State-of-the-Art of Mini Grids for Rural Electrification in West Africa

Antoñanzas-Torres, F.; Antonanzas, J.; Blanco‐Fernández, Julio

doi:10.3390/en14040990

Cited by 43 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…According to a World Bank Report, mini-grids were regularly abandoned once a village was connected to the national grid (Tenenbaum et al 2018). Hence, a regulatory framework that ensures investors that mini-grids are retained and continue to be used after the grid is extended needs to be implemented (Antonanzas et al 2021). There are, in fact, no reasonable obstacles when connecting the mini-grid to the national grid as long as adequate compensation and technical arrangements have been defined (Franz et al 2014).…”

Section: Challenges In Regard To Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Especially for small-scale projects is it advantageous to let developers set their own tariffs. The Nigerian government, for example, allows operators with a distribution capacity under 100 kW to define their own rates, which have to be calculated with the help of a standardized tool issued by the government (Antonanzas et al 2021). In the case of interconnected mini-grids, the tariff has to be jointly agreed upon by the developer, the distribution company and the community (IRENA 2019).…”

Section: Challenges In Regard To Tariff Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Challenges for off-grid electrification in rural areas. Assessment of the situation in Namibia using the examples of Gam and Tsumkwe

Hoeck

Steurer

Dolunay

et al. 2021

Energ. Ecol. Environ.

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Access to electricity is vital for the social and economic development of a country. Nevertheless, electrification is still a major challenge, especially for countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Growth in access to electricity in total numbers has slowed down in recent years. Namibia in particular appears to be in a predicament, since a large portion of its widespread population cannot be connected to the main grid at reasonable costs. Furthermore, Namibia relies heavily on imports of coal-based electricity, which limits the country’s ability to achieve its pledged sustainability goals. This is quite paradoxical as Namibia has one of the highest solar irradiation levels in the world, providing the possibility to generate large amounts of solar electricity at very low costs and to electrify rural areas through solar off-grid systems. These favorable conditions should be exploited, not least in view of the growing demand for energy, which potentially exacerbates the present situation. This paper therefore presents firstly general challenges for off-grid electrification and subsequently illustrates the effects in Namibia on the example of two off-grid areas in Gam and Tsumkwe. Several deficiencies within the country’s current off-grid approach are revealed, most notably the one-sided off-grid legislation and the neglect of educational outreach to the local community.

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Section: Challenges In Regard To Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Challenges In Regard To Tariff Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges for off-grid electrification in rural areas. Assessment of the situation in Namibia using the examples of Gam and Tsumkwe

Hoeck

Steurer

Dolunay

et al. 2021

Energ. Ecol. Environ.

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“…Current alternatives to SHS for off-grid electrification in SSA are usually based on PV-based mini grids and diesel generators. In a recent study analyzing mini grids for offgrid electrification in West Africa, 95% of them are currently based on 100% PV and hybrid PV-diesel technologies [32]. Alternatively, diesel generators have been traditionally used in stand-alone systems, 100% diesel mini grids and also as back-up systems for grid connected users, while other hybrid technologies, PV-wind-diesel, PV-wind and hydro-diesel, among others, have a much lower implementation in SSA [38].…”

Section: Comparison To Shs Alternativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lack of studies analyzing the environmental impact of SHS in SSA was found in the reviews about the state of the art performed by Brunet et al (2018) [30], Kizilcec and Parikh (2020) [31] and [32]. This research gap between theoretical/ideal and real SHS operation in SSA has motivated this article, whose contributions are twofold:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021

Self Cite

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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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“…Despite the economic feasibility of extending the electricity grid to under-served areas in some situations, minigrids may be better suited to address the low electrification rates and electrification challenges in areas with scattered households, low populations, and low demand potential [1, 3,4]. A vast majority of the rural households without adequate electricity access would be better serviced with standalone systems or minigrids [5]. Alongside the existing traditional approach of electricity grid extension, off-grid renewable energy solutions, notably, solar minigrids and standalone systems, provide a modern and scalable approach to achieve universal electrification [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Renewable Minigrid Electrification in Off-Grid Rural Ghana: Exploring Households Willingness to Pay

Korzhenevych

Owusu

2021

Sustainability

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Renewable energy minigrids hold significant prospects for Africa’s energy sector and its economic development in general. The government of Ghana has established pilot renewable minigrids in five off-grid communities as a testing ground for the electrification of over 600 existing rural communities that cannot be electrified via the national grid. Although there is evidence on willingness to pay (WTP) values for renewable-generated electricity in some developing countries, little is known about households’ WTP for renewable-based electricity in Ghana and, in particular, about renewable minigrids for rural electrification. This paper provides one of the first WTP estimates for renewable-based electricity for rural electrification in a developing economy context such as Ghana. Using data from a contingent valuation survey undertaken in all five pilot renewable minigrid project communities, we found that rural households are willing to pay an average of 30 GHC/month (≈5 USD/month) for high-quality renewable-powered electricity services, which is twice the amount they are currently paying based on the Uniform National Tariffs. The hypothetical bias is addressed by conducting a survey among active users of the minigrids. The starting point bias is reduced by employing random starting bids. The respondents are willing to pay between 9 and 11% of their discretionary incomes to cover the cost of accessing reliable renewable-powered electricity in the rural, off-grid communities in Ghana. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications of these findings regarding the development of tariff regulations and business models for renewable minigrids in the rural, off-grid sector.

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State-of-the-Art of Mini Grids for Rural Electrification in West Africa

Cited by 43 publications

References 59 publications

Challenges for off-grid electrification in rural areas. Assessment of the situation in Namibia using the examples of Gam and Tsumkwe

Challenges for off-grid electrification in rural areas. Assessment of the situation in Namibia using the examples of Gam and Tsumkwe

Environmental Impact of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Renewable Minigrid Electrification in Off-Grid Rural Ghana: Exploring Households Willingness to Pay

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