Renewable energy solution for electricity access in rural South Africa

Abstract: South Africa has grown from 34% electrification in 1991 to about 84.7% electrification presently, but with least access to electricity in rural areas. The lower rate of electrification in rural areas than urban areas has made dwellers in rural unelectrified areas to be challenged economically, socially, educationally, health-wise, etc. The aging, unclean, nonrenewable and constrained traditional grid has necessitated to think out of the box for universal electricity access in the nation through renewable energy sources (RES) such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydro for rural electrification. Therefore, a RESpowered microgrid is designed for rural Jozini municipality with 26.3% electricity access. This proposed Jozini microgrid was found to have a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of R0.384/kWh, which is about one-third of grid LCOE in South Africa. Also, the proposed Jozini microgrid has 0 kg/kWh CO2 emission compared to 0.99 kg/kWh CO2 emission from the traditional national grid

A Case Study on Off-grid Microgrid for Universal Electricity Access in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Microgrid is progressively an option for electricity access in unelectrified areas in developing nations. This study investigates the costs of microgrid solutions in comparison to grid extension to provide universal electricity access in Ntabankulu Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software was used to carry out simulation, optimization and sensitivity analyses. The results showed that a Wind/Diesel Generator/Battery-powered microgrid has the lowest cost with a breakeven grid extension distance of -45.38 km. The proposed microgrid could supply electricity at $0.320/kWh, with 0.0057 kg/kWh CO2 emissions and 90.5% renewable fraction, which are lower than grid extension. Therefore, a Renewable Energy Source (RES) hybrid microgrid solution can be a viable option for electrifying far-from-the-grid unelectrified areas of the Eastern Cape