Files and links (1)
CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Empowering Low-Income Communities with Sustainable Decentralized Renewable Energy-Based Mini-Grids
Energies, Vol.16(23), 7741
2023
Abstract
With less than seven years before the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals deadline, the race is on to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services in low-income communities in developing countries. These communities are mostly distant from central grids and economically suitable for off-grid mini-grid systems. Data suggest that these mini-grids are not sustained and often fail after a few years of operation. The authors investigated the challenges of an existing mini-grid system in Ghana and proposed measures to overcome them. Field surveys with expert stakeholders and users of the system were conducted to examine the challenges. The results showed that 98% of the residents use power for domestic purposes. The inability to pay for the power consumed was the highest-ranked challenge the users faced followed by power quality issues. From the expert stakeholders’ perspectives, economic challenges were the most significant barriers with a mean score range of 3.92 to 4.73 on a 1–5 Likert scale, followed by political challenges. The researchers propose that implementers must optimize non-hardware costs and promote local component manufacturing to address these economic challenges. In addition, we suggest that the government review the government-driven policy and involve the private sector.
Details
- Title
- Empowering Low-Income Communities with Sustainable Decentralized Renewable Energy-Based Mini-Grids
- Authors/Creators
- Kofi Nyarko - Koforidua Technical UniversityJonathan Whale - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and WasteTania Urmee - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
- Publication Details
- Energies, Vol.16(23), 7741
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Identifiers
- 991005617467107891
- Copyright
- © 2023 by the authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Engineering and Energy; Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
- Resource Type
- Journal article
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Metrics
13 File views/ downloads
162 Record Views