Environmental life cycle impact of off-grid rural electrification with mini grids in West Africa

Abstract

Mini grids for off-grid electrification have attracted high interest in West Africa and a massive deployment is expected in the region in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030). Due to the lack of literature analyzing the environmental impact of mini grid electrification in West Africa, life cycle assessments considering current mini grid technologies in the region (100% PV, hybrid PV-diesel and 100% diesel), battery choice (lead-acid and Li-ion) and village size (small village and large village) were calculated in each of the 15 countries belonging to ECOWAS based on current technology life cycle inventories and economic and solar resource indicators. Results analyzed 18 different life cycle environmental indicators, with 100% PV mini grids outperforming PV-diesel and 100% diesel mini grids in most of these indicators. Indeed, greenhouse gas emissions of 100% PV mini grids were 0.10–0.16 kgCO2eq/kWh and energy paybacks were of 4.3–7.1 years, strikingly lower than the equivalent values for hybrid PV-diesel mini grids (0.14–0.71 kgCO2eq/kWh and 5.9–35.5 years), 100% diesel mini grids (1.14 kgCO2eq/kWh) and the national grid electricity in this region (0.37–0.73 kgCO2eq/kWh).