Renewable energy solution for electricity access in Rural South Africa

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13 Citations (Scopus)

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 RES-powered 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.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication5th IEEE International Smart Cities Conference, ISC2 2019
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages772-776
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781728108469
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2019
Event5th IEEE International Smart Cities Conference, ISC2 2019 - Casablanca, Morocco
Duration: 14 Oct 201917 Oct 2019

Publication series

Name5th IEEE International Smart Cities Conference, ISC2 2019

Conference

Conference5th IEEE International Smart Cities Conference, ISC2 2019
Country/TerritoryMorocco
CityCasablanca
Period14/10/1917/10/19

Keywords

  • Electricity Access
  • HOMER Pro Software
  • Microgrid
  • Renewable Energy Sources
  • Rural Area

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Urban Studies
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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