Electrification Planning Research Articles

Distributed power generation in national rural electrification plans: An international and comparative evaluation

As the cost of distributed power generation continues to decrease, technologies such as solar home systems and micro-grids become increasingly attractive in the quest for energy access. Here we show, however, that national rural electrification planning mostly continues to ignore distributed power generation. A detailed review of the national rural electrification plans of the twenty countries with the largest numbers of non-electrified households shows that distributed power generation is usually absent or at best a minor component of the strategy. Our original contribution is thus to show where and how national rural electrification planning lags behind technology and business models, with guidelines for future research on explaining these patterns.

Russia electrification plan in the USA and UK press assessment of the 1920-1929

The following paper deals with the research of the place and value of Russia electrification plan and its reflection in Great Britain and the USA public opinion. The study of information campaign around Russia electrification plan has its specifics and value: first, it gives a chance to establish new, unknown facts; secondly, to determine the level of knowledge of Another (in this case, American) society about the Soviet power; thirdly, to understand what place information about Russia electrification plan took in the USA and Great Britain in the system of the USSR image creation, the image of the Soviet power revolution. This paper uses materials of the USA and Great Britain press about Russia electrification plan. Besides, the author analyzes the image of the Soviet power in the American and British society. The information campaign around Russia electrification plan could report to the world about the Soviet economy achievements as well as promote preparation (in the information plan) to the following large project - industrialization. Articles, reports, notes on Russia electrification plan helped to change the attitude towards Russia / the USSR in the USA and Great Britain and helped to correct the image of the USSR in the world.

Planning the Electrification of Rural Villages in East Nusa Tenggara Using Renewable Energy Generation

Providing accessible, affordable and renewable electricity to rural areas in developing countries like Indonesia, is arguably challenging. The higher initial cost of renewable, as compared to conventional energy technologies, is often viewed as an obstacle in the rural electrification decision-making process. This study is conducted to examine the techno-economic feasibility of renewable energy generation options to bring electricity to the rural villages in Indonesia with Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) as a case study. In this study, three village electrification scenarios were generated: basic (with the demand load of 150,5 kWh/day), moderate (359,9 kWh/day) and advanced electrification (579 kWh/day). To supply the load, three energy technologies were compared: conventional technology (diesel-powered); renewables technology (solar PV, and wind turbines); and hybrid technology (combination of diesel, solar PV and wind). The Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resource (HOMER) software was selected to model the best-optimised system configuration for the scenarios with defined constraints and sensitivity analysis. The study also investigates the impact and benefit of each system on the environment, specifically on CO2 emissions and pricing options. The results found that the renewable energy village-grid system (mostly powered by solar PV) is more competitive than the diesel-powered system in all scenarios. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of renewable energy system for each scenario is 0,66 USD/kWh (basic), 0,74 USD/kWh (moderate) and 0,55 USD/kWh (advance) respectively. This preliminary study concludes that rural electrification with renewables is a feasible option for a generic, modeled village in ENT. More, specific case research would be needed.
 JEL Classification: Q42, Q54Keywords: East Nusa Tenggara, electrification planning, HOMER, LCOE, renewable energy, rural electrification.

Statistical Model for the Forecast of Hydropower Production in Ecuador

The main sources of electricity generation are hydroelectric and thermo-fossil type in Ecuador. Gross hydroelectric production have sometimes exceeded 50% of national production. However, this type of hydroelectric is often threatened by droughts and their effect on the water reservoirs which our country has experienced on some occasions, such as in 2009. On the other hand, the National Plan for Good Living 2013-2017, in conjunction with the National Master Plan for Electrification 2013-2022, has planned new hydroelectric generation projects, which are expected to exceed 90% of the national balance. The objective of this article is to model the monthly production of hydroelectric energy for prediction purposes, by implementing five stochastic process models on a historical series of monthly hydroelectric energy production in Ecuador, during the period 2000-2015. The results show that the model that best fit the data of this time series is the ARIMA model (1, 1, 1)x(0, 0, 1) 12 with seasonality. This model shows that the energy monthly production can be forecasted to one and twelve months. The range used was from 2000 to 2014 and it was validated with data from January to December of 2015. With this model, the forecast is made for the year 2020, proving an increase of monthly production. The real values are in the confidence interval of the predicted values of the ARIMA model with annual seasonality. This model will help to describe and predict hydroelectric energy generation of Ecuador. In other words, it could be used in future planning studies of the electric sector.

Rural electrification and expansion planning of off-grid microgrids

This paper presents the past and current practices for rural electrification and the current trend in using off-grid microgrids to provide energy to the customers with no access to the central electricity network. The challenges correspond to the capacity expansion of off-grid microgrids including the financial and business models for establishing these technologies, the economic and reliability considerations, the environmental issues, the expansion and feasibility studies, and the uncertainties in the operation horizon were presented.

Electrification Planning with Focus on Hybrid Mini-grids – A Comprehensive Modelling Approach for the Global South

Electrification of rural areas is one of the major challenges in countries of the Global South. A proper electrification planning requires comprehensive electrification modelling to understand the least-cost supply options. Within this paper we apply a literature review on the requirements of comprehensive electrification modelling. This is extended by research on and testing of existing modelling tools (HOMER Energy, Network Planner, GEOSIM). This analysis reveals that still none of the existing tools can fulfill all requirements combining geospatial and detailed power system modelling especially for hybrid mini-grids. Thus we present our newly developed electrification modelling approach which overcomes identified gaps.

Analysis of Rural Electrification with Low Carbon Options in Nigeria

The lack of access to electricity in rural Nigeria is a decades-old issue. This study provides a basis for rural electrification plans by projecting the plausible future supply and demand for electricity in the rural residential sector, using three alternate scenarios: EE; RE; and CP. Based on the projection, the feasible options are analyzed in terms of the total cost and CO₂ emissions. The MAC curve was drawn to suggest policy priorities. Among these scenarios, the CP scenario is the most viable option in terms of both cost and CO₂ emissions. This scenario saves USD 1.07 billion compared to the BAU, and has the lowest CO₂ emissions among the scenarios. The MAC curve provides further insight in that the residential sector should purchase efficient cooking and lighting appliances, which requires USD 6.57 per tCO2e on average. On the supply side, the renewable energy technologies require USD 38.32 per tCO2e on average. Based on the findings, the policies balanced between CO₂ reduction and social developments are suggested to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Toward universal electrification in Ghana

In 1989, the government of Ghana set in motion an electrification plan that aims to provide universal access to electricity within a 30‐year period, from 1990 to 2020. About 25 years down the line, Ghana seems to be inching closer toward universal electrification. However, a number of challenges remain. As is the case in many other countries, urban communities have greater access to the national electricity grid than rural communities. Also, electricity generation in the country has not matched demand. This has resulted in load shedding/power rationing that has become the bane of the power sector in Ghana, negatively impacting all sectors of the economy and leading to economic losses. The low generation capacity is partly due to poor fuel supply to existing thermal power plants, meaning that installed capacity is often not available for use. This is coupled with low investment in transmission and distribution systems’ infrastructure. Going forward, the government of Ghana would have to explore alternative ways of obtaining fuel, such as regasification, to solve the chronic issue of poor fuel supply for electricity generation. Distributed generation systems, using community mini‐grid and off‐grid systems are other alternatives that could be explored within the framework of the access agenda in order to reach the unserved poor located in remote rural communities. WIREs Energy Environ 2017, 6:e225. doi: 10.1002/wene.225This article is categorized under: Energy Policy and Planning > Climate and Environment Energy and Development > Climate and Environment

Selection of the Most Appropriate Off-Grid Hybrid System for Rural and Coastal Areas in Bangladesh Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

The objective of this study is to select the most appropriate hybrid system for reliable and affordable electricity generation for sustainable development. To reach this goal Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model was applied. The methodology was developed and applied considering experts and stakeholder’s judgment based on six criteria such as resource availability, Net Present Cost (NPC), Cost of Electricity (COE), Technical, Environmental and social to determine and prioritize the best alternative among PV-Battery-Wind-Diesel, PV-Battery-Diesel, Wind-Battery-Diesel and PV-Wind-Battery. After the experts and stakeholder’s pair-wise comparison and considering relative weights the most prioritized hybrid system measured is PV-Battery-Wind-Diesel by receiving 31.49% priority. Later an environmental analysis showed that emission from the selected system is around 52% less, compared if, the electricity drawn from the national grid. The second most prioritized system is PV-Wind-battery. Although it is totally environment friendly but due to the magnitude of the alternative resources it cannot reach the goal. In addition, ranking and prioritizing outcomes of these hybrid systems can be implemented in renewable energy policy as a long-term rural electrification plan.

Universal access to electricity in Burkina Faso: scaling-up renewable energy technologies

This paper describes the status quo of the power sector in Burkina Faso, its limitations, and develops a new methodology that through spatial analysis processes with the aim to provide a possible pathway for universal electricity access. Following the SE4All initiative approach, it recommends the more extensive use of distributed renewable energy systems to increase access to electricity on an accelerated timeline. Less than 5% of the rural population in Burkina Faso have currently access to electricity and supply is lacking at many social structures such as schools and hospitals. Energy access achievements in Burkina Faso are still very modest. According to the latest SE4All Global Tracking Framework (2015), the access to electricity annual growth rate in Burkina Faso from 2010 to 2012 is 0%. The rural electrification strategy for Burkina Faso is scattered in several electricity sector development policies: there is a need of defining a concrete action plan. Planning and coordination between grid extension and the off-grid electrification programme is essential to reach a long-term sustainable energy model and prevent high avoidable infrastructure investments. This paper goes into details on the methodology and findings of the developed Geographic Information Systems tool. The aim of the dynamic planning tool is to provide support to the national government and development partners to define an alternative electrification plan. Burkina Faso proves to be paradigm case for the methodology as its national policy for electrification is still dominated by grid extension and the government subsidising fossil fuel electricity production. However, the results of our analysis suggest that the current grid extension is becoming inefficient and unsustainable in order to reach the national energy access targets. The results also suggest that Burkina Faso’s rural electrification strategy should be driven local renewable resources to power distributed mini-grids. We find that this approach would connect more people to power more quickly, and would reduce fossil fuel use that would otherwise be necessary for grid extension options.

Trigeneration Based on Biomass - Specific Field Case: Agricultural Residues from Smallholder Farms in Ghana

Many remote rural communities are ignored in rural electrification plans due to their remoteness or their relatively low demand potential. Many of those communities are rural agricultural villages that cultivate crops whose residue is a potential solid biomass fuel for power generation using appropriate technologies. This research proposes a feasibility study of trigeneration (heat, power and cold) from small farm typologies with enough clustered crop residue in selected communities in Ghana, as well as definition (prototype level) of the best generation technology. A sample of 11 districts in Ghana were surveyed in order to assess the levels of agricultural waste produced in small holder farms and their possible clustering for supplying these wastes to a hypothetical centralized trigeneration plant. The results obtained in terms of plant capacity, biomass waste yields, energy output flows and economic analysis indicate good prospects for the deployment of trigeneration as a solution in rural agricultural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa

Utilisation of rice residues for decentralised electricity generation in Ghana: An economic analysis

Developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, face large challenges to achieve universal electrification. Using the case of Ghana, this study explores the role that rice residues can play to help developing countries meet their electrification needs. In Ghana, Levelised Electricity Costs (LEC) of a grid-connected 5 MWe straw combustion plant ranged between 11.6 and 13.0 UScents/kWh, based on region of implementation. Rice straw combustion is a viable grid-connected option in all regions, as the bioenergy Feed-in-Tariff is 29.5 UScents/kWh in Ghana. Residue supply cost contributes significantly (49–54%) to LEC of rice straw combustion.LEC of husk gasification mini-grids ranged between 5 and 53 UScents/kWh for rural populations between 3000 and 250 people. Husk gasification mini-grids can be a suitable electrification solution for these un-electrified populations, as its LEC is lower than the average LEC of grid extension diesel mini-grids and off-grid solar systems for remote communities in Ghana. Electricity produced from husk gasification has the potential to cater to 7% of the needs of un-electrified communities in Ghana. The methodology and analysis of this study can support policymakers of similar countries decide the economic feasibility of decentralised bioenergy solutions while forming national electrification plans.

The benefits of geospatial planning in energy access – A case study on Ethiopia

Access to clean and affordable modern energy is crucial to fostering social and economic development and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Efficient policy frameworks and effective electrification programs are required in order to ensure that people are electrified in a sustainable manner. These programs differ from country to country depending on geographic and socioeconomic conditions. Electrification planning process must consider the geographical characteristics of the resources as well as the spatial dimension of social and economic drivers of energy demand in order to find the most optimal energy access solution. Geographical theory and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in particular can play a significant role in electrification planning, since they are capable of managing the data needed in the decision making process and may integrate and assess all possible options. This paper focuses on considering these characteristics by applying a recently developed GIS based methodology to inform electrification planning and strategies in Ethiopia. The paper illustrates two major aspects of energy planning; 1.) how the optimal electrification mix is influenced by a range of parameters – including population density, existing and planned transmission networks and power plants, economic activities, tariffs for grid-based electricity, technology costs for mini-grid and off-grid systems, and fuel costs for consumers and 2.) how the electrification mix differs from location to location. For a certain level of energy access, on-grid connections would be optimal for the majority of the new connections in Ethiopia; grid extension constitutes the lowest cost option for approximately 93% of the newly electrified population in this modelling effort with 2030 as time horizon. However, there are some remote areas with low population density where a mini-grid (ca. 6%) or a stand-alone solution (ca. 1%) are the most economic options. Depending on local resource availability, these systems deploy varied combinations of solar, wind, hydro and diesel technologies.

Race, Space, and Electric Power: Jim Crow and the 1934 North Carolina Rural Electrification Survey

Some scholars have recently put forward the concept of energopower—the harnessing of electricity and fuel—as a way to rethink the energetic basis of biopower. In this article, I refine this idea by tracing the use of race in rural electrification planning in North Carolina during the New Deal 1930s. Drawing on archival fieldwork that examines and reconstructs the 1934 North Carolina Rural Electrification Survey, I chart the ways in which race was used to readjust and reshape projections of electricity consumption and the planning of electricity distribution line construction. This is particularly clear in the use of a metric called the correction factor that allowed electricity planners to negotiate the contradictions between the materiality of networked electricity service, based on connections, and the prevailing attitudes toward race, which were built around disconnection. Although the overall influence of the 1934 Survey on the location of electricity distribution in North Carolina remains an open question, this work highlights the ways an energopolitical project—rural electrification—intersects with a key biopolitical technology—state racism, thus providing a better understanding of the relationship between energy and social power.

Access to electricity and socio-economic characteristics: Panel data evidence at the country level

A considerable number of case studies highlighted the connection between access to electricity and different socio-economic variables. The purpose of our research is to check whether these variables also show up in panel data/cross-country regressions and to assess their relative strength. Our results generally support those obtained by the case study literature. Electrification plans in developing countries should target rural areas and extensively rely on renewable energy sources. They should also be accompanied by measures fostering human capital accumulation and the involvement of local population. These general results need to be gauged within each country's specific context, carefully considering its own complexities. Therefore, our work offers a strong quantitative support to the available case study literature.

Евгений Александрович Глазунов. К 125-летию со дня рождения

This year marks 85 years of the National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute” (National Research University "MPEI”). The department of engineering drawing was the first among other departments in the MEI, for which it is also the anniversary year. The organizer and the first head of this department from 1930 to 1962 was Eugeniy A. Glazunov - a prominent scientist and educator, engineer and organizer, who celebrates 125 years. At the beginning of 1930 the Department of Electrical Engineering Higher Technical School, which earlier E.A. Glazunov graduated, has been transformed into the Moscow Higher School of Energy, which became soon the Moscow Energy Institute. Eugeniy Glazunov was appointed to the head of the department of descriptive geometry and drawing in MPEI. (Some time this department was called "Technical graphics"). His name is undeservedly rarely mentioned in textbooks and other literature in applied geometry and graphics. But Eugeniy Glazunov was very authoritative in the circle geometry and graphics, and among the heads of departments he was one of the initiators and leaders of the Moscow seminar on descriptive geometry, who published his works, and the head of the department, who generously shared teaching materials with his related institution. But E.A. Glazunov had relatively few publications compared with present time. But there were very capital works. One of them was written in conjunction with the N.F. Chetverukhin and is called "Axonometry." But it was not only an outstanding organizer and teacher, but also a magnitude engineer — designer and practitioner in the field of electrical engineering. He was a team-mate, who developed and marketed the first installation, substation and network of well-known Russian electrification plan — the plan for electrification. Based on his experience and under his leadership tasks on the engineering drawing based on electrical products and parts were improved, and drawing ceased to be exclusively machine-building. His merits in the development of engineering education and his geometry and graphic component were so significant that he was awarded the title of professorship of Higher Attestation Commission without doctoral dissertation. He was also one of the highest awards of that time, the Order of Lenin (1951).

A GIS-based approach for electrification planning—A case study on Nigeria

According to the latest Global Tracking Framework (2015), 18% of the global and 57% of the African population live without access to electricity services—a key impediment towards social and economic growth. Accelerating access to electricity requires, inter alia, strategies and programmes that effectively address and account for the geographical, infrastructural and socioeconomic characteristics of a country or region. This paper focuses on considering these characteristics by developing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based methodology to inform electrification planning and strategies. The methodology is applied to Nigeria in order to identify the optimal mix of electrification options, ranging from grid extensions to mini-grid and off-grid solutions. The case study illustrates how this optimal mix is influenced by a range of parameters—including population density, existing and planned transmission networks and power plants, economic activities, tariffs for grid-based electricity, technology costs for mini-grid and off-grid systems and fuel costs for consumers. For a certain level of energy access, on-grid connections would be optimal for the majority of the new connections in Nigeria; grid extension constitutes the lowest cost option for approximately 86% of the newly electrified population in this modelling effort with 2030 as the time horizon. However, there are some remote areas with low population densities where a mini-grid or a stand-alone solution are the most economic options; deploying some combination of solar, wind, hydro and diesel technologies depending on the locational resource availability.

Expanding electricity access to all in Nigeria: a spatial planning and cost analysis

The challenge of lack of access to electricity especially in the rural areas of Nigeria is further compounded by the lack of cogent electrification plans. A fairly reasonable electrification plan should be able to model least-cost electrification technologies to be employed and give an estimate of investments required over a given period of time. The 2012 United Nation’s declaration of ‘International Year of Sustainable Energy for All’ highlights the importance of such studies and innovations, towards attracting funds from various sources for sustainable electrification projects. With the aid of a spatial electricity planning model called the ‘Network Planner (NP)’, this study identifies the appropriate least-cost electrification supply mode (grid, mini-grid and/or off-grid) and provides cost estimates for achieving universal energy access in Nigeria by 2030. Results from this research show that by the end of the 17-year planning period (2013 to 2030), 98% of currently unelectrified communities will be viable for grid expansion, while only 2% will be mini-grid compatible. An estimated total cost of US$34.5 billion investment is required to provide electricity access to a total number of 28.5 million households (125 million people) by 2030. The analysis was carried out for the 36 states of Nigeria as well as the entire country, using data from the 774 local government areas (LGAs) of Nigeria. This paper provides the foundation for the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (NREA) to develop an electrification plan as well as involve all stakeholders in carrying out direct surveys towards generating a database for rural electrification status in Nigeria.

Institutional barriers to a ‘perfect’ policy: A case study of the Senegalese Rural Electrification Plan

This paper investigates the political and institutional factors that have influenced the success of the Senegalese Rural Electrification Action Plan (Plan d׳Action Sénégalais d׳Électrification Rurale, PASER). PASER is of interest because its innovative design attracted extensive offers of finance from donors and independent power providers, however it has had limited effect on electrification levels. This paper examines PASER׳s progress and problems in detail, with the aim of informing rural electrification policy internationally.An extensive literature review was combined with 26 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, to produce a snapshot of the Plan׳s status after its first decade of operation. PASER׳s experiences are compared with other reform-based rural electrification initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa.PASER has faced significant institutional and political barriers, with delays arising from organisational opposition, inconsistent ministerial support, protracted consultations and the inherent challenges of implementing an innovative policy framework in a country with limited institutional capacity. The development of human and institutional capacity has been compromised by inconsistent political commitment. Such experiences mirror those of electrification initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst PASER׳s successes in garnering external support and fundraising are noteworthy and won praise from early reviews, in terms of delivery the Plan has failed to resolve common institutional barriers.

Methodologies, technologies and applications for electric supply planning in rural remote areas

This work presents and examines the mathematical methods utilised for electrification planning in rural environments with decentralised energy sources. The main objective is to obtain conclusions on the best possible formulation of the multi-criteria decision-making problem related to the alternatives for a robust planning that is coherent to the local environment and needs of resident. From previous works, it is clear that the on-going paradigm shift started in the 1990s. The new paradigm is characterised by the inclusion of more than one objective or evaluation criterion. This objective makes electrification planning a multidimensional process with clear evidence that the multi-criteria decision-making models offer better responses for the present-day requirements of decentralised energy planning in rural environments.