Design of a solar energy centre for providing lighting and income-generating activities for off-grid rural communities in Kenya

O.M. Roche,R.E. Blanchard

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2017.11.053

Abstract

Abstract One of the biggest challenges in the developing world is the provision of affordable and reliable electricity access to rural and marginalized people where grid extension is prohibitively expensive. Many off-grid schemes to date have focused on household lighting with mixed success. Some of the greatest difficulties have been around affordability and sustainability of the service provided, with systems being abandoned or removed due to broken equipment or inability of the user to continue paying for the service. It has been reported that key to the success of the best programs has been the means to improve the economic prospects of the users. In this paper the design of a solar energy centre for a rural village in Kenya, that enables income-generating activities for the community in addition to basic lighting and mobile phone charging provision, will be reported. We have found that it is possible to use the energy centre model to provide power for activities that could offer a source of income for the community, at an affordable cost with equipment available in Kenya today. It is believed that this will allow the community to develop economically and therefore ensure the sustainability of the off-grid power supply.

Highlights

According to the UN [1], 1.5 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity and a further billion people have highly unreliable connections
Four of the households surveyed had solar home systems, 63% used paraffin lamps, 17% used bottle lamps and 20% used only fires for household lighting meaning a fifth of the community currently does not have money to pay for lighting
Of those that pay for kerosene, the average monthly expenditure was $4.24, with a range from $1.96-$14.70. (To put this expenditure in context, the average income for smallholder farmer households in Kenya in 2009 was $211 per month [37].) Over half of the households surveyed reported having one mobile phone and a similar number own a radio

Summary

Introduction

According to the UN [1], 1.5 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity and a further billion people have highly unreliable connections. In sub-Saharan Africa 620 million people have no access to grid electricity [2]. The IEA recommends that the minimum level of access to electricity should be 250 kWh per year for a rural household and 500 kWh per year for an urban household [2]. To put it in context, 250 kWh per year would allow the use of two compact fluorescent lights, mobile phone charging and the use of a fan for 5 h per day for a household of 5 people.

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Conclusion