Status of Micro-Hydrokinetic River Technology Turbines Application for Rural Electrification in Africa

Willis Awandu (), Robin Ruff, Jens-Uwe Wiesemann and Boris Lehmann
Additional contact information
Willis Awandu: Department of Hydraulics Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Robin Ruff: Department of Hydraulics Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Jens-Uwe Wiesemann: Department of Hydraulics Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
Boris Lehmann: Department of Hydraulics Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: Energy accessibility, reliability and availability are key components of improved quality of life and human development in all spheres. As the United Nations’ SDG 7 calls for access to electricity for all by 2030, Africa still has a wide gap to fill as the statistics show that 85% of the population that will not have access to electricity is in Africa. As the world tries to wean itself off non-renewable energy and transition to green through use of renewable energy sources, hydropower energy remains at the heart of Africa for this venture. With majority of the rural population in Africa lacking electricity, there is need for a low-tech system that utilizes river flow to generate just enough energy for normal operation in these regions. Micro-hydrokinetic river turbine technology (µ-HRT), which offers less intermittency, can potentially contribute to sustainably electrifying Africa rural areas. The technology has been adopted by few countries worldwide, with limited comprehensive study in Africa even though the technology seems viable for use in African rivers. This paper reviewed the status of the µ-HRT applications in Africa and some of the barriers to its development. The study found out that the technology has not been vastly developed in Africa. Despite numerous barriers, the technology is simply a low-tech technology that requires the use of local resources and capacity building for its sustainability in terms of construction, operation and maintenance requirements. It is therefore recommended that R&D and field trials be conducted for its possible adoption.

Keywords: Africa; capacity building; energy accessibility; hydrokinetic river turbine; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9004/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/9004/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:23:p:9004-:d:986770

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().