Title :
The CILSS-Project: a large-scale application of photovoltaics in Africa
Author :
Makukatin, S. ; Cunow, E. ; Theissen, M. ; Aulich, H.A.
Author_Institution :
Siemens Solar GmbH, Munich, Germany
Abstract :
Today, a hundred million African people live far away from the electric grid in small villages with only a very small chance to get access to centralised power within the next 20-30 years. With a high cost of about 130,000 DM/km for a 66 kVA power line in sparsely populated areas inside Niger, it becomes apparent that under these circumstances conventional power generation with an extensive grid is not affordable and uneconomical. To bring electricity into these areas requires high reliability of power systems, no or little maintenance, a high degree of acceptance on the customer´s side and a local service structure, requirements that are met by PV power systems installed by Siemens Solar within the CILSS Project described in this paper. Although the total power installed in the project is only about 1.2 MWp, PV power provides essential services such as water, light, etc. to nearly one million people, showing again that the importance of solar electricity is not measured by megawatts alone
Keywords :
photovoltaic power systems; project engineering; 1.2 MW; Africa; CILSS Project; PV power systems; dispersed power generation; large-scale application; rural electrification; solar electricity; sparsely populated areas; Africa; Cities and towns; Costs; Irrigation; Large-scale systems; Organizational aspects; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Production systems; Solar energy;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.521683
