Electricity is all around us. People use electricity for a variety of essential and non-essential needs. It's an integral source society uses, powering many of our daily products such as phones, stereo, lights and air conditioners and has overall transformed living conditions for billions of individuals. In this modern community there has been a steady growth in energy consumption which is closely associated to rising levels of prosperity and economic opportunity in the world. This essay analyzes the use of small scale solar electrical power to solve the problem of providing electricity in remote areas of the world particularly Bisanti.
Bisanti is a small town with 200 households which is equivalent to 1600 people located in Nigeria. The town Bisanti is apart of developing country. A developing country can be defined as a country with a less developed industrial base and a low Human Development Index relative to other countries. You must be thinking why electricity is a basic requirement in nations. Before this essay explores that aspect we need to know what is electricity.
Electricity is the movement of flow of particles called electrons from one atom to another. Electricity can also be defined as a form of energy developing from the existence of charged particles like protons and electrons. (BBC Bitesize) (D & F Liquidators) (The Gale Encyclopedia of Science).
There are many forms of obtaining electricity. Additionally, energy can be categorized in two classifications: renewable and nonrenewable sources. Nonrenewable energy resources is a resource that cannot be replenished when it is used up. Renewable resources are replenished naturally and during a relatively short period of time. Both of these are exemplified in the bottom figures which gives information about the world wide use in %
• Fossil Fuels 67% (Non-Renewable Source): Coal 41%, Natural Gas 21% & Oil 5.1%
• Renewable Energy 16% – Hydroelectric 92%: Wind 6%, Geothermal 1%, Solar 1%,
• Nuclear Power 13%
• Other Sources 3% (Biofuels, biomass and other un-identified data).
Electricity is one of life's evolutionary innovation, operating many house appliances as well has having an advantageous effect on our daily lives as it optimizes technology for human function and creates a more convenient life style. Nations depend on the use of electricity as it is the source that powers many required energy needed services. A developing nation such as Bisanti would use electricity for energy services demonstrated in figure 1.
But these aren't the only essential energy services needed. Bisanti depends on electricity as without the implementation of electricity it affects residential and commercial activity and agro-products such as maize and cassava. Bisanti's economy is supported through sources such as farms and convenience stores. This community relies on kerosene lamps, candles and firewood and had to go to the village market to charge their mobile phones.
Green Village Electricity (GVE) Projects Limited is a company that provides electricity access to remote and rural parts of Nigeria through solar photo voltaic (PV) solar mini grids Bisanti is a town who is undergoing this mission. The nation is also taking steps to ensure it provides comprehensive regulations and an enabling environment for mini grid developers. The question is if the decision of implementing this project in Bisanti will it benefit or create an inconvenience to the town.
Generating solar mini grids has its advantages. Access to electricity will have positive impact on several aspects which has an influence in rural community’s development. These positive effects will improve standard of living as well as unlocking economic potential. Specifically, from an economic point of view with the initiation of this project is that renewable energy is accessible in areas where there is very little to no electricity. For example, there are over one billion people who don’t have access to electricity. The project will have both direct and indirect economic growth in other segments as well as increases employment. Not having access to electricity puts many Africans in the situation of forcibly buying kerosene lamps. “When added to cell phone charging, fuels for lighting and cooking, energy can consume up to 50% of household incomes in sub-Saharan Africa. As long as families are dependent on non-renewable energy sources, they cannot lift themselves out of poverty.” In endorsing renewable energy technologies, the advantages involve not only direct economic benefit for instance the establishment of jobs, but also the creation of new business and business opportunity. The use of renewable energy technologies in rural areas, especially in underdeveloped rural areas could nurture their economic growth which helps create the opportunities for employment of local individuals coming from the assumed high unemployment rate. The GWE project alone has given 489 jobs to individuals. In addition, the power grid becoming an extension to the power grid is economically not practical due to the high costs of electricity distribution and the related energy losses in the transmission network. Hence, having a mini grid helps with subsidizing the town's economy and is a sustainable cost-appropriate strategy. The project has generated US$ 52500 alone and has saved US$ 98560. In addition, the town economy essentially depends on farming and running small convenience stores Having this project will benefit both the economy of families who live in the community. Correspondingly, decreasing the consumption of coal and ultimately eradicating it would save hundreds of billions of dollars of dollars a year in countless societal costs and eliminates the worry for the lost value of abandoned mine lands. Furthermore, development in places that have the potential to sustain and catalyze development of the town's commercial activity and their role in increasing local production of goods, which command a high demand for electricity. In Nigeria 1320 households & businesses have positively been impacted 1320 "When rural, isolated communities do gain access to solar power, the impact on residents can be profound." (scott) Children are expected to go to and complete schooling since they have light to stud Kerosene lamps which create a lot of indoor air pollution which are no longer needed if solar energy is there which improves people's health having a direct effect on work hours are increased, giving people more time to earn money or build home-based businesses. Solar energy assists in conserving the nation’s foreign exchange. This is because some of the earnings from export which would otherwise have been spent on importation of various spare parts of power generators would then be saved. Moreover, the money so saved can be deployed to other sectors like health and education that require attention. "Providing electricity starts an incredible cycle of improvement for communities without reliance on charities or government aid."
In addition to the multiple benefits of renewable energy technologies, there are also certain disadvantages and limitations. The main limitation that comes with renewable energy is certainly their relatively high cost. In addition, energy intermittency can occur. This renewable source heavily relies on weather conditions. Solar energy depends on gathering sun light however, you can't depend the weather to always be sunny. If the solar panel does not gather adequate amount of solar energy this can cause electricity shortage. Another concern is that solar energy can consume major areas of land and cause land degradation or habitat loss for wildlife as it is already small town land is used for commercial, residential and agriculture areas which potentially have to close down for the mini grid. This is a negative impact as both farms and commercial areas are the sources that fuels and contributes to Bisanti's economy.
In summation, renewable solar energy has various advantages, but also certainly has its disadvantages in producing energy for remote areas of the world, and their use should significantly be considered in the context of the improvement of life style along with the effects to the development of its nation's economy.