The potential and economic viability of solar photovoltaic power in Ghana

In this study, the potentiality and economic viability of solar photovoltaic (PV) in Ghana was assessed using RETScreen software. 5 MW of grid-connected solar PV power system using SunPower SPR-320E-WHT-D PV module can be harnessed from Navrongo, Bawku, Wa, Tema, Bolgatanga, Axim, Salaga, Kintampo, Kete Krachi, Tamale, Hohoe, Koforidua, Ejura, Takoradi, Bole, Sunyani, Bibiani, Cape coast, Prestea, and Akuse, which requires US$17,752,179 of investment capital and 25,313 m² of land for PV installation. The potential of 5 MW grid-connected PV development for Accra, Kumasi, Wenchi, and Tafo are limited. However, there are solar PV energy potentials for low-capacity PV modules for these locations. Investing in solar photovoltaic technology is capital intensive in a developing country like Ghana. However, Government’s effort to provide incentives like subsidies and creating the economic environment for private sector investment will boost investment possibilities of renewable energy in Ghana, which can help in curbing the recent power outages and load shedding, thereby increasing productivity and economic resilience.     

Opportunities and challenges in setting up solar photo voltaic based micro grids for electrification in rural areas of India

Rural area electrification in developing countries helps to improve the quality of life of the people. It increases productivity and supports education. It also discourages people from migrating towards urban areas. In India about 70% of the population lives in rural area, hence it is necessary to electrify these villages to achieve inclusive economic growth. Transmission and distribution of power to this less densely populated areas which are located far away from the power generating stations is the major reason for not able to achieve 100% electrification in the country. Hence it is necessary to find out an energy source which can be decentralized to supply power to these hamlets. As India is blessed with solar energy which is omnipresent in almost all parts of the country, micro grid system which uses solar photo voltaic panels seems as the finest option. The solar photo voltaic system converts light energy into direct current power using photovoltaic effect. Battery is used to store the extra power generated during the day and used during nights. Inverters and power conditioning devices are used to convert direct current power generated by solar photo voltaic systems to alternative current, which is supplied to the load using power distribution network which adds to system cost. At present the capital cost and the land requirement for this system is higher than all other renewable energy power generation system. But it has very less operation and maintenance cost which makes it superior to other system. Moreover additional modules can be added to it when the power demand increases. This paper says about how rural area electrification can be achieved in India by solar photo voltaic system micro grid system and the challenges which has to be over come during implementation.     

A fuel cell-based dispersed generation system providing system ancillary services through power electronic interfaces

Recent advances in power electronic technology for interfacing dispersed energy resources to distribution grids offer potential solutions to several technical and economical problems in distribution networks. In particular, Dispersed Generation (DG) can be used to provide the usual energy service as well as some ancillary services, such as load following, back-up service, and compensation of Power Quality disturbances. In this paper, a fuel cell-based DG system is proposed for providing energy and ancillary services. The novelty of the system is that it can operate with a ‘system strategy’ (aimed at compensating for the disturbances in the whole system or in some privileged areas of the network) thanks to a suitable control technique of the power electronic interfaces. In this way, the benefits of using the dispersed generation system are maximized. Computer simulations were performed on an actual distribution grid to demonstrate the effectiveness of the compensation actions.     

Analysis of energy efficiency practices of SMEs in rural Ghana: an application of product generational dematerialization method

Energy is a key input in industrial production, education and health and is one of the main drivers of economic growth in developing economies. However, expanding energy access in the rural areas is one of the key challenges faced by policy makers in developing countries such as Ghana. In this regard, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries face the hydra-headed challenges of energy access, power outages, access to finance and access to market. In some cases, whilst energy efficiency appears to be improving at the national level, the story at the rural areas is different due to overdependence on biomass and other traditional forms of energy and relatively low access compared to urban areas. This research is structured in three steps. In the first step, the product generational dematerialization method is applied to examine the energy efficiency consumption of electricity and fossil fuels. In a second step, the energy efficiency practices of small and medium scale enterprises are investigated. In a third step, the general unrestricted model (GUM) is employed to investigate the relationship between energy efficiency, productivity and carbon emissions. The key findings of the study (i) confirm that the consumption of energy has not been efficient, (ii) show that the reduction in energy consumption among SMEs can be attributed mostly to blackouts and not efficiency and (iii) productivity is a major driver of energy efficiency. In a nutshell, the national analysis shows that improved productivity from more energy-efficient technologies is not responsible for energy reduction. Rather, an analysis of the rural energy situation shows that blackouts render energy reductions unintentionally. Moreover, energy-efficient practices are observed to be nearly non-existent within rural SMEs. The study recommends that public education on energy efficiency is increased and that new appliances rather than second-hand one are used to save energy.     

太阳能在新农村的应用研究

开发利用可再生能源技术尤其是太阳能技术,对改善农民居住条件,加强农村基础建设,完善农村电网具有非常重要的理论意义和实践价值。文章在分析了农村使用太阳能可行性的同时,提出多种太阳能应用的方案,并对这些方案加以经济分析,为农村推广太阳能技术提供参考。     

Sustainable development of rural energy and its appraising system in China

The local biomass resources have been used in rural China for quite a long time, which has a close connection with and will inevitably affect the environment. In recent years, China has experienced rapid economic growth and equally rapid increases in energy use, especially commercial energy, in rural areas. As a result, energy induced environmental degradation has also increased in rural China. This paper discusses the relationship between China’s rural energy and its sustainable development. It brings forward the index system for appraising the sustainable development of rural energy (SDRE), calculates the weighing of each index with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), puts forward the quantification method and provides the basis for the research of the rural energy for sustainable development in different areas and periods.     

蓄热技术及在电力调峰上的应用

蓄热技术是一种广受重视的最为重要的传统热能技术之一,它是提高能源利用利用效率和保护环境的重要技术,常用于解决热能供需不平衡的矛盾。文中主要介绍蓄热技术的起源,常用蓄热系统的类型,蓄热技术在电力调峰中的应用。     

Research and development aspects of pico-hydro power

Intensive explorations of different alternatives and renewable energy resources are currently being conducted worldwide. Pico-hydro power is at the forefront of these options because it is considered as the most cost-effective renewable energy option to provide electricity for rural areas, and to enable energy to be derived from extremely low head and flow streams of 1 m and 1 L/s, respectively. This review discusses the research and development aspects of pico-hydro and the factors influencing the success of the pico-hydro scheme in rural areas. These factors are also likely to increase the demand for pico in a rural energy market. This paper concurs with the view held by many researchers and experts that customs duty imposed on pico-hydro components is a major obstacle to the dissemination of renewable energy because it raises original cost by up to 40%. The future of the pico-hydro market looks prosperous because there is substantial availability of low head and flow hydroelectric sites in less developed countries. In the future, technology can play a crucial role in the lighting of houses in remote communities, with the energy source derived from domestic water supply.     

Techno-economic feasibility of photovoltaic,wind, diesel and hybrid electrification systems for off-grid rural electrification in Colombia

Electrification to rural and remote areas with limited or no access to grid connection is one of the most challenging issues in developing countries like Colombia. Due to the recent concerns about the global climatic change and diminishing fuel prices, searching for reliable, environmental friendly and renewable energy sources to satisfy the rising electrical energy demand has become vital. This study aims at analyzing the application of photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbines and diesel generators in a stand-alone hybrid power generation system for rural electrification in three off-grid villages in Colombia with different climatic characteristics. The areas have been selected according to the “Colombia’s development plan 2011–2030 for non-conventional sources of energy”. First, different combinations of wind turbine, PV, and diesel generator are modeled and optimized to determine the most energy-efficient and cost-effective configuration for each location. HOMER software has been used to perform a techno-economic feasibility of the proposed hybrid systems, taking into account net present cost, initial capital cost, and cost of energy as economic indicators.     

Design considerations for appropriate wind energy systems in developing countries

This paper discusses design considerations of small scale wind energy systems and presents results from some Australian remote area power supply systems. Small scale wind energy systems have the potential for considerable improvement in the standard of living of individuals in rural areas in the developing countries. A commercially viable design should consider factors such as: proper siting, assessing the present and future energy needs of people living in the rural areas and using appropriate technology to fulfil these needs. Australia can contribute advanced and proven technology in this area based on the experience from several remote area power supply programmes undertaken by Federal and State Governments.     

Modelling of hybrid energy system—Part I: Problem formulation and model development

A well designed hybrid energy system can be cost effective, has a high reliability and can improve the quality of life in remote rural areas. The economic constraints can be met, if these systems are fundamentally well designed, use appropriate technology and make use effective dispatch control techniques. The first paper of this tri-series paper, presents the analysis and design of a mixed integer linear mathematical programming model (time series) to determine the optimal operation and cost optimization for a hybrid energy generation system consisting of a photovoltaic array, biomass (fuelwood), biogas, small/micro-hydro, a battery bank and a fossil fuel generator. The optimization is aimed at minimizing the cost function based on demand and potential constraints. Further, mathematical models of all other components of hybrid energy system are also developed. This is the generation mix of the remote rural of India; it may be applied to other rural areas also.     

A wet packed bed scrubber-based producer gas cooling–cleaning system

Biomass gasifiers are playing an increasing role as decentralized energy sources in the rural areas of India. When used for power generation through internal combustion engines, or for certain thermal applications requiring a clean flue gas, it is necessary to cool biomass-based producer gas to ambient temperature, and clean it of tar and particulates before it can be used as a fuel. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a compact, wet packed bed scrubber-based producer gas cooling and cleaning system, suited for small-scale applications.     

Installation and use of a 3 kWp PV plant at Umbuji village in Zanzibar

This paper covers the installation and use of a 3 kW_p photovoltaic (PV) plant at Umbuji village, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The PV system is intended to provide power supply for a village school, health centre, school staff quarters, and mosques. Further, it gives a detailed discussion of the main factors that govern the performance of each component of the PV system. Precautionary measures are well outlined in the document and concluded with some recommendations. Solar photovoltaic electric systems are one of the most clean, alternative, reliable sources of energy so far known. Solar cell technology is guaranteed for over 20 years and the advanced revolution in the battery industry has pushed the lifetime of batteries to 8–10 years. When properly designed, the installed systems are cost effective to power appliances in rural remote areas where the national grid connection does not reach or power supply is unreliable. The power management, i.e. charging and discharging of the battery, is controlled by a solar regulator so that it can meet the designed lifetime of the system. The lights and other appliances which are used in connection with the PV system are the most efficient advanced technology available that ensures minimum energy losses.     

生态村分布式供能系统分析

针对广大农村沼气和太阳能利用率低的问题,提出了一种生物质能与太阳能互补综合利用的生态村分布式供能系统。该系统将太阳能光伏发电、太阳能光热转换、生物质气化与常规燃气发电整合,实现生物质能与太阳能的供电、供暖、制冷、供燃气和供热水五联产,可有效缓解新农村含碳能源利用带来的环境和安全性问题,有效解决生物质利用效率低和太阳能利用不稳定等技术瓶颈问题。以唐山市沙河驿镇唐庄子村为例,优化生态村分布式供能系统方案,其研究结果可为生态村的建设提供技术支撑。     

Bioenergy villages in Germany: Bringing a low carbon energy supply for rural areas into practice

An increasing number of rural municipalities wants to meet their entire energy demand with biomass. This article gives a system analytic view on these “bioenergy villages” by balancing pros (reduction of CO₂ emissions) and cons (increasing costs, land use) using the example of a model municipality in Germany. The results indicate that a 100% energy supply based on biomass from within the boundaries of a rural municipality is technically possible but less reasonable with respect to land use competition and costs of energy supply. Whereas heat and power demand in bioenergy villages can be covered with relatively little land use and to relatively low costs, the production of transport fuel based on energy crops (rape seed) leads to significant negative impacts. For a cost-efficient decarbonization of rural areas it can therefore be recommended to particularly expand the utilization of biomass for heat and power production and to reconsider the transport fuel production.     

The ‘low power’ revolution: Rural off-grid consumer technologies and portable micropower systems in non-industrialised regions

This review analyses the growth in small ‘low power’ renewable energy and consumer product technologies and their potential utility in rural and remote economic development. The historical legacy of increasingly industrial-scale and expensive centralised high voltage alternating current (AC) systems contrasts starkly against the dynamic plethora of energy efficient portable low power direct current (DC) devices and consumer goods that underpin a modern economy. Advantages of portable DC devices are their inherent utility as a deferrable load and imbedded storage, enabling the appliance to become the balance of system (BOS) component and the power management system when coupled to portable renewable energy system or a microgrid. These developments present the opportunity to revise broad assumptions of appropriate energy system investment models for non-industrialised nations without an expensive historical centralised high voltage AC industrialisation legacy. It also presents the opportunity to revisit appropriate rural clean energy stand-alone or microgrid system designs and configurations, and engage the information and communication technology (ICT) sector as a major new investor in energy services and infrastructure.     

The potential and economic viability of wind farms in Ghana

The current load shedding in Ghana has led to decreasing productivity leading to economic and social crisis due to Ghana’s dependency on hydroelectric power as its main source of power. Incorporating renewable energy sources to the grid installed capacity will ease the burden on Ghanaians. In this study, the potentiality and economic feasibility of wind farm project were evaluated in 11 locations in Ghana. The study employed wind-speed data using Meteonorm 7 software in a Typical Meteorological Year 2 format and analyzed with RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis modeling software. 10 MW of VESTAS V90 Wind turbine model with a rated power of 2,000 kW was proposed, which, when developed and harnessed, will drastically boost productivity of businesses, industries, and the transport sector in Ghana whilst making significant contribution to the export earnings of the country.     

Analysis of influencing factors of energy consumption in rural Henan based on symbolic regression method and Tapio model

ABSTRACT

As China’s traditional agricultural province, the rural areas of Henan have experienced phenomenal economic growth while also consuming too much energy. However, few studies have focused on the analysis of rural energy economic development in Henan. For the first time, this paper used the combination of symbolic regression and tapio decoupling analysis, and introduce six factors that best reflect the characteristics of rural energy consumption (E) in Henan Province, such as effective irrigated area (EIA), per capita living space (PLS), total power of agricultural machinery (PAM), Population (POP), per capita income (PI) and total value of agricultural (TVA). This paper collected data from 2000 to 2015 to fit the formula for rural energy consumption in Henan Province based on the Eureqa-formulize software. The conclusion shows that: (1) The most critical factors are affecting the energy consumption in rural is effective irrigated area, total power of agricultural machinery, rural per capita income, per capita living space and total value of agricultural, but the population is not the main factor. (2) The E-EIA decoupling and the E-PLS decoupling have two decoupling status: weak decoupling and expansive negative decoupling. The E-PAM decoupling has three decoupling status: weak decoupling, expansive coupling, and expansive negative decoupling. The E-PI decoupling and the E-TVA decoupling have one decoupling status: weak decoupling. (3) According to the incidence of each influencing factors, from strong to weak is EIA> PLS> PAM> TVA> PI. The five influencing factors have all shown a positive decoupling effect on energy consumptions.     

A comparative evaluation of household preferences for solar photovoltaic standalone and mini-grid system: An empirical study in a costal village of Indian Sundarban

Solar PhotoVoltaic (SPV) based systems have been widely accepted technology for rural electrification in developing countries. The standalone SPV home lighting system has increasingly been popular among rural households, while SPV mini-grid supply system is being promoted for rural electrification schemes. This study uses data from household survey to explore the impact of household characteristics on the preference for electrical energy from SPV systems. Econometric evidence shows heterogeneity in behavioural pattern for these two SPV systems. The flexibility in use and cost of systems might explain this difference. Household characteristics such as monthly household income, household size, occupational status of household head, number of room and type of house significantly influence household’s decision for SPV standalone home lighting systems. For SPV mini-grid supply household’s income and monthly expenditure on kerosene are significant predictors. The result reported in this paper might be a valuable input for policy makers to frame right policy mix with regard to provide subsidy on rural electrification programmes.     

九评：我国电网谷电大规模储能调峰技术路线

我国电网“峰谷差越来越大”对“电能质量”负面影响也越来越大,并且,相伴引起我国电网运行20天累积浪费的“谷电无效负荷”电能,相当于三峡一年的发电量。我国电网峰谷差的病态程度,已经到了需要深度治疗的时候了。加快构建我国“谷电大规模化学储能调峰板块”是深度治疗的主要手段。降低“峰谷差”是解决“电能质量”、“浪费谷电”矛盾的前提因素;而“调峰”是降低“峰谷差”的唯一手段。因此,“谷电大规模燃料可循环化学储能调峰”是关乎我国电力产业的重大的命题。物理储能方式的客观性局限及“二次电池”的“先天不足”秉性,可定性它们只适宜承担储能调峰的辅助角色。“中华新能源” 世界首创,主要技术指标国际领先,性价比优势明显,适合扮演我国“谷电储能大规模调峰板块”的主要角色。构建我国“谷电大规模化学储能调峰板块”可操作的商业模式＝到位的优惠鼓励政策＋上网即卖电＋推广“中华新能源”技术路线。纵观世界“储能技术大赛”现状,如果按照该商业模式启动并健康发展,中国有实力成为优胜者！