Full Title: Microgrids for Rural Electrification: A critical review of best practices based on seven case studies
Author(s): Daniel Schnitzer, Deepa Shinde Lounsbury, Juan Pablo Carvallo, Ranjit Deshmukh, Jay Apt, and Daniel M. Kammen
Publisher(s): United Nations Foundation
Publication Date: February 1, 2014
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Microgrids – distributed systems of local energy generation, transmission, and use – are today technologically and operationally ready to pro- vide communities with electricity services, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas of less developed countries. Over 1.2 billion people do not have access to electricity, which includes over 550 million people in Africa and 300 million people in India alone (International Energy Agency, 2012). In many of these places, the traditional approach to serve these communities is to extend the central grid. This approach is technically and financially inefficient due to a combination of capital scarcity, insufficient energy service, reduced grid reliability, extended building times and construction challenges to connect remote areas. Adequately financed and operated microgrids based on renewable and appropriate resources can over- come many of the challenges faced by traditional lighting or electrification strategies. This report is intended for microgrid practitioners, or those interested in better understanding real-world challenges and solutions regarding microgrid deployment and maintenance.