Energy for developing regions

Potential of sustainable mini-grids for institutional energy use in refugee camps in Rwanda

Student: Javier Baranda Alonso

Around the world, humanitarian crises and needs are constantly rising, forcing millions of people into displaced situations. In a context of lack of funding and reliable and clean energy supply in humanitarian operations, the study focuses on current institutional energy usage and the potential of mini-grids and renewable energy systems in refugee camps in Rwanda. Aligned within the Renewable Energy for Refugees (RE4R) project, headed by Practical Action and UNHCR, it aims to provide quantitative evidence to support the development of renewable energy solutions for institutional operations, which would allow more sustainable and effective humanitarian assistance in displacement contexts.

Supervisors:

  • Dr Philip Sandwell, Department of Physics
  • Professor Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics

Investigating financing options for domestic renewable energy solutions in Refugee Camps in Rwanda

Student: Thomas Chadwick

Refugees are exposed to crippling economic situations and poor living conditions as a result of having no access to electricity. Clean energy access will allow refugees to unlock their potential and contribute to the wider economy. Using data gathered from refugee camps, I aim to provide quantitative evidence and analyses to establish approaches that can be taken by stakeholders to make domestic energy solutions more accessible and affordable in refugee settings. I will be concentrating on innovative pay-as-you-go business models in combination with various financing mechanisms to identify pricing points that produce the most affordable, low carbon electricity systems to households in camps.

Supervisors:

  • Dr Philip Sandwell, Department of Physics
  • Professor Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics

Assessing the benefits and challenges associated with biochar production systems for cooking, Malawi

Student: Josephine Demay

In 2008, 88.5% of the total energy consumption in Malawi came from biomass fuels including wood, charcoal, crop residues and animal dung. Because 41.1% of the wood used is unsustainably harvested, deforestation is becoming a very serious issue. Flooding and droughts have become increasingly frequent leading to food insecurity. Through collaborative work with a cooperative encouraging agroforestry with macadamia trees in Malawi, the objectives of the thesis are to: (1) assess and quantify the carbon impact of introducing biochar production systems for cooking and (2) to model to what extent it could foster the scaling up of macadamia agroforestry among smallholder farmers.

Supervisors:

  • Dr Jeremy Woods, Centre for Environmental Policy
  • Dr Onesmus Mwabonje, Centre for Environmental Policy

Technological investigation of off-grid solar electricity systems in rural Senegal

Student: Ana Gea Espinos

Over 10% of the global population live without electricity, 87% of which are in rural areas, and this lack of resource can hinder socio-economic development. The geography and climate of rural Senegal favours off-grid systems for electricity access, particularly those using solar PV, and so this project conducts a technological assessment of such systems to power educational centres. Various scenarios will be compared to establish the optimal operational strategies and to provide recommendations to the NGO responsible for installing and using the systems. This will aim to maximise the benefits of the systems and help contribute to the educational development of communities in Ndem, Senegal.

Supervisors:

  • Dr Philip Sandwell, Department of Physics
  • Professor Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics

A techno-economic assessment of sustainable cooling technologies to reduce food loss in Kenya

Student: Paul-Adrien Marie

The lack of reliable cold chain in the developing world leads to a large amount of food losses and economic losses. The lack of national infrastructures, low energy access and low credit access make the development of cold chain in sub-Saharan Africa very challenging. However, sustainable cooling technologies have been recently developed to provide cold to rural and off-grid areas. The aim of the thesis is to assess the financial viability of two sustainable technologies: PV-powered compression cold storage and a mobile pre-cooler powered by Liquid Nitrogen, to establish possible business plans for their introductions and assess the potential benefits they could bring in the context of Kenya.

Supervisors:

  • Dr Judith Cherni, Centre for Environmental Policy
  • Louise Alter, Dearman

Energy access for rural health clinics: Electrifying a clinic in Southwestern Kenya

Student: Alix Weil

One billion people worldwide still rely on healthcare facilities which lack access to reliable electricity, with most of them living in rural areas of developing countries. Modern electrification is recognised as being crucial to the improvement of public health by improving medical services offered in clinics. As solutions, Solar-Home Systems appear to be particularly reliable and cost-effective. Focusing on the Maasai community of Loita Hills, Kenya, this thesis aims at developing a power system supplying their health facility and investigating its suitability.

Supervisors:

  • Hamish Beath, Department of Physics
  • Dr Philip Sandwell, Department of Physics
  • Professor Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics