
The use of solar energy in rural areas across sub-Saharan Africa has increased over the years. With many communities lacking access to basic necessities such as
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
,
clean water
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. ...
, and effective
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
systems; the innovations in solar powered technologies have led to poverty alleviation projects that combine development strategies and environmental consciousness. Another use for
solar energy
Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...
that has gained momentum in rural African households (as well as some urban areas) is that of
solar cooking. Historically, the high dependency on wood collection from depleting sources have resulted in serious
environmental degradation
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
and has been considered an extremely unsustainable practice when compared to the renewable attribute of solar powered cooking. There have also been recent links made between solar energy and increased
food security
Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...
in the region. African development projects, mostly in rural areas seem to be recognizing the real potential of
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
sources especially power derived from the sun.
Solar cooking
The article by Hilde M. Toonen (2009) details the efforts carried out by the SUPO (Stichting voor Urbane Projecten in Ontwikkelingslanden) foundation that was established in 1977; when they began a solar cooking project in 2005 in the urban households of the
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
city of
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...
: PESGO (Programme Energie Solaire Grand-Ouaga). The technology used was that of
CooKit which is a cardboard panel cooker covered with aluminum foil. Sunrays are reflected towards a black pot which is placed in a thermo-resistant plastic bag. Temperatures from 70 _C to 90_C (160 F and 200 F) can be reached. The cardboard is foldable and weighs only 500 g (1 lb.), it is therefore easily stored. If the CooKit is kept dry and away from
termite
Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...
s, the CooKit may last for several years. Considering its durability, the CooKit seems to be a good investment: the purchase costs are lower than the money people spend on firewood. The manufacturing of the CooKit is not difficult. Solar Cookers International published a construction manual (SCI, 2007c). A CooKit can be made in one or two hours and materials needed are cardboard, aluminum foil and non-toxic, water based glue (SCI, 2007c) (see Fig. 1). (Toonen, 2009).
Fig. 1 The CooKit
As mentioned above the
CooKit aims to reduce the high dependency on firewood and
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
for cooking purposes that proves to not only negatively affect the environment; but also put a strain on the finances of the individual households. However, the researchers involved in the SUPO foundation quickly realized that CooKit alone could not be as effective in replacing firewood; and that the use of a special plant oil extracted from the drought-resistant
Jatropha plant would be the most complementary component to aid in the cooking process as a fuel substitute. The process of extraction is also very straightforward where an individual just needs to squeeze the plant to get the oil. According to SUPA the main reason for using
Jatropha oil along with the CooKit is due to the unreliability of weather conditions; however there have not yet been any developments in creating an inexpensive stove to be used with the Jatropha oil but that a one-flame cooker is simply a
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
at this stage.
The CooKit example shared here is only one adaptation to solar cooking technology and that further research reveals other innovations such as the Solar Fryer (Gallagher, 2011) and the original
Solar Box Oven. Evidence has shown that although the main setbacks to solar cooking are the longer time it takes to prepare meals for families and that the dependency on favorable weather conditions means that one cannot use solar energy every day; it is a step in the right direction as it can at least alleviate the pressure currently being placed on the remaining scarce firewood resources.
Solar-powered water purification
Purified water
Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water was, formerly, the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently pu ...
is a big issue facing many communities in the
developing world
A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
in particular. Those in rural areas are usually too isolated for on-grid government-funded water pipe infrastructure to be built; and so the responsibility of getting clean water becomes that of the women and their children in the villages who have to walk long distances to water sources that are not necessarily the purest.
In the article by Sambwa et al. (2009), the authors highlight these issues and propose the integration of DC (Direct Current) Motors into solar powered water pumping technology. This is usually referred to as ‘
Technology Transfer
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
’ that the authors argue is a development concept,
hat has beenconceived by the politicians and the general public in sub-Saharan Africa as the ability to purchase or acquire technological equipment. Coupled with ‘‘globalization and economic liberation’’, this trend has become contagious to the point that any segment of unserviceable technological equipment finds its way into the sub-region...They are grouped as: vehicles, house hold machinery, industrial equipment, and many more. The authors have identified these unserviceable equipment as an inestimable source of
raw material
A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...
s where DC motors have been extracted (recovered) for the purpose of being reconfigured as DC motors for driving water pumps. (Sambwa et al., 2009). The pump itself can be retrieved from washing machines or radiators of the generating set engines. Figure 2 below shows the end product of the DC Motor Drive Water Pump before it has been connected to the
solar panel
A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...
s.
Fig. 2 DC motor drive water pump
However one of the main setbacks of relying on used imported technologies is that they prove to be problematic to local engineers and technicians as most of them have already worked for many years before being exported to the continent. (Sambwa et al., 2009).
The project proved to be successful as it was able to pump water from a 10m deep water reservoir; but in order to fund future projects costs would have to be covered by external sources. In spite of the higher production costs, the overall benefit of utilizing this technology outweighs the proposed setbacks. And due to the relatively simplistic model, maintenance work that would arise in the future can be dealt with by the local technicians.
Researchers from
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; ') is a Private university, private research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, the university provides research and graduate training programs in English ...
in Saudi Arabia invented a device in 2019 that can produce solar electricity while simultaneously purifying water.
Solar-powered drip irrigation system
In the article by Burney et al. (2010) another use for solar energy that has been proposed is the Photovoltaic- (or solar-) powered drip irrigation (PVDI) system
hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
combines the efficiency of
drip irrigation
Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surfac ...
with the reliability of a solar-powered water pump...
here thePV array powers a pump (either surface or submersible, depending on the water source) that feeds water to a reservoir. The reservoir then gravity-distributes the water to a low-pressure drip irrigation system. No batteries are used in the system: The pump only runs during the daytime, and energy storage is in the height of the column of water in the reservoir.
An important technological advancement for agricultural practices in the region that is related to increasing food security; the PVDI systems were integrated into preexisting local women's agricultural groups in the Kalalé District of Northern
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
in November 2007. The PVDI systems were conceived, financed, and installed by an NGO, the Solar Electric Light Fund,
Solar Electric Light Fund: Energy is a Human Right
/ref> to boost vegetable production from communal gardens in an effort to combat high malnutrition and poverty levels in the region. (Burney et al., 2010).
See also
* Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy
* Energy for All
* Global Solar Atlas
*International Renewable Energy Agency
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
* Renewable energy in Africa
*Renewable energy in China
China is the world's top electricity producer from renewable energy sources. China's renewable energy capacity is growing faster than its fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity.
China Installed over 373 GW of renewables in 2024, reac ...
* Solar for all
* Solar power in South Asia
* Solar powered refrigerator
* SolarAid
*UN-Energy UN-Energy is an interagency mechanism within the system of the United Nations related to energy. It was created after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and its purpose is to create a coherent approach towards a susta ...
References
{{Solar energy
*
Renewable energy in Africa