USA: Village Power Opportunities and Challenges

1. USA: Village Power Opportunities and Challenges 20th Meeting of the APEC Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET) November 4-6, 2003 Seoul, Korea Jean Ku Cary Bloyd National Renewable Energy Lab. Argonne National Lab. Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

2. U.S. Support for Village Power • Research for renewable energy technologies • Resource assessment • Development of technologies • System implementation and projects • Renewable energy applications: productive uses, telecom, micro-enterprise • Hybrid systems (PV/wind/diesel) Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

3. Village Power Support Activities • R&D • Resource assessment • Deployment • Training • System design • Outreach Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

4. Research and Development Research to develop technologies: technology is necessary, but not sufficient • - PV- wind- hybrid- battery - biomass Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

5. Resource Assessment • Resource assessment and GIS analysis tools to develop projects: knowledge of renewableenergy resources is critical to project success • -solar-wind-hydro-biomass • http://rredc.nrel.gov/ Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

6. System Analysis • Computer modeling and system analysis: performance, resource availability, loads, and cost effectiveness can aid project design • HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) - model that helps design electric power systems • Hybrid2 - tool to conduct long-term performance and economic analysis on hybrid power systems • ViPOR (Village Power Optimization Model for Renewables) - optimization model for designing village electrification systems • http://www.nrel.gov/villagepower/model.html Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

7. Sustainability Issues • Village power sustainability issues: RE provides a service to users and has potential to improve quality of life • - O&M- productive uses- health clinics- schools- micro-enterprise (access to markets) - community centers - telecom, access to information Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

8. Outreach • Outreach: networking and training opportunities support village power projects • Village Power conferences (1994, 1997, 1998 2000) • Village Power database and newsletter http://www.nrel.gov/villagepower • WEATS • GVEP Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

9. Domestic Applications • Tribal Energy Program • Financial and technical assistance for feasibility studies • Shares cost of implementing sustainable energy installations on tribal lands. • www.eren.doe.gov/tribalenergy • Wales, Alaska - high penetration wind-diesel hybrid demonstration project in rural Alaska. 130 kW wind/365 kW diesel. Prototype to validate the technical feasibility and economic viability of wind-diesel hybrid electric generation systems for widespread applicability to rural villages Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

10. International Applications • Asia • Africa • South America • www.nrel.gov/international Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)

11. Example: Integrated Strategies to Support VP in China • Analyses • Inner Mongolia case studies - technical and economic performance of household and village power systems • Rural household energy surveys in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia and analysis of least-cost systems options • Resource Assessment - Biomass assessments and resource database, conversion technologies, technical and economic assessment, and market strategies and policies • Training – at NREL, in China • SDPC Brightness Program/Township program - SDPC grant for 17 MW PV and wind village power systems - Training certification program, hybrids systems training, productive uses and micro-enterprise training Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET)