Technologies for heating, cooling and powering rural health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper examines technical and economic choices for rural electrification in Africa and presents the rationale for trigeneration (capability for electricity, heating, and cooling) in health and education applications. An archetypal load profile for a rural health clinic (25 kWh[Formula: see text] day−1 and 118–139 kWh t) is described, and a regional analysis is performed for sub-Saharan Africa by aggregating NASA meteorological data (insolation, temperature, and heating and cooling degree days) using correlates to latitude. As a baseline for comparison, the technical, economic (using discounted cash flow) and environmental aspects of traditional electrification approaches, namely photovoltaic (PV) systems and diesel generators, are quantified, and options for meeting heating and cooling loads (e.g. gas-fired heaters, absorption chillers, or solar water heaters) are evaluated alongside an emerging micro-concentrating solar power (μ-CSP) technology featuring a solar thermal organic Rankine cycle (ORC). Photovoltaics hybridized with LPG/Propane and μ-CSP trigeneration are the lowest cost alternatives for satisfying important but often overlooked thermal requirements, with cost advantages for μ-CSP depending on latitudinal variation in insolation and thermal parameters. For a 15-year project lifetime, the net present cost for meeting clinic energy needs varied from 45 to 75 k USD, with specific levelized electricity costs of 0.26–0.31 USD kWh−1. In comparison, diesel generation of electricity is both costly (>1 USD kWh−1) and polluting (94 tons CO2 per site over 15 years), while LPG/Propane based heating and cooling emits 160–400 tons CO2 depending on ambient conditions. The comparative analysis of available technologies indicates that where the energy demand includes a mixture of electrical and thermal loads, as in typical health and education outposts, non-carbon emitting μ-CSP trigeneration approaches can be cost-effective.