How to Electrify one Fourth of the World Population
Vu Van Thong, Johan Driesen, Ronnie Belmans
Katholieke Univeristeit Leuven, Electrical Department Engineering
Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001-Leuven, Belgium
Email: ronnie.belmans@esat.kuleuven.be
Summary
This paper provides a state of the art of current electrification
situation in the world, many parts are lighted but still one quarter has no
access to electricity. The dark part happens in poor and developing
countries with most people in rural and remote areas. To light the the
rest of the world, in other word, is to electrify the rural areas. With
innovation of technology, reduction in production costs and flexibility in
sizes and types, distributed generation can be a good solution for this
process. Some technical, operational, micro-grid and financial issues are
discussed.
I. INTRODUCTION
Even though people have started using electricity since 19th
century, many parts of the world are still not electrified. A
quarter of the world population, approximately 1.6 billion
people, has no access to electricity [1]. Most of them live in
rural and remote areas of developing countries. The IEA
estimates by 2030 that there will be 1.4 billion people without
electricity if we do make any dramatic changes in
electrification.
The contribution of electric energy in the civilization and
modernization process is undeniable. However, the people in
rural and remote areas are the ones who can get the benefits
from electricity access and economic achievements very late.
Rural electrification is an essential element for the
development in the areas. It can play an important role in
helping local people to improve their living standards and to
reduce poverty. Rural electrification processes are carrying
out in many developing and under-developed countries with
the help from developed countries or from the governments
through loan incentives or subsidy channels.
To electrify the rest of the world, in other word, is rural
electrification (RE) process of the uncovered electricity parts
of the world.
In the last decades, with economical and environmental
incentives and technology innovations, small-scale generation
connected to the local distribution systems or standalone
installations are increasing rapidly, commonly referred to as
‘Distributed Generation’ (DG) [2]. It gives users the
opportunity to fill in part of the local demand often using
locally available sustainable resources. Many of households
were sparsely living in remote regions where grid extension is
too costly, sometimes impossible to reach. In this context,
provision of electricity to them by using standalone, small-
scale DG technologies such as solar photovoltaic and wind
generator could be a cost-effective solution [3], [4].
This paper aims to provide an idea how to use distributed
generation, technical and economical concerns to fasten rural
electrification processes. Grid connection or micro-grid
(standalone) options are also discussed.
II. ELECTRICITY ACCESS
The gap of energy consumption between the rich and the
poor people is very large. In 2000 number one billion rich
people consumed 50% of the world’s energy supply
compared to the one billion poorest people who used only 4%
[6]. The GDP per capita in low-income countries can be
lower than US$ 400/year, while that of medium income
countries is under US$ 2,000/year and in rich countries can
be over US$ 30,000/year. With very low income a big
question is how poor and developing countries afford to build
and expand the energy infrastructure and how the investment
needs can be financed.
According to the World Energy Outlook, nearly one forth
(1.57 billion people or 24.4 %, Annex 1) of the world’s
population do not have access to electricity. Energy
consumption is strongly correlated with national income.
Households in low income countries might spend 10–20% of
their earnings on energy, while rich country households might
spend as little as 2 %. However, the consummtion of
electricity in rich and poor contries is a big different. People
in developed countries consume almost 25,000
kWh/capita/year, while several developing countries use even
less than 100 kWh/capita/year (Table 1). Even the poor
people consume very little energy, but it is a heavy burden for
them to pay the bills.
Although access to electricity cannot by itself eradicate
these issues, it can certainly help toprevent some of them
from occurring. It is a crucial factor in achieving poverty
reduction. There are multiple links between energy, poverty
and the environment. Electricity vastly enhances
opportunities for industrial and agricultural development, job
creation, health and education. There is a big difference in the
education levels of children from areas with access to
electricity and those from areas without, as they can study
longer at night [6]. The lack of stable and sustainable energy
services correlates closely with many poverty indicators.
- no electricity: people need to use other energy source being
more expensive, more pollution, and may need more time in
searching and collecting (gathering wood, biofuel) – less time
for study and cultivation
- burning biomass in open fires is highly inefficient, more The socio-economic and social benefits cannot be achieved
than 85% is wasted, also causing breathing and eye problems if people, including those in the poorest households, cannot
use the electricity made available by electrification. Three
aspects appear to be critical: the households must have
Table 1: Electricity consumption and GDP per capita in different regions and appliances to use the electricity; the tariff must be affordable,
countries in the world [6]
if necessary supplying for almost nothing an effective
quantity (demand and energy) of electricity; and there should
Country/region GDP/Capita kWh/Capita be monitoring and appropriate disincentives to discourage the
US$ Year 2000 Year 2000 theft of electricity by physical or administrative methods [7].
World 6,145 2,200
OECD 26,985 8,300 to 25,000
Russia 2,680 4,200 III. DG DEPLOYMENTS
Developing 1,362 900, min<100
Low income 475 50 Owing to the recent technology innovations, the cost of
Middle income 2,000 1,500 small-scale generators, using renewable energy sources or
China 1,040 800 fossil fuels, reduces significantly. Many stand-alone systems
India 500 360 have proved to be cost-effectives comparing to grid
extensions. The aim of this paper is investigations how to use
small-scale generators to supply electricity with low costs and
high reliability in isolated areas. We may consider as a micro-
grid system. Technical and economic issues are addressed.

DG offers a great value, as it provides a flexible way to

choose from a wide range of combinations of cost and
reliability with short construction periods. The
implementation of DG helps to diversify the primary energy
supply. According to the World Alliance for Decentralized
Energy (WADE) the overall share of distributed energy in
global power generation was 7.2% in 2004, and its goal is to
double the market share, 14% by 2012 [4].

Figure 1: Rural electrification in different regions of the world (source:

World Bank)

In a report Gaunt mentions three objectives of

electrification with which are associated characteristic
categories of electricity supply [7]:

- Economic development pursues efficiency, growth and

financial return. Electrical energy contributes to
productive output and the users meet fully the financial
costs of electricity supply.
- Socio-economic development seeks long-term
sustainable changes of lifestyle. The financial costs of
electricity supply are not completely paid by the
customers and the necessary subsidies are justified by
broader economic benefits derived from supplying
electricity.
- Social development is concerned with equity, justice and
poverty alleviation. The use of the electricity is entirely
consumptive, without making significant contributions to
financial or economic development, but important for a
social benefit mostly derived from enabling people who
could not otherwise afford electricity to use modern
energy supplies to alleviate their poverty.
Electrification alone cannot achieve the development
objectives, which are the result of many different factors.
Figure 2: Power generation share from DG
DG can be powered by renewable or non-renewable energy
sources, using both modern and conventional technologies.
The different DG technologies, including storage systems,
can be divided through the primary resource used:
- Fossil-fuel based DG: gas engine, gas turbine, Stirling
engine, fuel cell;
- Non-fossil-fuel based DG: wind turbine, photovoltaic,
biomass (biogas), small hydro, geothermal, tidal, wave;
- Storage system: battery, flywheel, super-capacitor,
superconducting coil, etc.
The solar, wind and biomass resources are abundant and
mostly available in many rural areas of the world. Geothermal
sources are available at some particular locations. Tidal, wave
energy is not applied for the rural electrification process.
Many small hydro projects are successful in mountainous
areas. Most of them are run-off-river modes without or with
small dams. The electricity availability depends on the water
flow and the raining season.
Challenges
- Users hosting local generation do not have the full
technical capability to participate in the energy market and
grid support yet;
- PV systems are connected next to loads having cycles
entirely uncorrelated with the solar cycle. The generation
profiles do not follow local load profiles, causing unbalance
in generation/demand. Extra sources to compensate like
storage systems are needed;
- In remote areas the communication infrastructure is weak.
An autonomous and simple control scheme is recommended;
- The electrical power system serves normally poor people
with low consumption demand;
- Maintenance is limited due to unavailable spare
equipment nearby;
- The system operators have limited abilities and may not
be well trained compared to ones working with large power
systems.
Standalone and grid-connected options
- Grid-connected options: helping local people better off
their income and creating jobs through the use of local
resources and residual products.
- Standalone options: is done where the national grid
cannot reach to. A hybrid generation seems to be a good
solution.
IV. MICRO-GRID OPTION
For remote applications, where the electric power system
cannot reach due to economic reasons, a micro-grid or a
standalone option is a good choice. However, how to develop
this protocol in an economic, efficient, reliable and simple
way is still challenging.
Local and autonomous control without any communication
is recommended. The control of voltage and frequency
follows droop characteristics with a preset setting so that the
system voltages and frequency are maintained within
acceptable operating ranges (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Non-linear voltage droop control with PV in standalone operation
[5]
Hybrid System
Due to non-continuous availability of many renewable
energy resources such as wind and solar, one individual
energy source cannot provide continuous and reliable
electricity demand. To increase reliability and to reduce costs,
a hybrid system is preferable. Based on the available
resources, economic feasibilities and expected reliability,
there are many combinations for hybrid systems.
Load and
Distributed Load
Generation
storage
control
Storage system
Figure 4: Hybrid system with storage compensation
Some renewable energy resources are highly variable and
unpredictable. To smoothen out the intermitted power output,
an energy storage system is required. An energy storage
system is charged when a surplus of energy is available, and
discharged when the source does not produce enough power
for the demand. The storage devices can also help improve
the power quality of the power system. A general layout of a
storage system connection is shown in Figure 4.
Depending on the length of power transfer interval, short- and
long-term power exchange is defined. Long-term power
transfer acts as energy buffer and can deliver power from a
few seconds to a few minutes or even longer. Short-term
power transfer can be used to protect sensitive equipment
against voltage sags and can be active for a few milliseconds
to a few seconds.
Energy storage technologies range from batteries, flywheels,
super-capacitors, super-conducting coils, etc.
V. TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
- Voltage and frequency regulation: They have to be
maintained in acceptable ranges. Distribution systems are
designed to transfer electric energy from substation to
customers, i.e. from the sending end to the receiving end, in
unidirectional power flow. The system voltage of a radial
system generally decreases gradually from the substation to
the end of feeders, as most loads have inductive
characteristics. With the connection of DG to the distribution
system, this simple voltage characteristic is not valid any
more. The power injected of DG also changes the operating
voltage profile of the system (Figure 5).
- Protection: faults on the grid, lightning (special attention
in rural and mountainous areas). Safe operation and
protection of the system are to be guaranteed at all times. This
is less simple than it seems since the fault currents not only
come from the main grid in a unidirectional way, but also
from DG units (dispersed current sources), making the
detection far more complicated. Therefore, the conventional
hierarchical protection method needs to be revised.

Figure 5: Voltage variation with different injected active and reactive power
and operating power factor (Base: without DG, Ind: PF 0.9 lagging, Con: PF
unity, Syn: PF 0.95 leading) of a distribution feeder [9]
- Safety: is concerning for both customers and system
operators. The grounding scheme of the DG interconnection
may not cause over-voltages exceeding the rating of the
equipment connected to the power system and may not
disrupt the coordination of the ground fault protection on the
power system
VI. FUNDING CONSIDERATION
Energy requirements in rural households tend to be lower
than in urban households that Mutale mentions in his report
because [8]:
- People in rural areas tend to be poorer than those in urban
areas, so they have fewer appliances and cannot afford to
purchase as much electricity
- Lack of piped water to dwellings reduces the scope for
electric water heating
- Fuelwood and other biomass is available at relatively low
cost or for the effort of collection, allowing households to
reduce their expenditure on electrical energy
- Cultural practices, such as in traditional approaches to
cooking, limit the acceptance of electricity for some energy
applications
Provision of electricity to rural areas is considered
uneconomical by many utility companies, due to the low
consumption and poor load factors. In addition, the cost per
kWh generated by DG is still high. The rural electrification
process cannot develop fast without the help from
governments or non-government organizations (NGO). There
are several support modes that can be used:
- Multilateral institutions have a crucial role to play, not
only in providing funding, but also in guiding the process of
reform, competence building and project selection. Help from
developed countries is needed through development funds (or
Official Development Assistance’s funds) or development
program from international finance organizations such as
World Bank, ADB, etc;
- Taxation incentives or providing subsidies from
governments to users to reduce capital cost of the investment;
- Feed-in tarrifs, ‘Green energy’ certificates functioning in
a retail portfolio obligation, grid access priorities or lowered
balancing costs can be applied;
- Consumer credit: users can obtain financing assistance
from financial institutions or local banks for purchasing
equipment and installation.
- As work and income are the main drivers for sustainable
development, the private sector can contribute to the
alleviation of poverty by job creation. Community
involvement is one of the cornerstones of RE program, local
equipments and qualified workers should be sourced
whenever economical.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
To electrify the rest of the world, accounting for one forth
of the world’s population, is still a challenge and takes some
time to reach. In other word, it is a rural electrification
process. RE plays an important role in helping local people to
improve their living standards and incomes. However, this
process has not covered all the regions and reached to
everyone yet. With the introduction and deployments of DG,
this may fasten the electrification program and provide the
rural people an extra solution to access electricity to better off
their quality of life.
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ANNEX

Annex 1: Electricity access rate in different parts of the world

(source: World Energy Outlook 2006)