Skip to main content

Assessment of the potential for battery storage to provide affordable electricity access through solar PV mini-grids in West Africa

In this project, KTH worked with IRENA to assess the potential value of storage (VoS) for increased access to electricity through PV-based mini-grids in four countries in West Africa; Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. The Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) was coupled with a hybrid mini-grid optimization tool to evaluate the least-cost technology (grid/mini-grid/stand-alone) to supply electricity to each settlement in the four countries under different scenarios, and then evaluate the VoS in the settlements where mini-grids were found to provide electricity at the lowest cost.

Background

Sustainable Development Goal 7 is aimed at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Despite significant progress in recent years, more than 800 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity, making the deployment of sustainable and low-carbon electrification solutions crucial, both to achieve universal access for all (SDG 7) and fulfil the Paris Agreement. Of the current population living without access to electricity, around 95% is in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. According to The World Bank1, West Africa faces challenges in access to electricity. With 50% of the population in West Africa still lacking access to electricity, those who do, often pay among the highest electricity prices in the world. Off grid capacity additions in the region have been dominated by solar PV, however the absolute values remain small compared to the needs for achieving universal energy access by 2030.

Renewables deployment needs to be accelerated to ensure access for all by 2030. To ensure reliable 24/7 access to electricity, solar PV combined with battery storage has become the key solution in off-grid contexts and for unreliable grids, driven by technology improvements and cost reductions. In common with solar PV and wind technologies, battery storage has shown rapid declines in cost in recent years. With such competitive costs, and rapid cost reductions expected to continue, the share of solar PV in hybrid mini-grids is expected to increase thanks to increasing storage capacity; increasing battery storage capacity can help increase the share of electricity from solar PV in mini-grids.

The Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool, also known as OnSSET, is an open source geographic information system (GIS) based optimization tool developed by KTH. OnSSET calculates and visualizes in a GIS interface the least cost electrification solution for a specific location. Depending on a variety of factors and spatially explicit characteristics such as population density, distance to the transmission line, local renewable energy potential, productive activities, health, education and community services, night-time lights and others, OnSSET identifies the most cost-effective electrification solution between grid extension, mini-grids and stand-alone systems. The tool uses GIS data to represent power infrastructure information for a specific location. GIS data is also used to seize spatial fluctuation of energy resources such as wind and solar energy.

This project will expand on the characterization of battery storage, using full chromoly at hourly resolution in order to assess the value of battery storage in mini grids and stand alone systems in West Africa, as well as estimate the optimal amount of storage required in each system.

Aim and objectives

The overall objective of this project is to assess the value of storage for achieving universal energy access through PV-based mini-grids in Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. To achieve this objective, the analysis will identify the optimal quantity of storage under different scenarios, jointly with the associated off-grid PV capacity, for areas currently without access to electricity. This can be achieved with a combination of an enhancement of OnSSET (or the use of an equivalent open source tool model that represents and captures the value of battery storage), to assess the optimal amount of storage and the associated investments, and the IRENA Electricity Storage Valuation Framework, in order to assess its value in providing cost-effective electricity access through deployment of solar PV-based mini-grids.

Project partners

Project partners: Kartoza

Funding is provided by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Timeframe: 2022

Researchers

For further information about this project, please contact Jagruti Ramsing Thakur

asahl
Jagruti Ramsing Thakur
Jagruti Ramsing Thakur
assistant professor
Francesco Fuso-Nerini
Francesco Fuso-Nerini
associate professor

Publications

  1. The least-cost electrification scenarios developed as part of this project and the value of storage in West Africa can be explored on the visualization platform: irena.gep.kartoza.com/

Smart City Concepts in Curitiba: Low-carbon Transport and Mobility in a Digital Society
Urban Circularity Assessment Framework
The interface of sustainability science and bioenergy systems
Using the sustainable development goals for shaping holistic energy programs, projects and policies
The Clean Cooking Explorer platform for Nepal
Geospatial Analysis and Electrification Investment Scenario Preparation for Yemen
Capacity building on geospatial electrification analysis for industrializing countries
Capturing emissions in least-cost electrification planning
Assessment of the potential for battery storage to provide affordable electricity access through solar PV mini-grids in West Africa
Mwinda Project: Data-driven solutions for people-centered electrification in the DRC
Preparation of an Indicative Least Cost Geospatial Electrification Plan To Achieve Universal Access In Somalia
Preparation of an Indicative Least Cost Geospatial Electrification Plan to Achieve Universal Access in Benin
World Energy Outlook 2019
Least-cost electrification Pathways for Benin
The Global Electrification Platform
Least-cost electrification Pathways for Madagascar
The UNECE nexus assessment of the Drin River Basin
SIM4NEXUS
Climate, Land and Energy Analytical study of Potential Nexus Issues in Jordan and Morocco
OPM Ethiopia project “Energy system development pathways in Ethiopia”
National energy planning and policy support for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals
Bio-based circular model for sustainable urban economies
Chemical Recycling for Circular Flows of Plastic Waste
African Power Pool Modelling
Assessing the sustainability of bioethanol production in different development contexts: a systems approach
Assessing the Water-Land-Energy-Food Nexus in trans-boundary river basins
BioGreenBaltic
Bioethanol strategy for Indonesia
Biogas based poly-generation for rural development in Bangladesh
Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) in China’s power plants
Climate Vulnerability of African Countries (completed projects)
Cost optimal pathways for the Cypriot energy system
Country level CLEWs
Developing an electricity supply model for Cyprus
Development of long-term energy projections for African countries
Development of the Model Management Infrastructure (MoManI) interface
Electricity Access in the Brazilian Amazon
Electrification paths for developing countries
Energy systems-CGE modelling Link up for pilot countries
Energy Systems Analysis Agency
Estimating Investment Needs for the Power Sector in the Africa Region
Fuel options for public bus fleets in Sweden
Global CLEWs model (completed projects)
INSIGHT_E: An energy think tank informing the European Commission
INSISTS Sustainable Bioenergy Development in Indonesia
Nexus assessment of the North West Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS)
Open Geospatial Data for Energy Access
OpeN Source Spatial Electrification Toolkit (ONSSET)
Oskarshamn CLEWs
Providing rural energy access in developing countries
REEEM
Renewable energy mapping for Africa
Robust Energy and Climate Indicators for the Steel Industry
SAMBA
About the project
Urban Smart Grids in Brazil
Supporting the Design of Sustainable Development Policies with Policy Modelling Tools
SweGRIDS
The Development of Bioethanol Markets under Sustainability Requirements
The Electricity Model Base for Africa (TEMBA)
CO2 Emissions and Energy Efficiency in Sweden
Uganda 100% Renewable by 2050
About the project
Wireless Bus Stop Charging