Nigeria is the African country with the highest total number of people without access to electricity, at least 90 million. To provide sustainable and affordable energy to these people is an enormous challenge. Advanced modeling and planning are essential tools to enhance the quality of investment decisions. Planning has to address the latest electrification options [grid extension, hybrid minigrids, and solar home systems (SHS)] in a technically and economically sound way for different implementation phases. We have developed a modeling process to derive a least-cost electrification plan for five federal states in Nigeria combining energy system simulations with geospatial information system tools. Investments of approximately $1600 million for medium-voltage (MV) and low-voltage distribution infrastructure, minigrids, and small-scale systems are required to achieve a 100% electrification rate. The simulated electricity system of the five states is characterized by an overall load of about 1804 MW. The electrification options comprise different electrification measures. About 1772 MW are supplied by central power generation through the central grid via 11 579-km new grid lines. The decentralized supply sources include only a few renewable energy (RE) minigrids with a total of 3-MW load will remain isolated, while all others will be interconnected to the central grid. The decentralized supply is defined by 225-MW photovoltaic (PV), 504-MWh battery, and 198-MW diesel-based isolated and interconnected minigrids as well as by 29-MW SHS capacities.

Least-Cost Electrification Modeling and Planning—A Case Study for Five Nigerian Federal States

KiloWatts for Humanity (KWH), formerly the Muhuru Bay Community Microgrid Project, developed an energy kiosk business model for a project site located in Chalokwa, Zambia. The Chalokwa business model was developed based on previous experiences in Muhuru Bay, Kenya and Filibaba, Zambia. These energy kiosks are designed to create sustainable, local energy businesses in locations that do not have access to an electrical grid. The model is based on a two-tiered approach of 1) providing the community with electrical services for businesses at a kiosk and 2) supplying the community with rent-to-own solar products to replace candles and kerosene lanterns and to charge cell phones and other batteries. Achieving the model includes selling energy kiosk services, rent-to-own tiered solar light and electrical products, developing long-term revenue streams, and record keeping. This kiosk was installed in June of 2016, through collaborative work between nongovernmental organizations in Zambia and the United States, Seattle University, and KiloWatts for Humanity.

Designing a sustainable business plan for an off-grid energy kiosk in Chalokwa, Zambia

This paper proposes an energy management methodology for a Fusion Grid concept. The Fusion Grid concept integrates a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base station and a power system based on photo-voltaic (PV) power generation and a battery energy storage (BES). The Fusion Grid concept can be scaled up to an off-grid system. The system studied in this paper provides connectivity in the form of an LTE mobile network and electricity access in the form of a charging station for mobile devices. The energy management and control methods are applied as part of the system. The methods are aimed at the effective use of the installed BES capacity and reducing the total life cycle costs (LCC) of the system. Furthermore, the implemented methods will prevent overdimensioning of the system, thereby having an effect on the system capital expenditure costs (CAPEX). The developed methods are evaluated in a simulation environment with quantification of their effects on the life span of the BES.

Energy Management Methodology for Fusion Grid

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Sustainability Assessment of Wireless Community Grid for Off-Grid Communities: A Case Study for Haiti

Refrigeration and freezing projects are becoming increasingly relevant in developing countries as the need for temperature-controlled food and medicine becomes more ubiquitous. Ice can be locally produced in remote areas using renewable energy powered freezers; however, minimal data exists in the literature about the time and energy requirements needed for this process. This introduces significant challenges in sizing the energy source required to power an off-grid ice making operation, as cooling the water drives the power consumption of the freezer. In this paper, a basic model is developed which calculates the time taken to freeze a quantity of water and experimental data is collected to validate the model. Both analytical and experimental techniques are used to examine how the freezing process is affected by parameters such as opening and closing the freezer door, varying the quantity of water being frozen, and the local atmospheric conditions. These results are related back to the energy consumption of the freezer compressor and are compared with field data from freezers and refrigerators installed in energy kiosks in Zambia. With this newly developed model, more accurate load profiles can be established for designing energy kiosks which support off-grid ice-making operations in developing countries.

Energy demands of off-grid ice production and refrigeration

Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa are frequently afflicted by energy poverty; as it is typically cost-prohibitive to extend the electricity grid to these locations, off-grid energy kiosks provide a locally sourced alternative for the community. This paper describes the technical design, development and implementation of an energy kiosk in Chalokwa, located in southern Zambia. Predicted load profiles are estimated based on experience from previous projects and are refined for the specific requirements of the Chalokwa community. Computer simulations are performed using publicly available software to size the photovoltaic panels, system batteries, and electronic components in such a way that the kiosk may function reliably in a range of operating conditions. The energy kiosk was installed and commissioned in June of 2016, and was outfitted with a data logger which measures system voltages and temperatures; this makes it possible to close the design loop and validate the assumptions made in the design process. The process outlined in this paper is presented in such a way that it may be used as a template for the technical design of future energy kiosks.

Ben Blainedavis

Papers

Technical design of Off-grid energy kiosks