Extending energy usage of solar milling plants initiative in the eastern province of Zambia
Date
2023
Authors
Kayombo, Kasongo Levy
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Publisher
The university of Zambia
Abstract
Zambia's National access to electricity is approximately 31 %, with 67 % of the urban having access and worse off in rural areas, which are very remote and far away from the electricity grid, with only 4 % of its population having access. Rural areas do not just need electricity for everyday uses like lights and heat but also for productive uses such as farming and clean water provision.The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey to assess the technical configuration and
performance of the solar hammer mills (SHMs), assess the average daily energy generated, energy consumed and excess unutilised energy of selected solar milling plants (SMPs), conduct energy needs assessments for the surrounding rural communities and finally to design an effective technical solution to ensure productive use of the excess solar energy from the respective SHMs.Visits to six selected solar milling plants in Eastern Province were undertaken. The average
daily energy generated, energy consumed, and excess unutilised energy were investigated and recorded. A household and technical questionnaire was designed and administered to evaluate the community's energy needs. Excel and a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) were used to analyse and interpret the collected data. Finally, a concept design for a solar water pumping system and a business hub around the SMP was recommended to benefit the local
communities.It was found that the second and third generations of SHMs were lower power-rated and were technically friendly to the local operators. From the household survey, the average number of houses within a 500 m radius ranges from 25 to 30, with an average number of rooms ranging
from five to eight. Furthermore, the community's economic activities were found to be farming and business, with an average annual income going from ZMW16,000.00 to ZMW20,000.00. Moreover, an average of 67 % of the people use firewood for cooking, while 74 % of the people, on average, use solar lamps for lighting. Lastly, a 15 kW hybrid inverter was recommended to connect a solar water pump and a business hub around the SMP. This class of inverter can handle high voltages from the SMP solar array. A 1.5 kW solar water pump was selected to manage the total water demand of 30,000 L/day. Regarding business, a minimum of 7.6 kW is required to meet the demand for shops and security lighting. A 5,900 Ah battery bank is required to supply power to the system to meet power downtimes.
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Thesis