SIZE DOES MATTER, BUT SO DO OTHER THINGS

1. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS SIZE DOES MATTER, BUT SO DO OTHER THINGS Jos Beurskens (SET Analysis), Flemming Rasmussen (DTU), Alex De Broe (3E) Alex.DeBroe@3E.eu | www.3E.eu

2. Questions raised 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

3. Questions raised • OFF-MAINSTREAM APPLICATIONS Mainstream Wind Power RemoteRuralIslands Mainstream Wind Power ColdClimate Offshore VTT HotClimate EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

4. Wind power in the developing world • Annual installed wind power capacity by region 2003-2010 The actual wind power gap Source: GWEC EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

5. Wind power in the developing world The wind potential • 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

6. Wind power in the developing world • sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s lowest electricity access rate The actual power gap Source: International Energy Agency EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

7. Wind power in the developing world • Beyond bulk generation of electricity : Rural Electrification, Water desalination … The applications EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

8. The hurdles • The financing gap... MONEY • Source: International Energy Agency EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

9. The hurdles • Or a lack thereof… roads • Source: Rex Parry, Wikipedia EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

10. The hurdles • Plenty of cranes in Africa … CRANES EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

11. The hurdles • There is no grid where the wind blows • Similar to offshore and cold climate areas GRIDS • 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

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

13. The solution • Already in place AND the winner is… EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

14. The solution • And won’t get cheaper But DIESEL is expensive • 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

15. The solution • on sites with good wind resources and high diesel prices or unreliable grids HYBRIDS bring down the cost of energy 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

16. The solution • Do we have the appropriate technology?? • And what should it look like?? Wind turbines for developing countries EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

17. The solution MATURITY OF TECHNOLOGIES Grid connected turbines; wind farms offshore 10 Rated power [MW] 1 Grid connected turbines; medium scale Hybrid systems (AWDS) Grid connected turbines; wind farms on land 0.1 Grid connected turbines;small scale 0.01 Circle areas indicate maturity Autonomous & Hybrid (W-PV) Rotor diameter [m] 0 25 50 75 100 125 EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

18. The solution • Echo’s from the field… • High cost • Lack of robustness/reliability • Heavy equipment required to install • Poor operational characteristics: • High start-up wind speeds (especially in cold weather) • High reactive power demand (induction machines) • High power fluctuations  difficult to integrate in off-grid systems • Inability to curtail output without shutting down (some machines) • Pulsating power output (mostly 2-bladed machines) • Sensitivity to phase voltage imbalance Top Technical Issues • Source: Sustainable Power Systems EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

19. The solution • Wind can, and should play a role in eradicating energy poverty in developing countries • Project boundary conditions that are very different from Mainstream Wind demand for a specific product • The economics of Hybrid Power Systems are sound in a lot of places with reasonable resources and/or unreliable grids • Room for improvement in turbine technology for off-grid /mini-grid applications Conclusions EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS

20. Acknowledgements: • Steve Drouilhet, Sustainable Power Systems • Sean Whittaker, International Finance Corporation World Bank Group • Irene Pinedo, JRC Ispra • Holger Thomson, WKN-AG Brussels Toulouse Gent Beijing Istanbul Cape Town www.3E.eu Thank YOu EWEA 2012: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NEED A DIFFERENT WIND TURBINE FOR OFF-GRID APPLICATIONS