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Accelerating the introduction of basic, clean energy services is seen as a key strategy for promoting sustainable development in rural areas. Still, many people worldwide lack access to modern energy such as electricity, and Africa lags behind other developing regions of the world. Support to rural electrification is therefore given high priority by the national governments and donor organisations. There is a trend to encourage the involvement of other actors than national utilities for implementation of rural electrification. At the same time, it is required that the activities shall contribute to sustainable development. The objective of the work presented in this thesis has been to reach increased knowledge on the impact from organisational factors on project sustainability, and to examine whether rural electrification implemented by private entrepreneurs or other non-governmental organisations contribute more effectively to sustainable development than the conventional approach where rural electrification is the responsibility of a government utility. A key activity of the research work has been to improve and develop the present methodologies used for evaluations, as to attain a more functional in-field evaluation method. The thesis presents findings from seven rural electrification cases in Eastern and Southern Africa and shows how these can be used to illustrate different dimensions of sustainability by means of indicators. The evaluation indicates that the national utilities perform better from a social/ethical perspective, whereas the private organisations and the community-based organisations manage their client-relation issues in a more sustainable way. In addition, a literature survey shows that among stakeholders there are a number of “concepts-taken-for-granted” as regards to rural electrification. These are not supported by the findings from the seven cases. The observed deviations between expectations and realities can obstruct the development as decision-makers may have unrealistic expectations when planning for new electrification activities. Instead, activities have to be implemented with the empirical reality in mind. By doing so the ambiguities, complexities and all the paradoxes of rural electrification can hopefully be better managed. The study has been funded by The Swedish International Development Agency, Department for Research Cooperation (SAREC), and Ångpanneföreningen’s Foundation for Research and Development (ÅFORSK). / QC 20100812

The United Nations has declared 2012 the ``International Year of Sustainable Energy for All''. A substantial portion of the world's population (some 1.3 billion people) currently live without electricity and development efforts to reach them are progressing relatively slowly. This thesis follows the development of a technology which can enable community owned and operated microgrids to emerge based solely on the local supply and demand of that community. Although this thesis ends with the technical analysis of a DC/DC converter, there is a significant amount of background to cover in order to properly understand the context in which it will be used. After providing an introduction into typical rural electrification efforts and pointing out some of the shortcomings of these projects, this thesis introduces some cutting edge efforts which combine solar home system technology with cellular technology and discusses the benefits of such a marriage of technology. Next, the research proposes some tweaks to this novel technology and provides a high-level economic demonstration of the spread of solar home systems in a community based on these modifications. It then takes this concept even further and proposes the addition of a DC/DC converter which could turn these individual solar home systems into a proper microgrid. This thesis elaborates on the development process of simulating such a microgrid in PSCAD, including the individual components of a solar home system and the specific task of designing the converter which would form the backbone of the proposed microgrid. The final simulations and analyses demonstrate a microgrid that is both technically and economically feasible for developing world applications.

The United Nations has declared 2012 the ``International Year of Sustainable Energy for All''. A substantial portion of the world's population (some 1.3 billion people) currently live without electricity and development efforts to reach them are progressing relatively slowly. This thesis follows the development of a technology which can enable community owned and operated microgrids to emerge based solely on the local supply and demand of that community. Although this thesis ends with the technical analysis of a DC/DC converter, there is a significant amount of background to cover in order to properly understand the context in which it will be used. After providing an introduction into typical rural electrification efforts and pointing out some of the shortcomings of these projects, this thesis introduces some cutting edge efforts which combine solar home system technology with cellular technology and discusses the benefits of such a marriage of technology. Next, the research proposes some tweaks to this novel technology and provides a high-level economic demonstration of the spread of solar home systems in a community based on these modifications. It then takes this concept even further and proposes the addition of a DC/DC converter which could turn these individual solar home systems into a proper microgrid. This thesis elaborates on the development process of simulating such a microgrid in PSCAD, including the individual components of a solar home system and the specific task of designing the converter which would form the backbone of the proposed microgrid. The final simulations and analyses demonstrate a microgrid that is both technically and economically feasible for developing world applications.

Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

Thesis (Professional Degree)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1939. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed April 6, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-27) and index (p. 28-30).

[pt] A realidade vivida pela população rural tem sempre surpresas a revelar e mais ainda quando se trata do meio rural não eletrificado. Este estudo examina uma parte da realidade do cotidiano vivido por propriedades rurais envolvidas no Programa de Eletrificação Rural Luz no Campo, mostrando o modo de vida das propriedades na fase anterior ao recebimento de energia elétrica. Através do data mining dos dados coletados na pesquisa de campo do estado do Mato Grosso do Sul e da aplicação de técnicas de análise multivariada, tais como: Análise de Fatores e Análise de Cluster, este estudo possibilitará a visualização do modo de vida de propriedades não eletrificadas permitindo posteriormente a comparação com a chegada da energia elétrica que propiciará a avaliação do Programa de Eletrificação Rural. O modelo foi aplicado em dados de duas concessionárias de energia elétrica do Brasil usando dados horários coletados durante dois anos. / [en] The reality lived by the rural population has always some surprises to reveal, even more when it's about the not electrified rural domain. This research examines a part of the reality lived by homestead involved in the Rural Electrification Program Luz no Campo, showing their way of life in the previous phase of the electricity receipt. Through the data mining of the collected data in the field research in Mato Grosso do Sul state and with the application a varied of statistical multivariate techniques such as: Factors Analysis and Cluster Analysis, this research will provide the visualization of the way of life of non electrified properties allowing a later comparison with the data collected in the same properties, after the arrival of the electricity. This way, it will be possible to establish a formal evaluation of the Rural Electrification Program.

Small hydro generation refers to generating capacity of less than 10 MW with the most common being Run-of-River. In South Africa, the level of rural electrification is approximately 50 percent with most of the energy needs being met with biomass fuels. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hydropotential regions that were identified by Eskom and the Department of Minerals and Energy in 2002 and determine sites for small scale development for rural electrification purposes. Technical and feasible analyses were carried out in order to assess the applicability of this kind of energy generating system. The aim of this study was to consider the Free Basic Electrification policy and Solar Home Systems to assess the electrical demand of rural households and possible funding transfer scheme respectively. Furthermore, to formulate an appropriate methodology that can be used given the available data and resources currently available in South Africa. In total, six sites were identified and analysed in this paper, namely: (1) Berg River at gauge G1H013, (2) Mzimvubu River at gauge T3H008, (3) Orange River at gauge D1H003, (4) Mlambonja River at gauge V1H041, (5) Thukela River at gauge V1H002 and (6) Mkomazi River at gauge U1H005 which are in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. Flow gauge data were analysed in order to develop monthly mean Flow Duration Curves which were used to determine the design flow, power generation (through Power Duration Curve construction) and renewable energy potentially produced from each scheme. Costing functions were utilised in order to determine the initial capital cost of the system which was used to assess the project’s feasibility. In order to predict potential power output of the schemes, the streamflow and hydraulic head of the six rivers were assessed. The potential renewable energy production ranged from about 240 to 6060 MWh/year. Through this energy production, it was found between 165 and 10100 houses could be electrified depending on the electrical allowance provided. This significantly exceeds existing housing numbers. Costing bands ranged from 3 – 7 R/kWh which was high but within reason based on the community income and the transfer of the Solar Home Systems pricing policy. The results of this study provide a good foundation for future work in the estimation of hydropower potential in South Africa and will hopefully be a stepping stone to better estimation of both technical and exploitable hydropower potential for South Africa. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The South African Government has set a target of universal access to basic electricity by the year 2012. Free basic electricity is defined as the amount of electricity sufficient to provide basic lighting, media access, water heating and ironing with on-grid electricity; or basic lighting and media access for a non-grid system. Eskom Distribution, in conjunction with local municipalities, is responsible for the outstanding electrification predominantly in rural areas. In KwaZulu-Natal, mountainous terrain and scattered settlement patterns of communities complicate the achievement of this goal. This study was aimed at using GIS to address the urgent need to plan electrification, firstly by identifying areas that need electrification and secondly by prioritising those areas according to set principles. Electrification areas were effectively identified and prioritised from both a need and capability of supply aspect. The study then aimed at designing the shortest networks from the grid to those identified electrification areas. To determine electrification areas spatially, electoral areas (EAs) demarcated as rural during the run up to the 1994 elections were used to identify rural areas; and Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality, current electrification projects, reserves and a buffer zone around existing transformers excluded. Household point data was used to polygonize the remaining area, and those polygons were aggregated on their calculated area to create future rural electrification areas (FREA). A points and weighting system; based on one initially used in Namibia and further developed in an electrification planning model by RAPS Consulting, CSIR and DME to prioritise villages for electrification; was applied to calculate point scores for each FREA and other criteria such as distance from a network with capacity considered to determine a prioritised list of FREA that can be electrified immediately. Roads, land cover, household positions and slope were used to design the shortest path from the grid to the three highest scoring FREA. Each layer was reclassified, ratings applied and the layers combined to successfully determine the final path in terms of the criteria used. Interest in using GIS for spatial planning has led to a GIS Initiative Group (GISIG) being formed at Eskom Distribution in Eastern Region to address data collection, co-ordination of planning, tools written previously but never implemented being re-evaluated and, more recently, new tools being designed. However, much is still needed in terms of research, resolving of data quality issues, testing of points and weighting systems, and for functionally independent sections to work together on making changes to age-old system structures and processes before any of the recommendations resulting from this study can be effectively implemented. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.