Renewable energy mini-grids are a widely discussed solution for cost-effective and reliable energy access. However, within the mini-grids dialogue micro and mini hydropower (MHP)1 is often overlooked, despite the large number of beneficial projects operating globally, particularly in rural regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Please find the recordings of our webinar series on Energypedia
The third webinar is going to happen in the beginning of July.
Once implemented mini-grids need to be financially sustainable. Their operation and maintenance costs are recovered from tariffs, which depend on power consumption. Providing only lighting is a missed opportunity to bring optimal impact to economically marginalized rural communities. Micro/mini hydropower can generate many kWh’s — we need to learn how to make use of them!
Productive End Use (PEU) of energy refers to activities that increase income or productivity in different sectors such as agriculture (e.g. irrigation, grain milling), manufacturing (e.g. carpentry, welding, and sewing), and the service sector (e.g. restaurants using electric lights, sound systems, refrigerators, mobile charging stations).
This third webinar in the series will focus on PEU of mini/micro hydropower systems. It will examine:
- the social and technical pre-conditions, such as load management and technical reliability, and options such as mechanical drive for agricultural processing
- the increase of load factor through PEU and corresponding increase of the economic viability of the system
- three examples of systems promoting productive end use in different countries. It will present pros and cons of electrifying “existing activities” versus “new businesses”.
