Experience with the electrification of a Gambian village

The combination of innovative modular standard technologies with an interdisciplinary approach can meet all the requirements for the creation of a sustainable rural electrification strategy. This concept has been applied to the electrification of the village of Darsilami in Gambia, where a North-South partnership-based collaboration between different stakeholders has been initiated. The first steps towards the sustainable electrification of Darsilami village have been realized. The power station is based on AC coupling (single phase, 230 V, 50 Hz) and fed by two strings of photovoltaic modules, each of 1500 Wp, oriented south with a 15 degrees of inclination angle. When solar radiation is insufficient to supply the loads, these are fed from maintenance-free solar batteries (30x2 V, 300 Ah). A 9 kW back-up diesel generator starts whenever the power from PV and batteries is insufficient to meet the load. All the generators are coupled on the AC side using innovative inverter technology, which will allow the capacity of the power system to be easily expanded according to the future needs of the village population. The training of staff for local operation and maintenance increases the system's reliability. Additionally, a long-term monitoring system has been integrated and will provide highly valuable historical data. In order to promote the future replication of such rural electrification projects with renewable energies, it is essential to establish a local scientific structure which goes far beyond the training of local technicians.