Performance and reliability analysis of an off-grid PV mini-grid system in rural tropical Africa: A case study in southern Ethiopia

Yibeltal T. Wassie, Erik O. Ahlgren · 2022 · Development Engineering

Summary. A solar photovoltaic mini-grid system in rural Ethiopia generated 46.6% less electricity than estimated, delivering only 87% of produced power to users due to capture and system losses. The system performed poorly with 13% capacity factor and 8.76% overall efficiency, forcing 13 hours of daily power cuts. The study shows that accurate demand forecasting and proper system sizing accounting for local weather and future growth are essential for reliable off-grid rural electrification.

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@article{wassie-2022-performance-reliability-analysis-off-grid,
  title   = {Performance and reliability analysis of an off-grid PV mini-grid system in rural tropical Africa: A case study in southern Ethiopia},
  author  = {Yibeltal T. Wassie and Erik O. Ahlgren},
  journal = {Development Engineering},
  year    = {2022},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100106},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100106}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Performance and reliability analysis of an off-grid PV mini-grid system in rural tropical Africa: A case study in southern Ethiopia
AU  - Yibeltal T. Wassie
AU  - Erik O. Ahlgren
JO  - Development Engineering
PY  - 2022
DO  - 10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100106
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100106
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100106

Countries

Ethiopia

Regions

Africa

Categories

energy, rural-data-and-definitions

Added

2026-04-28