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Rooftop solar photovoltaics have the potential to successfully electrify rural and scattered communities worldwide. However, access to clean, high-quality, reliable and affordable energy remains elusive for several households in rural areas of the developing world. To fully comprehend, unpack and proffer meaningful solutions to this mismatch, energy sources in use and types in areas where rural electrification through solar home systems are profiled. Furthermore, grassroot communities' perceptions of rooftop solar photovoltaics (PVs) was explored. A case study design was adopted. Thirty (30) households were purposively sampled from three selected villages. Their perceptions on the adoption of solar photovoltaic home systems were analysed qualitatively using Atlas ti 8 software. Thematic network analysis was pursued. Households in the chosen villages use grid connections, paraffin, solar PV, firewood and candles to meet their energy needs. The chosen villages used energy for water heating, refrigeration, cooking, illumination, space heating, entertainment and ironing at the household level. In general, the participating households perceived solar PVs as a relatively cheap, easy-to-use, environmentally friendly alternative energy, and did not demand regular payments once installed. However, there was a discerning perception that solar was a weak technology that could not be relied on because it produces an inferior quality of energy, could be easily stolen and needed high capital investment beyond the reach of many consumers. The results obtained in this study highlight that the solar home system (SHS) rollout should be sensitive to rural communities' financial situations and be innovative in that low-income households are included. In addition, there is a need for a robust awareness programme that highlights the energy availability, reliability, quality, cost effectiveness and legal, health and safety benefits of the SHS to the rural families in the district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite South Africa's international recognition in solar energy investments, the country is struggling to meet its growing energy needs. In recent years, national blackouts and load shedding have been a recurring experience in the country. The high cost of electrification and the overstrained national grid have left several rural communities without access to electricity. This study aims to explore the solar energy resources and performance of a 3.8 kWp stand-alone residential photovoltaic (PV) power system in one of the underutilised regions in South Africa. The study mainly uses ground measured solar radiation data to evaluate the solar resources of Alice and compare them with those in other parts of the world with mega solar PV projects. The components of solar radiation considered are global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI). The average total daily GHI, DNI, and DHI of Alice were 4.98, 5.74, and 1.44 kWh/m2. Clear sky conditions were found to occur on 233 days in the monitoring year, resulting in an average total daily GHI of 6.13 kWh/m2, DNI of 6.73 kWh/m2 and DHI of 0.17 kWh/m2. The findings indicated that Alice possesses abundant solar resources for PV and concentrated solar power generation, and is comparable to other regions internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is facing energy generation and supply challenges. Massive population growth and industrial expansion have exacerbated the situation. The rural communities whose hopes for grid connection are diminishing daily felt the effects of energy generation and supply. The solution to these energy challenges lies in adopting clean renewable energy sources such as rooftop solar home systems (SHS). Efforts to electrify rural households through SHS were initiated in South Africa during the turn of the century. However, little is known about its spread in other rural areas other than the piloted areas. Thus, this study reviews key weaknesses, achievements, and challenges of this programme. Based on a comprehensive review of journal articles and grey literature focusing on SHS, the study unpacked key successes, challenges and weaknesses of the SHS in South Africa. Finally, the paper recommends reviewing the SHS programme and intensifying solar energy awareness campaigns among other things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite improved electrification rates and several government policies introduced to encourage rural households to switch from traditional to modern fuels, most South African households still rely on firewood for their energy needs. This study sought to assess the factors that influence the use of firewood in Ga-Malahlela village in the Limpopo province. To this end, a structured questionnaire was administered to 67 households. Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences were used to code and log in the data. The chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between the choice of energy source(s) and socio-economic factors. It was established that firewood was still widely used: by 61% of the participants for cooking, by 64% for space heating, and by 46% for water heating. For lighting, electricity was used by 98.5% of the participants, while liquefied petroleum gas was used by 1.5%. The dependency on firewood was mainly due to the socio-economic status of the surveyed households, which included income, education level, household size, and preference. Rural firewood reliance continues, due to socio-economic factors such as indigence, preference, and the inaccessibility of services like free basic electricity. It is therefore recommended that the Polokwane Local Municipality should play a part in assisting poor communities with cleaner, cost-effective fuel alternatives such as solar energy, biogas, and liquefied petroleum gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the rapid extension of public service delivery since the end of Apartheid, many rural citizens in South Africa still rely on their own initiatives and infrastructure to access water. They construct, improve, operate and maintain infrastructure of different complexities, from individual wells to complex collectively owned water schemes. While most of these schemes operate without legal recognition, they provide essential services to many households. In this article we will first provide an overview of the growing international body of literature describing self-supply as an alternative pathway for public service delivery. We then take a historical perspective on the role of communities and self-supply in South Africa and describe the emergence of six collectively owned, gravity-fed, piped schemes in Tshakhuma, Limpopo Province. We describe and compare these systems using key characteristics like resource access, investment, construction, operation, maintenance and institutional governance. We further assess their performance with regard to coverage, service level, reliability, governance structure, accountability and water quality. We do so because we are convinced that lessons learned from studying such schemes as locally adapted prototypes have the potential to improve public approaches to service delivery. The described cases show the willingness of community members to engage with service delivery and their ability to provide services in cases where the state has failed. The assessment also highlights problematic aspects of self-supply related to a lack of accountability, technical expertise and the exclusion of disadvantaged community members. By describing and assessing the performance of rural self-supply schemes, we aim to recognize, study and learn from such schemes. We consequently do not conclude this article by providing answers, but by raising some pertinent, policy-relevant questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV still constitutes a major public health problem in Africa, where the highest incidence and prevalence of the disease can be found in many rural areas, with multiple indigenous languages being used for communication by locals. In many rural areas of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in South Africa, for instance, the most widely used languages include Zulu and Xhosa, with only limited comprehension in English and Afrikaans. Health care practitioners for HIV diagnosis and treatment, often, cannot communicate efficiently with their indigenous ethnic patients. An informatics tool is urgently needed to facilitate these health care professionals for better communication with their patients during HIV diagnosis. Here, we apply fuzzy logic and speech technology and develop a fuzzy logic HIV diagnostic system with indigenous multi-lingual interfaces, named Multi-linguAl HIV indigenouS fuzzy logiC-based diagnOstic sysTem (MAVSCOT). This HIV multilingual informatics software can facilitate the diagnosis in underprivileged rural African communities. We provide examples on how MAVSCOT can be applied towards HIV diagnosis by using existing data from the literature. Compared to other similar tools, MAVSCOT can perform better due to its implementation of the fuzzy logic. We hope MAVSCOT would help health care practitioners working in indigenous communities of many African countries, to efficiently diagnose HIV and ultimately control its transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the presence of key requirements for sustainable O&M and rehabilitation of rural small-scale water infrastructure in Makhudutamaga Municipality in South Africa. The study found a significant correlation between the requirements for sustainable O&M and rehabilitation of rural small-scale water infrastructure and continuity of service provision (p < 0.001) by the small-scale water infrastructure as well as functionality (p < 0.001) of the small-scale water infrastructure hardware. The study concludes that the presence of the key requirements varies as a function of social dynamics of communities and the presence of these requirements has an impact on the functionality and continuity of the small-scale water infrastructure hardware. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-country study estimates the effect of household electrification on labor market outcomes for rural individuals in India and South Africa, two developing countries that have implemented large-scale rural electrification schemes in recent decades. Two identification strategies are used: propensity score matching and panel fixed effects estimation. We focus on three indicators of labor market success: employment, earnings and hours worked. We find that electrification raises the annual incomes earned by those who work in paid employment, for both men and women in both countries. For India, both genders work fewer hours, suggesting that electricity raises productivity. For South Africa, where the labor market has less absorptive capacity, there is no employment benefit of electrification. But women who work benefit the most from the productivity gains of electrification: they have greater increases in earnings than men. Our findings suggest that the benefits of electrification do not accrue universally, but rather depend on gender roles, supporting policies and the labor absorptive capacity of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Department of Energy's 'new household electrification strategy' allows for any appropriate and affordable technology option to be applied towards achieving South Africa's non-grid electrification target of 300 000 households over the period 2014 to 2025. This paper describes the main legislative and regulatory framework governing the implementation of small-scale hydropower (SHP) projects in South Africa with the aim of attaining the objectives of the non-grid electrification component of the 'new household electrification strategy', and indicates that it is possible to implement such projects within South Africa's complex institutional architecture. The inclusion of run-of-river type small-scale hydropower projects for rural electrification in the 2016 updated General Authorisation eased the process of attaining regulatory compliance in terms the National Water Act. This implies that these types of SHP projects would only need to follow a registration process to obtain the required water use authorisation, and not a full water use licence application process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large numbers of households and communities will not be connected to the national electricity grid for the foreseeable future due to high cost of transmission and distribution systems to remote communities and the relatively low electricity demand within rural communities. Small-scale hydropower used to play a very important role in the provision of energy to urban and rural areas of South Africa. The national electricity grid, however, expanded and offered cheap, coalgenerated electricity and a large number of hydropower systems were decommissioned. In this study, a feasibility and implementation model was developed to assist in designing and financially evaluating small-scale hydropower (SSHP) plants. The implementation model describes steps to be followed in identifying a technically possible and economically feasible opportunity to develop a SSHP site for rural electrification. The development model was used in designing the Kwa Madiba SSHP plant. The Kwa Madiba SSHP plant was economically evaluated on net present value, internal rate of return, levelised cost of energy, financial payback period and cost/benefit ratio. The outcome of this study proved that it is technically possible to provide SSHP installations for rural electrification in South Africa that are more feasible than local or national electricity grid extensions or even alternative energy sources such as diesel generators. It was concluded that the levelised cost of SSHP projects indicates that the cost of SSHP for low energy generation is high compared to levelised cost of coal-fired power generation. However, the remoteness of SSHP for rural electrification increases the cost of infrastructure to connect remote rural communities to the national electricity grid. This provides a low cost/benefit ratio and renders technically implementable SSHP projects for rural electrification feasible on this basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of most rural electrification programs in the developing world is to bring about socio-economic development to households. Governments have put in place a number of measures to achieve this goal. Previous studies on rural electrification programs in developing countries show that solar home systems and mini-grid systems are the dominant technologies. Assessments of a pilot hybrid mini-grid project at Lucingweni village have concluded that mini-grid projects are not feasible due to high electricity production costs. As a result efforts toward rural electrification have been focused on the solar home system. Nevertheless, previous studies of the South African solar home system program have shown that the development objectives of the program are yet to be met more than a decade after commissioning. Therefore, this study investigates the viability of a hybrid mini-grid as a solution for rural development in South Africa. Investigations were based on Lucingweni and Thlatlaganya, two rural Villages where the mini-grid and solar home system have been introduced. The mini-grid systems were designed taking into consideration available natural resources and existing load profiles. The results show that a village of 300 households needs about 2.4 kW h/household/day of electricity to initiate and sustain income generating activities and that the solar home system is not capable of supporting this level of demand. We also show that in locations with hydro resources, a hybrid mini-grid system has the most potential for meeting the energy needs of the households in a cost effective manner. The assessment shows that with adequate planning and optimization of available resources, the cost of electricity production can be reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential sector in South Africa is being electrified by the South African government on a priority basis. For this purpose, both grid and off-grid electrification options are being used. As off-grid option, 50 Watt Solar Home Systems (SHS) is being provided to consumers in remote rural areas where grid connection is inaccessible. But the SHS of the mentioned size can hardly produce 0.3 to 0.4 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity per day, even under the best solar conditions. This electric energy is substantially lesser than the Basic Electric Energy (BEE = 50 kWh per month), being utilized in the country free of cost by grid connected low income households. In this research work, efforts have been made to determine the most economical options in South Africa's rural areas with off-grid capacity equivalent to BEE. For analysis, off-grid/micro grid options have been compared not only with one another but also with grid connection. To incorporate renewable resources spatial variations, the work has been carried out at provincial level with the period 2014 to 2050. From analysis, it has been found that currently grid-connection is marginally better than off-grid options. But due to increasing grid connection cost and development in the offgrid technologies, the later with generation equivalent to BEE will be a more attractive option to electrify South African rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of different innovative technologies that can be applied to the micro-hydropower system to make it cost effective for rural energy supply. Electrical, mechanical, civil or electronic technologies that can increase the viability of micro-hydropower as a cost-effective energy source for remote and isolated communities in rural South Africa are presented. The motivation behind this study is that there are a significant number of potential sites in South Africa where micro-hydropower is a viable energy option to provide reliable and low cost energy and where conventional schemes are not appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project entails the design of a low voltage DC microgrid system for rural electrification in South Africa. Solar energy is freely available, environmental friendly and it is considered as a promising power generating source due to its availability and topological advantages for local power generation. Off-grid solar systems are perceived to be a viable means of power delivery to households in rural outlying areas in South Africa as solar panels can be used almost anywhere in the country. The design presented in this paper is based on the power demand estimation, photovoltaic panel selection, battery sizing and wire selection for the distribution system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the electrification of households in South Africa since 1994 has been impressive, many of the major energy services in poor households are still met by traditional fuels such as, on the Highveld, coal; in coastal regions, paraffin; and in rural areas by wood. Their use is associated with a range of challenges, from chronic respiratory tract infections to asphyxiation by carbon monoxide to massive fires that destroy not only homes but also lives. State interventions such as the provision of Free Basic Electricity are costly and do not appear to be contributing towards any solutions. The challenges are assessed, and a range of mitigations proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydrokinetic power generation is a relatively recent type of hydropower that generates electricity from kinetic energy of flowing water making the conversion process more competitive compared to traditional micro-hydropower. Few authors have already analyzed the use of standalone hydrokinetic systems for rural electrification, however, there is no available literatures investigating the possibility of using this technology in combination with other renewable energy sources or diesel generator. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the potential use of hydrokinetic-based hybrid systems for low cost and sustainable electrical energy supply to isolated load in rural South Africa where adequate water resource is available. Different hybrid system configurations are modeled and simulated using the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) and the results are analyzed to select the best supply option based on the net present cost and the cost of energy produced. The simulation results from two different case studies show that hybrid systems with hydrokinetic modules incorporated in their architectures have lower net present costs as well as lower costs of energy compared to all other supply options where the hydrokinetic modules are not included. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study investigates the possibility of using and developing hydrokinetic power to supply reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to rural, remote and isolated loads in rural South Africa where reasonable water resource is available. Simulations are performed using the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) and the results are compared to those from other supply options such as standalone Photovoltaic system (PV), wind, diesel generator (DG) and grid extension. Finally the paper points out some major challenges that are facing the development of this technology in South Africa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most developing countries include rural electrification programs in their efforts to improve social conditions. There are, however, several obstacles to the evaluation of such programs and therefore of their social, economic, environmental and energy impacts on the target population, particularly on impoverished communities located in remote areas. Evaluation of the efficacy of public policies aimed at rural electrification in South Africa, China, India and Brazil enables such actions to be quantified and re-considered so as to bolster the sustainability of their planning and implementation and also so as to enable comprehension of the significance of access to electricity in relation to other aspects of the drive to improve living standards. The provision of electric energy amounts to more than access to a public service and should be considered an essential right, in a context of social equity and justice, which permits social integration and the access to other equally essential services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The investigation summarised in this paper applied a sustainability assessment methodology on a renewable energy technological system in a rural village project that was commissioned by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy. The project comprised of wind, solar and lead-acid battery energy storage technologies that were implemented as a mini-hybrid off-grid electrification system for the village. The sustainability assessment methodology predicts the outcomes of such interventions by way of a learning model using discipline experts in the fields of economics, sociology, ecosystem sustainability, institutional governance, and the physics and chemistry of energy conversion processes. The comparison of the project''s outcomes with a South African sustainable development framework shows that the specific village renewable off-grid electrification system is not viable. The main reason is that charges for electricity supply costs in village grids are too high for available subsidies; the economies of scale for renewable energy supply technologies favour national grids. The failure of the integrated system may also be attributable to the complexity of the social-institutional sub-system, which resulted in uncertainty for project planners and system designers, and the lack of resilience of the technological system to demands from the socio-economic and institutional sub-systems. Policy-related recommendations are made accordingly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Develops a computer aided electrification design software for large scale rural electrification program in South Africa. Importance of the software in distribution transformer locations delineation; Implication of optimum transformer zone delineation on cable lengths and transformer utilization; Relevance of the software in searching alternative design strategies.

South Africa has about 2.5 million households without electricity access, most of which are located in rural areas and urban informal settlements. The nexus of energy poverty and gender is at play in the affected communities, as women and girls are culturally stereotyped with the task of collecting unclean fuels (e.g., firewood) and using these for their households' energy demands. Therefore, this study prioritized rural women and girls as respondents in the provinces most affected by gendered energy poverty (GEP) in the country. The study was carried out in selected rural unelectrified areas of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces using structured interviews. The study revealed that GEP in the rural areas has exposed women and girls living there to security concerns, health hazards, premature death, domestic fire accidents, time poverty, income poverty, illiteracy, drudgery in households and farm tasks, etc., at different levels of severity. It also showed the effects of perceptions, age, income, and culture on the choice of energy use among the respondents. Mitigation strategies against GEP in rural South African communities through clean energy adoption are also proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to electricity for every South African citizen, including rural dwellers, is a human right issue guaranteed by the government's laws and policies. However, many remote rural areas still suffer from a lack of this very important amenity, due to the expensive prospect of connecting them to the central national grid. The feasible approach to connecting the rural communities to electricity supply is suggestively through the use of microgrid solutions. The microgrid technology is a very recent and viable option for the energy revolution. Microgrids result from the incorporation of energy storage systems, distributed generators, and localized loads. The application of this technology requires deliberate and extensive work on the operational architecture and the policy framework to be adopted. The energy storage devices form an integral part of the microgrid configuration or architecture to make sure more maintainable and constant operation is attained. This paper presents a review of the architectures of the existing microgrid systems, as well as the policy framework for implementable solutions. The various architectures display the peculiarity of the systems based on the increased grid performance, stability, quality of electricity, and other comparative advantages. The microgrid architectures are fundamentally recognized according to their AC, DC, or hybrid distribution buses and the complexity inherent to them. In the Policy And Development Section, the problems are treated as 'a search for the truth'—a truth being revealed by close and objective examination. The core of the problem to be solved is revealed clearly, thereby giving the basis for simplifying and solving it. The policies encourage the accomplishment of a zero-carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, energy security attainment, the meeting of the electricity demand, and, lastly, the promotion of access to electricity in rural areas. It is established that the returns through charges of the consumers are very insignificant. Although returns on investment always come in conflict with the human right demands of the local indigenes, the policy framework would be explicit on the mode of returns for the government, private partners, and the communities—a return that can be short, medium, or long term. Policymakers would be keen on the exhaustive analysis of issues, leading to optimal decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading PV charge regulator company, Steca GmbH, located in Memmingen, Germany, has opened a joint venture company in South Africa to target South Africa’s rural electrification PV program and extend their PV activities on the world market. This comes, the company claims, after another record production of 93 000 charge regulators in the year 2002, making it world market leader of PV charge regulators. The joint venture is with a South African company called RED (Renewable Energy Developments) with their headquarters in Johannesburg. RED designs and manufactures intelligent prepayment meters and revenue collection software in South Africa which interface with STECA’s new charge regulator generation which will be launched in late summer 2003. STECA expects a new market section for prepayment charge regulators, which could reach in the next years more than 10% of the traditional world off grid market for PV systems. South Africa is the prepayment technology leader offering a large domestic market potential of more than 250 000 PV systems in five concession areas. Prepayment is the key technology to attract more financial investments for PV rural electrification. The German financial cooperation agency KFW just recently signed a co-funding agreement with the South African Government for another 27 000 solar home systems. STECA expects a larger strategic export initiative for renewable energies coming up from the German Government for several countries. In spite of further delays in the South African rural electrification PV program, STECA said it is confident about the future that with the right technology and the right partners, the institutional barriers will be lifted.This is a short news story only. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy news. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]