Bringing Clean Energy to Rural Africa
In response to a friend in South Africa who wanted my opinion on a business plan to bring fuel cells and solar PV to rural Africa, I wrote:
Very interesting. Certainly the solar product with batteries makes sense. I think (hope, at least) that the world is destined to bring renewable energy to rural Africa, leapfrogging the fossil fuel / utilities model of the rest of the world. I’m not as sure on the natural gas / fuel cell piece. I’d like to see microgrids with PV and wind, perhaps using microwind products like WindStream and mid-sized wind like Continental Wind or the Wind Turbine Company.
How all this works politically in Africa is anyone’s guess. Donors have trouble getting food and medical supplies to where they’re needed; I can’t imagine what this is going to be like.
Good luck!
I would say that the case for solar power is far stronger than for wind in this context as whatever the weather, you will generate SOME power every day with solar panels.
With wind, you will often get periods of several days with very light winds even in generally windy areas so that the battery demands are very much higher due to the need for constant power combined with periods of several days in a row with little or no recharging. This is especially so where micro wind turbines are used as the hub height is low and the wind is far less constant than with a larger turbine with a high hub height.
Good points. Thanks.
The wind may blow at night or during cloudy weather which would provide power during stormy/cloudy periods. Hydrogen Fuel cells can be powered with a methanol reformer to provide the hydrogen. I think multiple solutions to power a micro grid is preferable to choosing only one.
Those solar panels could crack H2O into hydrogen & oxygen to also power fuel cells. Electricity is ‘the’ common energy!