Micro-grids project, Part 1: Analysis of rural electrification with high content of renewable energy sources in Senegal

Africa is the poorest continent in the world and this poverty is linked to the lack of access to energy of its population. A big part of inhabitants live in rural zones where the lack of energy and in particular of electricity is still more flagrant. The aim of the Micro-grids project was to promote the electrification of rural regions of Senegal by the installation of micro-grids with high content of renewable energies. This paper presents some results of this project. Surveys have been carried out in three regions of Senegal to study the needs of electrical energy of non-electrified rural villages' households. These surveys have led to the estimation of electricity needs of the concerned households. The potential in renewable energies of the three regions has also been examined. It has been concluded that the solar energy potential is excellent while the wind energy potential can be interesting in some specific sites. The biomass could also be an efficient source if livestock farming was properly managed in the future. Moreover, many events have been carried out in the three regions to analyse the obstacles for the development of micro-grids in the Senegalese energy context, and to establish suitable solutions to overcome these obstacles. The results presented in this paper have been used to design a rural electrification kit which is described in another paper. Now the Micro-grids' consortium hopes to set up a new project to apply the designed kit on some rural non-electrified villages. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.