Divide and Conquer: How Decentralized Power Generation Can Alleviate Sub-Saharan Africa’s Electricity Challenges

Decentralized power facilities, sources that generate electricity much closer to the consumers, are touted to be vital in improving Sub-Saharan Africa’s power supply situation. We take a close look at their benefits.

It has been highlighted, time and again, that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to close to a billion people without access to reliable electricity. The region’s electricity challenges may be attributed to several factors, most notably to insufficient connectivity particularly in rural areas, and intermittent power supply.

A recent study by Afrobarometer, a pan-African research network, illustrates that only 45% of rural areas enjoys access to the electric grid across 36 African countries considered. In fact, countries like Burundi, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Niger, Guinea, Liberia and Mali have extended the electricity grid to only a third or less of their territories. The inadequate grid extension and connectivity is stark in the West and East African countries, and in a number of Southern African countries, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.

But, even as various areas in Sub-Saharan Africa are connected to national power network, they are still not guaranteed to receive a constant reliable supply of electricity. For instance, 14% of grid-connected consumers in South Africa, 44% in Zimbabwe, 33% in Zambia, 23% in Botswana, 19% in Namibia and 15% in Kenya, say they still suffer from regular power outages and load shedding. This can be largely attributed to inadequate power generation, high transmission losses, and limitations in power distribution.

A case for Decentralized Power

Decentralized power generation systems can help countries in Sub-Saharan Africa alleviate their present power generation and transmission challenges. Several technologies can be implemented as a decentralized power generation system, including solar, wind, hydro, and temporary power plants running on diesel or gas.

Courtesy www.gineersnow.com

Decentralized power generation systems will prove beneficial on several levels to Sub-Saharan African countries. Below are some of the highlight advantages of decentralized power generation technologies:

Flexibility

Decentralized power generation systems, like rental power plants, can be easily mobilized, installed and operated anywhere in the world, even in the remote areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. They can even be installed in areas without sub-stations, and can be directly connected to the grid regardless of its quality or age.

They can be completed and powered on in a matter of days, and can be rapidly demobilized once the area of service is already connected to the permanent centralized power plant. They do not require a huge upfront investment, and as such, do not have long payback periods. Instead, governments or power utility providers can pay for the rented electricity in regular intervals over a contracted term.

An example is Altaaqa Global’s natural gas temporary power plants in Douala, Cameroon, which were installed and powered on in as little as 21 days from the time the equipment arrived at the intended sites. The power plants, because they comprised modular and containerized power equipment, were easily delivered from the point of origin in the Middle East, to the port in Douala, to the power plant sites, and were successfully installed despite space limitation.

The power plants have been consistently producing a combined 50 MW since they were turned on, easing the pressure on the main grid and reducing electricity demand at peak times. They have been instrumental in lessening the power supply deficiency and reducing the instances of load shedding in Douala.

Scalability

Temporary power plants, as a decentralized power generation system, are highly scalable in that their output can be increased or decreased depending on the prevailing requirement. The power provider can simply add or subtract generators to or from the power plants to customize their output. The result is that the rental power plants generate the exact amount of electricity as demanded, so the power plants do not inefficiently run on part-load, and that the governments or the power utility providers do not pay for unutilized capacity.

Diversity

As above, there are several technologies that can be implemented as decentralized power generations systems. The good news is these technologies may complement each other to ensure their efficiency and reliability. For example, temporary diesel or gas power plants can support solar or wind energy sources at times when sunshine or wind is insufficient to produce the desired amount of electricity. Rental power plants can also take up the electricity load during low-rain or dry seasons, when the hydropower systems have limitations in producing electricity.

Efficiency and Reliability

The US Energy Information Administration reports that up to 7% of the electricity generated by central power plants is lost in transmission and distribution. Turning to decentralized power generation technologies, like temporary power plants, can reduce the transmission and distribution losses because they are installed nearer to the consumers.

Moreover, rental power plants are regularly serviced and maintained by trained and qualified service engineers and technicians, and monitored and evaluated by competent certification bodies so their optimal energy performance and reliability is guaranteed.

For instance, Altaaqa Global’s 50 MW natural gas power plants in Cameroon have recently been awarded an ISO 50001:2011 certification for energy performance, making Altaaqa Global the first and only rental power company to have received the recognition. The plaudit was a testament to the power plants’ energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental stewardship.

In addition to the above, decentralized power generation technologies can support various environmental initiatives in vigor in several Sub-Saharan African countries due to their environmental conscious operations. As a case-in point, temporary power plants running on natural gas comply with worldwide emission standards, while solar or wind power sources are completely renewable and contribute in conserving natural energy resources.

For example, Altaaqa Global’s natural gas temporary power plants in Cameroon was handpicked by Eneo to support its existing power facilities, owing to their reliability, energy efficiency and environmental consciousness, which perfectly fits Cameroon’s sustainable energy initiatives.

Electricity and Africa’s Development Agenda

As an emerging region, Sub-Saharan Africa needs electricity to support its economic priorities and other development areas. At present, even as the economic focus of governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are in areas directly related to basic issues of livelihood (employment, healthcare, water supply and agriculture), they are gradually working on various initiatives to ensure the region’s energy future. While their long-terms plans are coming to fruition, decentralized electricity technologies, like rental power plants, can supplement existing centralized power facilities to provide the electricity when and where needed.

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Altaaqa Global Achieves ISO Recognition for Energy Performance

The company is the first and thus far the only temporary power provider to have its projects certified in accordance with ISO 50001:2011 standards 

After months of rigorous process alignment and extensive audit, Altaaqa Global Caterpillar Rental Power, a leading global provider of multi-megawatt temporary power solutions, has achieved ISO 50001:2011 certification from TÜV NORD, the ISO-accredited certification body headquartered in Hanover, Germany.

ISO 50001:2011 specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement in energy performance within its operations and projects.

“ISO 50001:2011 is applicable to any organization wishing to ensure that its products and services conform to its avowed energy policy”, said Shibu Davies, General Manager for Certification, HSD & Lab at TÜV NORD. “This certification awarded to Altaaqa Global, the only rental power company in the world to have achieved the feat to date, is a testimony to the company’s steadfast dedication to delivering multi-megawatt power generation projects that efficiently use energy, conserve natural resources and help in combatting climate change.”

Meghana Millin, Quality and HSE Officer of Altaaqa Global, described how the company ensures that its energy policy is implemented and adhered to across its processes. “We train our sights on providing the most energy efficient and environmentally responsible power solutions to our clients. Thus, we remain committed to our energy policy from the selection of the power equipment, to the designing of the power plants, to transport, through project installation, commissioning and maintenance. Furthermore, we regularly upgrade our current installations to further improve on their energy performance.”

Majid Zahid, Altaaqa Global’s Chief Commercial Officer, shed light on how the company guarantees customer satisfaction in all its multi-megawatt rental power projects: “We ensure that our power plants maintain the highest level of efficiency by having their performance monitored and evaluated by reputable global certification bodies. This way, we assure our clients that our power projects do not only supply uninterrupted reliable electricity, but also offer cost savings and minimal operational expenditure.”

For his part, Peter den Boogert, CEO of Altaaqa Global, called upon the rental power industry to take up the cause of energy responsibility. “Being in the business of providing electricity, the onus is upon us, temporary power providers, to conscientiously mitigate the environmental effects of our operations. That is why we at Altaaqa Global are continuously developing and optimizing our power generation solutions, so they ultimately promote real economic, social and environmental benefits. We are proud to have blazed a trail in energy performance and fuel efficiency in the IPP industry.”

In 2014, Altaaqa Global has also achieved ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) certifications, making it part of an elite list of global companies to have ever completed a triple audit and received all certifications in its first year of evaluation.

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About Altaaqa Global
Altaaqa Global, a subsidiary of Zahid Group, has been selected by Caterpillar Inc. to deliver multi-megawatt turnkey temporary power solutions worldwide. The company owns, mobilizes, installs, and operates efficient temporary independent power plants (IPP’s) at customer sites, focusing on the emerging markets of Sub-Sahara Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Latin America, South East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Offering power rental equipment that will operate with different types of fuel such as diesel, natural gas, or dual-fuel, Altaaqa Global is positioned to rapidly deploy and provide temporary power plant solutions, delivering electricity whenever and wherever it may be needed.

http://www.altaaqaglobal.com

About Zahid Group
Zahid Group represents a diverse range of companies, offering comprehensive, customer-centric solutions in a number of thriving industries. Some of those include construction; mining; oil & gas; agriculture; power, electricity & water generation; material handling; building materials; transportation & logistics; real estate development; travel & tourism; waste management & recycling; and hospitality.

http://www.zahid.com

About TÜV NORD
TÜV NORD International GmbH & Co. KG has established business relationships in more than 70 countries of Europe, America, Asia and Africa and is now represented in all major world markets. The TÜV NORD Group has combined its acknowledged competence, versatile innovative talent and also many companies who are leaders in their market segments under the umbrella of TÜV NORD International. Now, know-how developed over many years and a dedicated, 8,400-strong workforce worldwide ensure that “TÜV NORD” is accepted as a global name for safety, quality, competence and trust.

https://www.tuv-nord.com/en/tuv-nord-worldwide/

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Overcoming Power Transmission and Distribution Limitation: A Case for Distributed Power Generation

Sub-Saharan African economies have been exhibiting notable growth in the past years, on the back of a formidable performance from their industrial, manufacturing, services and technology sectors. This feat is nothing short of impressive, as sub-Saharan African economies are achieving these successes with much of its resources still left to be utilized, mainly owing to the deficiency in electricity in many of its areas.

At present, there are still approximately 600 million people in Africa that do not have access to electricity. From a global standpoint, almost 48% of the world’s population without access to electricity are in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, only seven countries – Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa – have electrification rates exceeding 50%. The rest of the region’s rate hover in the area of 20%.

In this light, increasing the region’s access to reliable electricity should be a priority and an urgent necessity to ensure that Africa maximizes its economic potential.

Hurdling challenges in delivering power

One of the salient power-related challenges that sub-Saharan African countries are facing is distributing power across its territories. Building the necessary infrastructure to efficiently deliver power across vast and remote areas is not only cost prohibitive, but may also take years to complete. Delays in the completion of essential power infrastructure, due to issues in funding, regulatory approval, construction or commissioning, result not only in tangible financial losses, but also in lost economic opportunities, owing to deferment of or interruption in commercial and/or industrial activities.

Such an adverse repercussion can potentially be avoided by turning to distributed power. There are instances when power generation capacity is sufficient, but distribution systems are constrained and unable to deliver the electric power to households, businesses and industrial areas. Distributed power systems, like temporary power plants, are the ideal solution to electricity distribution limitation.

Temporary power plants represent a readily available, flexible, scalable, reliable and cost-efficient solution to overcome power distribution limitation.

They can be transported from and to anywhere in the world, and can be installed and powered on in a matter of days, reducing turnaround time and immediately supplying power to residents, businesses and industries. They are able to fully function in virtually any site, including those where power infrastructure, like grids or substations, is outdated, constrained, damaged or absent.

They are flexible in power and voltage, and are scalable to match their power output to the precise power requirement of any site. For instance, power utilities can choose to put additional power modules to the existing temporary power plant in case the power demand increases at any point in time. This can be done without causing any interruption to the supply of electricity. Similarly, when power demand goes down, the temporary power plan can be scaled down.

Temporary power solutions also address challenges in terms of financing and operational affordability. Power utilities can turn to temporary power solutions without spending scarce resources on capital purchase. They can pay for the temporary power from their operating revenues, and can save on operating and maintenance expenses, owing to the fuel efficiency and reliability of temporary power plants.

When the need to boost power distribution has been fulfilled, power utilities can choose to simply end the contract, and the installed temporary power plants will be demobilized. There will be no permanent infrastructure or purchased equipment left idle or that should be regularly maintained, because the entire power solution package was simply hired.

While electricity generation has increased in most countries across sub-Saharan Africa, there still exist power distribution challenges that hamper the delivery of quality electricity to the general population. In many sub-Saharan African countries, efficient electricity distribution is generally limited to large cities and industrial areas, with the overall electrification rates remaining repressed. Distributed power technologies, like temporary power plants, can help bring power to the larger public. By resolving power distribution limitation, more people and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa will enjoy a reliable supply of electricity, which can potentially pave the way for the region’s sustainable economic development.

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The 10 Biggest Power Outages Ever Recorded

Power outages can cause severe economic and social distress. A prolonged disruption of electric power, particularly on a larger municipal, district or regional scale, can have immense adverse effects on health, safety, and commerce & industry, so power utilities should be prepared to respond to cases of wide-spread power interruption.

We have trawled the Web to trace the 10 biggest power outages recorded in history. Here is what we found out…

1. July 2012, India

In what could be the biggest power outage in the world, the blackout in India in July 2012 left an estimated 620 million people without electricity. The outage was ascribed to the tripping of a circuit breaker, owing to a spike in electricity consumption during one of the hottest seasons ever recorded.

2. January 2001, India

In January 2001, almost 230 million people lost power due to a fault in the transmission system in one state, which caused a cascading failure throughout the other states in India’s northern region.

3. November 2014, Bangladesh

A failure of a power transmission line from India to Bangladesh caused a power outage that left more than 150 million people without electricity.

4. January 2015, Pakistan

Eighty per cent of the country, or 140 million people, was left without electricity after an explosion at a power plant caused a backward surge of electricity to the facility. This caused the tripping of power lines, leading to a cascading effect throughout the country’s grid.

5. August 2015, Indonesia

Caused by a major transmission line failure, and the consequent disengaging of several power plants, the power outage of August 2015 in the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java left more than 100 million people without electricity.

6. March 1999, Brazil

Ascribed to a lightning strike that caused cascading failure throughout Southern Brazil’s power infrastructure, the largest power outage in the history of Brazil left 97 million people without electricity.

7. November 2009, Brazil and Paraguay

When transmission lines from the power station at Itaipu were tripped by a major thunderstorm, 87 million people from Brazil’s most populous states and the entire country of Paraguay were left without electricity.

8. August 2003, US and Canada

Known as one of the “Northeast Blackouts” of the past century, the power outage of 2003 affected 55 million people. The outage was blamed to a technical error that caused the control room alarm system to fail to alert controllers about overloaded transmission lines, leading to widespread grid distress.

9. September 2003, Italy

With the exception of the island of Sardinia, the entire country of Italy lost electricity, leaving 55 million people in the dark. The investigation revealed that the outage was caused by a system overload following a storm damage to a power line coming in from Switzerland. This consequently tripped power lines running in from France.

10. March 1978, Thailand

A generator failure in a single power plant caused a nationwide grid shutdown for an entire day, causing inconvenience to more than 40 million people.


Multi-megawatt rental power plants are the ideal solution to stabilize the grid and support power networks. They are immediately available, can be deployed at a moment’s notice to anywhere in the world. They can be easily installed and are capable of continuously supplying reliable electricity in a matter of days. Temporary power plants can be easily connected to existing power infrastructure, and can generate electricity in sync with the local power generation plants or as a standalone system. They are flexible in power and voltage, and their output can be scaled up or down to meet varying electricity demands.

In hiring rental power plants, utility companies need not worry about capital expenditure; in fact, they will have significant savings in the operation and maintenance of the temporary power plants, owing to their reliability and fuel efficiency.

The effects of power outages to people, businesses, industries and social services can be devastating. Without electricity many of the most important needs of the modern society will go unmet. Because electricity plays such a vital role in our daily lives, its reliable and continuous supply is of utmost importance.

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What can be done to maximize power plant efficiency?

In 2050, the United Nations predict that there will be 9.6 billion people in the world. The steep rise in the world’s population brings about a proportionate increase in the demand for electricity, and in the face of today’s power-related challenges, the question on people’s lips is “How else can the world’s existing energy facilities sustain such a vast power requirement?”

Nowadays, various governmental, quasi-governmental and utility-related entities have been making inroads into tapping the potential of renewable energy sources to support the power generation capacity of existing power plants. Efforts are being driven to enhance available renewable energy technologies, with the aim of having them produce amounts of power at par with the traditional ones. Myriad reports show that various installations have been successful, with some countries, particularly in Africa, embracing renewable technologies as one of their main sources of electricity for domestic consumption.

Another plausible contributor to the enhancement of the world’s electrical energy generation is increasing the efficiency of existing power plants. There are several strategies that operators can employ in order to optimize the performance of electricity generation facilities. Raising the level of the operational efficiency of power plants will not only improve their electricity production, but will also heighten their environmental friendliness.

Experts agree that having an advanced flow measurement system installed may help ensure that a power plant runs efficiently. It is important that power plant engineers measure the capacity at which a facility is running at a particular point in time to be able to ascertain how much longer they will need to operate generators and turbines to maintain the efficiency of the power plant. An equipment that engineers can use in measuring operational data is a flow meter, which determines the amount of liquid or gas in a specific area at a given time.

Power plant operators, they add, may also choose to employ technologies, such as fluidized bed combustion and integrated gasification technology to improve the efficiency of existing power plants. The mentioned systems have the capability to reduce CO₂ emissions from coal by 25%, which would result in a 6% reduction in global CO₂ emissions.

Fluidized bed combustion, on the one hand, provides a flexible method of electricity generation while being environmentally friendly, reducing SO_X and NO_X emissions by a remarkable 90%. This system gives power plants the leverage of using coal waste as an energy source, which would otherwise be discarded. 

Integrated gasification combined cycle, on the other hand, is a process which entails the conversion of heavy oil and refinery bottoms into a fuel known as synthesis gas (syngas) and then use this to produce electricity in a gas turbine combined cycle system. As of the moment, the technology is being further developed, and industry players say that once the system is even more stable, it can have a pronounced impact on several allied industries.

In addition to enhancing electricity production, power plant engineers may also look at reducing the amount of energy used in the power facilities themselves to maximize the level of electricity reaching the grid. According to industry studies, a traditional power plant uses seven per cent of its own electrical output to operate its systems. Experts ascribe the majority of energy consumption in power plants to the motors that run pumps, mills, fans and auxiliary systems. Therefore, they say, one of the possible remedies to the foregoing predicament is to employ an integrated solution that combines variable speed drives (VSDs) with efficient motors. This way, the energy that was previously wasted can be sold to the grid, or the fuel lost generating it can be saved.

There are several other ways that by which power plant professionals can improve the efficiency of their facilities. These methods, combined with the efforts key industry stakeholders are exerting towards enhancing alternative energy sources, can prove to be vital in sustaining the world’s ever-increasing demand for precious electricity. As the energy fraternity braces for the expected sharp rise in power requirement in the coming decades, harnessing the potential of several feasible sources, traditional and renewable, to name two, will be of utmost essence. Energy professionals should keep in mind to always maintain and update power generation facilities, as a momentary loss of power, load shedding, electricity outage or blackout may lead to catastrophic economic, social and political consequences.

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