Techno-economic and greenhouse gas savings assessment of decentralized biomass gasification for electrifying the rural areas of Indonesia

This study explored the feasibility of decentralized gasification of oil palm biomass in Indonesia to relieve its over-dependence on fossil fuel-based power generation and facilitate the electrification of its rural areas. The techno-feasibility of the gasification of oil palm biomass was first evaluated by reviewing existing literature. Subsequently, two scenarios (V1 and V2, and M1 and M2) were proposed regarding the use cases of the village and mill, respectively. The capacity of the gasification systems in the V1 and M1 scenarios are determined by the total amount of oil palm biomass available in the village and mill, respectively. The capacity of the gasification systems in the V2 and M2 scenarios is determined by the respective electricity demand of the village and mill. The global warming impact and economic feasibility (net present value (NPV) and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE)) of the proposed systems were compared with that of the current practices (diesel generator for the village use case and biomass boiler combustion for the mill use case) using life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Under the current daily demand per household (0.4 kWh), deploying the V2 system in 104 villages with 500 households each could save up to 17.9 thousand tons of CO2-eq per year compared to the current diesel-based practice. If the electricity could be fed into the national grid, the M1 system with 100% capacity factor could provide yearly GHG emissions mitigation of 5.8 × 104 ton CO2-eq, relative to the current boiler combustion-based reference scenario. M1 had a positive mean NPV if the electricity could be fed into the national grid, while M2 had a positive mean NPV at the biochar price of 500 USD/ton. Under the current electricity tariff (ET) (0.11 kWh) and the biochar price of 2650 USD/ton, daily household demands of 2 and 1.8 kWh were required to reach the break-even point of the mean NPV for the V2 system for the cases of 300 and 500 households, respectively. The average LCOE of V2 is approximately one-fourth that of the reference scenario, while the average LCOE of V1 is larger than that of the reference scenario. The average LCOE of M1 decreased to around 0.06 USD/kWh for the case of a 100% capacity factor. Sensitivity analysis showed that the capital cost of gasification system and its overall electrical efficiency had the most significant effects on the NPV. Finally, practical system deployment was discussed, with consideration of policy formulation and fiscal incentives

Smart grid technology in the developing world

A smart grid is the integration of communication and information technologies with contemporary power infrastructure to enhance load service and to incorporate continually evolving end-use applications. It is the latest advancement in the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution. It has advanced beyond the traditional grid structure at every stage; a smart grid is capable of incorporating distributed generation (DG) renewable sources and has improved transmission capabilities through implementation of technologies such as Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS). Through the addition of control technology in the distribution network a smart grid is able to implement “self-healing” and other methods to improve reliability of power supply. Enhanced interconnectivity also offers the option of microgrid development which can be accomplished more quickly and affordably than a large scale grid. The ultimate goal of this approach is to then connect various microgrids to establish a robust network. On the consumer’s side, smart devices are being developed which can practice load shifting to reduce demand on the grid at peak hours. One facet of this technology network is the smart meter, an enhanced metering device used by the consumer to practice demand side management through control technology and informed decision making. All of these characteristics make the smart grid more reliable, efficient, versatile, cost effective, interactive and environmentally beneficial than other systems. The goal of this paper is to first explore the characteristics of a smart grid system and to report on current work that is being done implementing these systems, particularly in developing countries. The latter half of the paper will then present a test for smart grid compatibility on a national level based on the necessary and beneficial preconditions for smart grid development. That test will then be applied to nations that lack a significant or reliable power generation and transmission system. The results of this test will determine specific regions which meet the criteria for both a high compatibility for smart grid development and a high demand for the solutions it offers. Those results will be synthesized into a proposal for future work, with the goal of broadening the global focus of smart grid development to include countries where millions of people still lack access to electricity in their cities and homes

Energy transitions, sub-national government and regime flexibility : how has devolution in the United Kingdom affected renewable energy development?

We acknowledge the support of the Economic and Social Research Council for funding the research on which this paper was based (Grant Number RES-062-23-2526).Peer reviewedPostprin

Energize the Base of the Pyramid!

In many countries of the Global South, energy infrastructure is holey, unreliable or simply not existent. This leads to different kinds of severe problems. Just to name a few: Family members, mostly women, spend hours every day to collect firewood for cooking. In many cases, they suffer under pulmonary diseases, because they have no access to clean cooking facilities. And companies are less productive without access to electricity. Students of the Joint International Master on Sustainable Development worked on energy access scale-up projects during their third semester at Leipzig University. In this semester, students are requested to work on an ''integration project'': integrating various aspects of sustainable development in a particular case study. The class of 2017 approached energy access from the interdisciplinary perspective of sustainable development, anchored however in the field of Economics and Management Science to ensure feasibility of their work. This present edition of Studies in Infrastructure and Resources Management looks at their work in two different energy access scale-up projects in the sub-Saharan countries Nigeria and Senegal

Decentralized Renewable Energy Efforts in Rural India

This paper examines India’s progress with decentralized renewable energy (DRE) throughout its rural regions. It looks at various programs implemented in India to gauge whether the country’s efforts are sufficient to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). By assessing India’s access to electricity, usage of clean fuels and sources, and renewable energy consumption, this paper determines the success of India’s efforts to meet all of SDG7’s benchmarks are uncertain

An explorative study of the synergy between social enterprises and local micro-entrepreneurs in the provision of off-grid clean energy access

Alleviating energy poverty requires innovative and sustainable business models for delivering energy access. Social enterprises have entered off-grid clean energy access markets, pioneering innovative energy access business models, many of which involve the participation of local micro-entrepreneurs. This research study explores the synergy between social enterprises and local micro-entrepreneurs, specifically in terms of the business models used to incorporate local micro-entrepreneurs into off-grid clean energy value chains and the stages of the value chain in which the local micro-entrepreneurs participate. It furthermore identifies key enabling enterprise ecosystem conditions. A qualitative research methodology and a multiple case study design was used. The sample consisted of 11 respondents, selected through purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview served as the primary data collection instrument and a thematic within-case and cross-case analysis was carried out. This research study represents a pioneering effort, contributing to a growing body of knowledge on innovative participatory business models for energy access

WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/055

The effectiveness of foreign aid for sustainable energy and climate mitigation H-Holger Rogner

Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Southeast Asia: Innovations and Policies for Mountainous Areas

Sustainable Development; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Agricultur

A Framework for Supporting Organizational Transition Processes Towards Sustainable Energy Systems

abstract: Economic development over the last century has driven a tripling of the world's population, a twenty-fold increase in fossil fuel consumption, and a tripling of traditional biomass consumption. The associated broad income and wealth inequities are retaining over 2 billion people in poverty. Adding to this, fossil fuel combustion is impacting the environment across spatial and temporal scales and the cost of energy is outpacing all other variable costs for most industries. With 60% of world energy delivered in 2008 consumed by the commercial and industrial sector, the fragmented and disparate energy-related decision making within organizations are largely responsible for the inefficient and impacting use of energy resources. The global transition towards sustainable development will require the collective efforts of national, regional, and local governments, institutions, the private sector, and a well-informed public. The leadership role in this transition could be provided by private and public sector organizations, by way of sustainability-oriented organizations, cultures, and infrastructure. The diversity in literature exemplifies the developing nature of sustainability science, with most sustainability assessment approaches and frameworks lacking transformational characteristics, tending to focus on analytical methods. In general, some shortfalls in sustainability assessment processes include lack of: * thorough stakeholder participation in systems and stakeholder mapping, * participatory envisioning of future sustainable states, * normative aggregation of results to provide an overall measure of sustainability, and * influence within strategic decision-making processes. Specific to energy sustainability assessments, while some authors aggregate results to provide overall sustainability scores, assessments have focused solely on energy supply scenarios, while including the deficits discussed above. This paper presents a framework for supporting organizational transition processes towards sustainable energy systems, using systems and stakeholder mapping, participatory envisioning, and sustainability assessment to prepare the development of transition strategies towards realizing long-term energy sustainability. The energy system at Arizona State University's Tempe campus (ASU) in 2008 was used as a baseline to evaluate the sustainability of the current system. From interviews and participatory workshops, energy system stakeholders provided information to map the current system and measure its performance. Utilizing operationalized principles of energy sustainability, stakeholders envisioned a future sustainable state of the energy system, and then developed strategies to begin transition of the current system to its potential future sustainable state. Key findings include stakeholders recognizing that the current energy system is unsustainable as measured against principles of energy sustainability and an envisioned future sustainable state of the energy system. Also, insufficient governmental stakeholder engagement upstream within the current system could lead to added risk as regulations affect energy supply. Energy demand behavior and consumption patterns are insufficiently understood by current stakeholders, limiting participation and accountability from consumers. In conclusion, although this research study focused on the Tempe campus, ASU could apply this process to other campuses thereby improving overall ASU energy system sustainability. Expanding stakeholder engagement upstream within the energy system and better understanding energy consumption behavior can also improve long-term energy sustainability. Finally, benchmarking ASU's performance against its peer universities could expand the current climate commitment of participants to broader sustainability goals.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Sustainability 201

Selecting Electricity Generation Sources in Remote Locations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of using a decision analysis technique for the selection of an electrical generation system for remote locations. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer five research questions addressing the types of energy sources used in remote locations, the decision-making processes used to identify these sources, the types of constraints incorporated in such a process, other valued factors, and their level of importance in relation to each other. The research questions were answered through a comprehensive literature review and the 10-Step Value-Focused Thinking Process on a specific case study in the National Park Service. Decision makers comprising of the National Park staff offered their input into the execution of this process. Electrical system manufacturers and distributors were also consulted as subject matter experts. The research identified several electrical alternatives that are currently being used by remote locations around the world. However, decision process used to make such selections were undisclosed. A value-focused thinking model indicated the highest scoring electrical alternative based on constraints and factors provided decision makers. Limitations and assumptions applied to the model further highlighted the significant details. The culmination of this effort was the introduction of a decision analysis technique to provide valuable information for the selection of electrical systems in remote locations. The implication of this study is the distribution of this technique to inhabitants in other isolated areas for effective decisions