Planning Paths For The Electrification Of Small Villages Using Decentralised Generationrnexperience From Senegal

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and discuss the implications of the assessmentrnand choice of electricity supply systems for rural communities of less than 500 inhabitants in Senegal.rnThe paper is based on a study produced by Programme pour la Promotion de I'Ekctrification Rurale etrnI'Approvisionnement en Combustibles Domestiques, an advising body for the Senegalese Ministry ofrnEnergy and Mines.rnDesign/methodology/approach - The profitability index Taux d'Enrichissement en Capital isrnused as the main criterion for the economic evaluation of four technologies: diesel mini-grids,rnphotovoltaic, hybrid (pv-diesel) generators, and solar home systems. Household demand is derivedrnfrom real data of socio-economic studies which serve as the basis for determining market segmentsrndefined by the distribution of the willingness to pay and the levels of service.rnFindings - The simulations from nine demand cases show that high investment and/or operationrnexpenditure create an insurmountable barrier given the limited payment capacity of rural populations,rndemonstrating that projects in this context are not profitable without subsidies. However,rndecentralised PV generation technologies are already demonstrated to be the least cost solution whenrnthe village lies further than 5.4 kilometers from the transmission grid.rnOriginality/value - This paper describes a planning path that could enable a faster implementationrnof rural electrification programs in remote areas considering three main elements, namely; willingnessrnto pay, reduction of levels of supply service and support of communal management. However, thernfocus of the present work is mainly devoted to an analysis of the first two elements. Finally, the paperrnaddresses the issue of how these technologies can be better implemented by national agencies andrninvestors, with potential application outside of the Senegalese case study.