IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v143y2019icp1928-1938.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Techno-economic analysis of stand-alone wind micro-grids, compared with PV and diesel in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Gabra, Samuel
  • Miles, John
  • Scott, Stuart A.

Abstract

About one third of people who lack electricity access worldwide reside in Africa, the most disadvantaged continent with respect to electricity access rates. Many Africans who lack electricity access are living in rural villages. Due to the low population densities of these villages, grid extension is economically unviable. Therefore, distributed generation using off-grid systems is a more favourable option for rural electrification in Africa. This study analyses the economic feasibility of small-scale wind systems for rural electrification in Africa. A spatial mapping model was used to enable the visualisation of the electrification costs of wind systems across the continent. The results of this analysis were integrated with previous work performed for photovoltaic (PV) and diesel systems. This integration produced a map indicating whether PV, diesel or wind systems are the least cost off-grid electrification option across the continent. The results show that PV and diesel systems are the most economically viable method of rural electrification in Africa, while wind systems are economically advantageous only within the horn of Africa and across few dispersed areas. This analysis can be used as a general framework for estimating the potential of off-grid wind systems using spatial mapping.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabra, Samuel & Miles, John & Scott, Stuart A., 2019. "Techno-economic analysis of stand-alone wind micro-grids, compared with PV and diesel in Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1928-1938.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:143:y:2019:i:c:p:1928-1938
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.119
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096014811930792X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.119?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jamil, M. & Parsa, S. & Majidi, M., 1995. "Wind power statistics and an evaluation of wind energy density," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 6(5), pages 623-628.
    2. Karekezi, Stephen & Kithyoma, Waeni, 2002. "Renewable energy strategies for rural Africa: is a PV-led renewable energy strategy the right approach for providing modern energy to the rural poor of sub-Saharan Africa?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(11-12), pages 1071-1086, September.
    3. Mentis, Dimitrios & Hermann, Sebastian & Howells, Mark & Welsch, Manuel & Siyal, Shahid Hussain, 2015. "Assessing the technical wind energy potential in Africa a GIS-based approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 110-125.
    4. Saheb-Koussa, D. & Haddadi, M. & Belhamel, M., 2009. "Economic and technical study of a hybrid system (wind-photovoltaic-diesel) for rural electrification in Algeria," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(7-8), pages 1024-1030, July.
    5. Bekele, Getachew & Tadesse, Getnet, 2012. "Feasibility study of small Hydro/PV/Wind hybrid system for off-grid rural electrification in Ethiopia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 5-15.
    6. Howells, M. I. & Alfstad, T. & Victor, D. G. & Goldstein, G. & Remme, U., 2005. "A model of household energy services in a low-income rural African village," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(14), pages 1833-1851, September.
    7. Bekele, Getachew & Palm, Björn, 2010. "Feasibility study for a standalone solar-wind-based hybrid energy system for application in Ethiopia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 487-495, February.
    8. Nouni, M.R. & Mullick, S.C. & Kandpal, T.C., 2007. "Techno-economics of small wind electric generator projects for decentralized power supply in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2491-2506, April.
    9. Catherine Linard & Marius Gilbert & Robert W Snow & Abdisalan M Noor & Andrew J Tatem, 2012. "Population Distribution, Settlement Patterns and Accessibility across Africa in 2010," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(2), pages 1-8, February.
    10. Szabó, S. & Bódis, K. & Huld, T. & Moner-Girona, M., 2013. "Sustainable energy planning: Leapfrogging the energy poverty gap in Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 500-509.
    11. Rezzouk, H. & Mellit, A., 2015. "Feasibility study and sensitivity analysis of a stand-alone photovoltaic–diesel–battery hybrid energy system in the north of Algeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1134-1150.
    12. Roy, Anindita & Kedare, Shireesh B. & Bandyopadhyay, Santanu, 2010. "Optimum sizing of wind-battery systems incorporating resource uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(8), pages 2712-2727, August.
    13. Maatallah, Taher & Ghodhbane, Nahed & Ben Nasrallah, Sassi, 2016. "Assessment viability for hybrid energy system (PV/wind/diesel) with storage in the northernmost city in Africa, Bizerte, Tunisia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1639-1652.
    14. Cherni, Judith A. & Dyner, Isaac & Henao, Felipe & Jaramillo, Patricia & Smith, Ricardo & Font, Raul Olalde, 2007. "Energy supply for sustainable rural livelihoods. A multi-criteria decision-support system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1493-1504, March.
    15. Chang, Byungik & Starcher, Ken, 2019. "Evaluation of wind and solar energy investments in Texas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1348-1359.
    16. Turkson, John & Wohlgemuth, Norbert, 2001. "Power sector reform and distributed generation in sub-Saharan Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 135-145, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Juanpera, M. & Domenech, B. & Ferrer-Martí, L. & Garzón, A. & Pastor, R., 2021. "Renewable-based electrification for remote locations. Does short-term success endure over time? A case study in Peru," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Hanieh Seyedhashemi & Benoît Hingray & Christophe Lavaysse & Théo Chamarande, 2021. "The Impact of Low-Resource Periods on the Reliability of Wind Power Systems for Rural Electrification in Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Bhandari, Ramchandra & Sessa, Vittorio & Adamou, Rabani, 2020. "Rural electrification in Africa – A willingness to pay assessment in Niger," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 20-29.
    4. T. Chamarande & B. Hingray & Sandrine Mathy, 2024. "Carbon footprint of solar based mini-grids in Africa: Drivers and levers for reduction," Post-Print hal-04721670, HAL.
    5. Iqbal, Rashid & Liu, Yancheng & Zeng, Yuji & Zhang, Qinjin & Zeeshan, Muhammad, 2024. "Comparative study based on techno-economics analysis of different shipboard microgrid systems comprising PV/wind/fuel cell/battery/diesel generator with two battery technologies: A step toward green m," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    6. Solomon Kiros & Baseem Khan & Sanjeevikumar Padmanaban & Hassan Haes Alhelou & Zbigniew Leonowicz & Om Prakash Mahela & Jens Bo Holm-Nielsen, 2020. "Development of Stand-Alone Green Hybrid System for Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Foday Conteh & Hiroshi Takahashi & Ashraf Mohamed Hemeida & Narayanan Krishnan & Alexey Mikhaylov & Tomonobu Senjyu, 2021. "Analysis of Hybrid Grid-Connected Renewable Power Generation for Sustainable Electricity Supply in Sierra Leone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Fadlallah, Sulaiman O. & Benhadji Serradj, Djamal Eddine & Sedzro, Delight M., 2021. "Is this the right time for Sudan to replace diesel-powered generator systems with wind turbines?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 40-54.
    9. Li, Chong & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Hui & Lu, Yuzheng & Li, Dongdong, 2020. "Techno-economic performance study of stand-alone wind/diesel/battery hybrid system with different battery technologies in the cold region of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    10. Mokhtara, Charafeddine & Negrou, Belkhir & Settou, Noureddine & Settou, Belkhir & Samy, Mohamed Mahmoud, 2021. "Design optimization of off-grid Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems considering the effects of building energy performance and climate change: Case study of Algeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    11. Boadu, Solomon & Otoo, Ebenezer, 2024. "A comprehensive review on wind energy in Africa: Challenges, benefits and recommendations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mandelli, Stefano & Barbieri, Jacopo & Mereu, Riccardo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2016. "Off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries: Definitions, classification and a comprehensive literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1621-1646.
    2. Trotter, Philipp A. & McManus, Marcelle C. & Maconachie, Roy, 2017. "Electricity planning and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1189-1209.
    3. Wang, Gang & Zhang, Zhen & Lin, Jianqing, 2024. "Multi-energy complementary power systems based on solar energy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. William López-Castrillón & Héctor H. Sepúlveda & Cristian Mattar, 2021. "Off-Grid Hybrid Electrical Generation Systems in Remote Communities: Trends and Characteristics in Sustainability Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-29, May.
    5. Ahadi, Amir & Kang, Sang-Kyun & Lee, Jang-Ho, 2016. "A novel approach for optimal combinations of wind, PV, and energy storage system in diesel-free isolated communities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 101-115.
    6. Akikur, R.K. & Saidur, R. & Ping, H.W. & Ullah, K.R., 2013. "Comparative study of stand-alone and hybrid solar energy systems suitable for off-grid rural electrification: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 738-752.
    7. Bruno Domenech & Laia Ferrer‐Martí & Rafael Pastor, 2019. "Comparison of various approaches to design wind‐PV rural electrification projects in remote areas of developing countries," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), May.
    8. Goel, Sonali & Sharma, Renu, 2017. "Performance evaluation of stand alone, grid connected and hybrid renewable energy systems for rural application: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1378-1389.
    9. Bahramara, S. & Moghaddam, M. Parsa & Haghifam, M.R., 2016. "Optimal planning of hybrid renewable energy systems using HOMER: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 609-620.
    10. Elma, Onur & Selamogullari, Ugur Savas, 2012. "A comparative sizing analysis of a renewable energy supplied stand-alone house considering both demand side and source side dynamics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 400-408.
    11. Apfel, Dorothee & Haag, Steffen & Herbes, Carsten, 2021. "Research agendas on renewable energies in the Global South: A systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    12. MacCarty, Nordica A. & Bryden, Kenneth Mark, 2016. "An integrated systems model for energy services in rural developing communities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 536-557.
    13. Yong Zeng & Yanpeng Cai & Guohe Huang & Jing Dai, 2011. "A Review on Optimization Modeling of Energy Systems Planning and GHG Emission Mitigation under Uncertainty," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(10), pages 1-33, October.
    14. Suberu, Mohammed Yekini & Mustafa, Mohd Wazir & Bashir, Nouruddeen & Muhamad, Nor Asiah & Mokhtar, Ahmad Safawi, 2013. "Power sector renewable energy integration for expanding access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 630-642.
    15. Ghaem Sigarchian, Sara & Paleta, Rita & Malmquist, Anders & Pina, André, 2015. "Feasibility study of using a biogas engine as backup in a decentralized hybrid (PV/wind/battery) power generation system – Case study Kenya," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P2), pages 1830-1841.
    16. Riva, Fabio & Gardumi, Francesco & Tognollo, Annalisa & Colombo, Emanuela, 2019. "Soft-linking energy demand and optimisation models for local long-term electricity planning: An application to rural India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 32-46.
    17. Chen, Hung-Cheng, 2013. "Optimum capacity determination of stand-alone hybrid generation system considering cost and reliability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 155-164.
    18. Tucho, Gudina Terefe & Weesie, Peter D.M. & Nonhebel, Sanderine, 2014. "Assessment of renewable energy resources potential for large scale and standalone applications in Ethiopia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 422-431.
    19. Fadlallah, Sulaiman O. & Benhadji Serradj, Djamal Eddine & Sedzro, Delight M., 2021. "Is this the right time for Sudan to replace diesel-powered generator systems with wind turbines?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 40-54.
    20. saheb Koussa, Djohra & Koussa, Mustapha, 2016. "GHGs (greenhouse gases) emission and economic analysis of a GCRES (grid-connected renewable energy system) in the arid region, Algeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 216-230.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:143:y:2019:i:c:p:1928-1938. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.