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SIZE DOES MATTER, BUT SO DO OTHER THINGS

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

2012 Alex.DeBroe@3E.eu | www.3E.eu

Jos Beurskens (SET Analysis), Flemming Rasmussen (DTU), Alex De Broe (3E)

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CONTENTS

What is the role wind can play in feeding the power-hungry developing world?

What are the major hurdles for wind power in the developing world?

What kind of wind turbine can make a difference?

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS 2

Questions raised

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Mainstream Wind PowerMainstream Wind

Power Offshore

HotClimate

RemoteRural

Islands

ColdClimate

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

VTT

OFF-MAINSTREAM APPLICATIONS

Questions raised

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THE ACTUAL WIND POWER GAP

4

Wind power in the developing world

Annual installed wind power capacity by region 2003-2010

Source: GWEC

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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THE WIND POTENTIAL

5

Wind power in the developing world

Source: Renewable energies in Africa A. Belward et al., EU Joint Research Centre

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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THE ACTUAL POWER GAP

6

Wind power in the developing world

sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s lowest electricity access rate

Source: International Energy Agency

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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THE APPLICATIONS

7

Wind power in the developing world

Beyond bulk generation of electricity : Rural Electrification, Water desalination …

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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MONEY

8

The hurdles

The financing gap...

Source: International Energy Agency

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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ROADS

9

The hurdles

Or a lack thereof…

Source: Rex Parry, Wikipedia

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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CRANES

10

The hurdles

Plenty of cranes in Africa …

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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GRIDS

11

The hurdles

There is no grid where the wind blows

Similar to offshore and cold climate areas

Source: Renewable energies in Africa A. Belward et al., EU Joint Research Centre

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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IN CONCLUSION

12

The solution

What Africa needs is a power generation technology that does not need a paved road to transport it, no crane to install it , no (large) grid to connect to, and a low investment cost. In addition, extreme reliability would come in handy as there is also a lack of technical skills to maintain the power generating equipment.

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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AND THE WINNER IS…

13

The solution

Already in place

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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BUT DIESEL IS EXPENSIVE

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The solution

And won’t get cheaper

Source: Renewable energies in Africa A. Belward et al., EU Joint Research Centre

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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HYBRIDS BRING DOWN THE COST OF ENERGY

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The solution

on sites with good wind resources and high diesel prices or unreliable grids

With diesel @ $0.78 per liter, a wind-diesel hybrid investment would have a 10% IRR

With diesel @ $1.12 per liter, a wind-diesel hybrid investment would have a 20% IRR

Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2012

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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WIND TURBINES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

16

The solution

Do we have the appropriate technology??And what should it look like??

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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Grid connected turbines; medium scale

Grid connected turbines; wind farms on land

Grid connected turbines; wind farms offshore

Autonomous & Hybrid (W-PV)

Hybrid systems (AWDS)

0 25 50 10075 125

0.01

0.1

1

10

Rotor diameter [m]

Rate

d po

wer

[MW

]

Grid connected turbines;small scale

Circle areas indicate maturity

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

The solution

MATURITY OF TECHNOLOGIES

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TOP TECHNICAL ISSUES

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The solution

Echo’s from the field…1. High cost2. Lack of robustness/reliability3. Heavy equipment required to install4. Poor operational characteristics:

a) High start-up wind speeds (especially in cold weather)b) High reactive power demand (induction machines)c) High power fluctuations difficult to integrate in off-grid systemsd) Inability to curtail output without shutting down (some machines)e) Pulsating power output (mostly 2-bladed machines)f) Sensitivity to phase voltage imbalance

Source: Sustainable Power Systems

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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CONCLUSIONS

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The solution

1. Wind can, and should play a role in eradicating energy poverty in developing countries

2. Project boundary conditions that are very different from Mainstream Wind demand for a specific product

3. The economics of Hybrid Power Systems are sound in a lot of places with reasonable resources and/or unreliable grids

4. Room for improvement in turbine technology for off-grid /mini-grid applications

EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

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Acknowledgements: - Steve Drouilhet, Sustainable Power Systems- Sean Whittaker, International Finance Corporation World Bank Group - Irene Pinedo, JRC Ispra- Holger Thomson, WKN-AG

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THANK YOU

20EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS