (IoT4D) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. INDEX TERMS Internet of things, developing countries, sustainable development goals, IoT4D.

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“…In this line, a significant difference in LAB lifetime can be found between theoretical SHS studies, ranging 5-7 years [14][15][16] and real-case studies in rural SSA of 1-3 years [13,[17][18][19][20]. In addition to this, SHS components without internationally-accepted quality certifications, frequently sold at local markets in SSA (estimated to represent the 72% of the total SHS [20]), represent a major issue for environmental impact, due to the ridiculously low life-spans, which are sometimes in the range of weeks [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021

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Solar home systems (SHS) represent one of the most promising technologies for a rapid and independent electrification in those areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) without access to electricity. This study addressed the environmental impact of SHS in SSA through updated life cycle inventories and five impact categories: greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, fossil fuels, metal and water depletion and human toxicity. Sixteen scenarios were considered, including manufacturing, transportation, recycling and user-related variables, such as the installation site, adequacy of SHS user operation and battery lifespan. The results showed that lead-acid batteries were the largest contributor to environmental impact among the SHS components, accounting for up to 36–76% of the environmental impact indicators. Apart from the components, user training for SHS operation, with the goal of maximizing usable energy and battery lifetime, proved to be critical to achieve improvements in the energy payback time and GHG emissions, which (under scenarios of high solar resources) can reach the range of 5.3–7.1 years and 0.14–0.18 kgCO2 eq/kWh, respectively. In addition, SHS GHG emission factors were benchmarked with those of other electrification approaches, such as national grids, 100% PV and hybrid PV-diesel off-grid mini grids and off-grid diesel generators. SHS achieved GHG emission factor values equivalent to PV-based mini grids in most scenarios and was strikingly lower compared to SSA national grids and diesel generators.

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Lessons learned from the field analysis of PV installations in the Saharawi refugee camps after 10 years of operation

Cited by 32 publications

References 12 publications

Electrification in Remote Communities: Assessing the Value of Electricity Using a Community Action Research Approach in Kabakaburi, Guyana

Electrification in Remote Communities: Assessing the Value of Electricity Using a Community Action Research Approach in Kabakaburi, Guyana

Challenges and Opportunities of the Internet of Things for Global Development to Achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

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