Creating Resilient Sustainable Micro-Grids through Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (CRESUM-HYRES)

Co-investigators

Dr Petros Aristidou, Professor Kang Li, Professor Peter Taylor, Dr Rolf Crook, Dr Valerie Dupont, Professor Jenny Jones, Dr Hu Li, Dr Andrew Ross

Post-doctoral researchers

Dr Cheng Wen, Shahab Dehghan, James Hammerton

Overview

The overall goal of this project is to enable the development of sustainable and resilient energy distribution grids in rural communities of the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) Tanzania, Uganda and Republic of the Congo, where currently at most 10% of the rural population has access to electricity.

The project’s aim is to improve access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, which is UN Sustainable Development Goal 7. Globally, one in five people still lack access to modern electricity, and 3 billion people rely on traditional fuels for heating and cooking.

Small-scale renewable energy technologies are now available at an affordable price, and it is no longer necessary to have a costly centralised energy infrastructure, particularly one powered by fossil fuels with the consequent influence on climate change.

The research follows an integrated approach to ensure that the design of the system is maintainable, has good longevity with low cost, meets diverse community energy needs and is resilient to natural hazards. This holistic approach is driven by the understanding that the creation of a truly sustainable, reliable, and locally maintainable energy distribution infrastructure needs to be focused on actual needs and local realities, beyond a purely electrical perspective.

Impact

The long term impact of the project will be to:

  1. Provide sustainable, resilient energy supplies in LMICs using low-cost micro-grids; this will help alleviate poverty and improve health.
  2. Enable self-sustained energy infrastructure development by building capacity within the partner countries, including developing skilled researchers, educators and entrepreneurs.
  3. Establish governance, financing and operational arrangements that are organised for small-scale renewable energy systems, and that can be implemented both by local businesses and communities.

The project will achieve this through establishing an international network for stakeholder engagement and knowledge transfer; capacity building through open access online training courses; and public engagement and dissemination of information through internet resources and social media.

Project website

https://cera.leeds.ac.uk/