SharedSolar

SharedSolar: Mobiles and Micro-Grids For More Efficient Energy

Posted by MelissaUlbricht on Jun 13, 2011

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SharedSolar: Mobiles and Micro-Grids For More Efficient Energy data sheet 3317 Views

It is an unfortunate irony that often the poorest people pay the most for the lowest quality energy. In many areas, the rural poor pay as much as 5 USD per month for kerosene or battery power. SharedSolar is a project that attempts to develop the technology, and business case to connect these populations to better, more traditional energy sources. It does so by leveraging existing mobile networks. 

With SharedSolar, rural poor consumers make payments based on their usage by using a scratch card and adding credit via SMS. The system uses a micro-grid network to connect consumers to power, and each household uses a unique prepaid metering system. A group of up to 20 consumers (individuals, households, small businesses, or schools) are all located within a 50 meter radius of a single, central power source -- such as solar panels -- connected via an underground wire. 

At the same time, the SharedSolar team is testing and developing its business model to show that a case exists for micro-grids and mobile energy payment. The team launched an initial pilot in 2010 in Pelengana, Mali and currently has systems set up in Uganda and Tanzania. 

MobileActive.org spoke with Matt Basinger, project lead for SharedSolar, to learn more about the overlap of mobile technology and rural power.

Basic Information
Website URL: 
http://sharedsolar.org/
Organization involved in the project?: 
SharedSolar
Project goals: 

With SharedSolar, rural electricity consumers make payments based on usage by using a scratch card and adding credit via SMS. The system uses a micro-grid network to connect power to consumers, and each household uses a unique prepaid metering system. A group of up to 20 consumers (individuals, households, small businesses, or schools) are all located within a 50 meter radius of a single, central power source -- such as solar panels, all connected via an underground wire. 

The SharedSolar team is testing and developing its business model to show that a case exists for micro-grids and mobile energy payment. The team launched an initial pilot in 2010 in Pelengana, Mali and currently has systems set up in Uganda and Tanzania. 

Brief description of the project: 

Unfortunately, the poorest people pay the most for the lowest quality energy. In many areas, the rural poor pay as much as 5 USD per month for kerosene or battery power. SharedSolar is a project that attempts to develop the technology, and business case, to connect these populations to better and affordable energy sources. It does so by leveraging existing mobile networks. 

 

Target audience: 

Up to 20 micro-grid consumers are located within a 50 meter radius of a single central power source. SharedSolar launched an initial pilot in 2010 in Pelengana, Mali and currently has systems set up in Uganda and Tanzania. 

Detailed Information
Status: 
Ongoing
What worked well? : 

SharedSolar leverages existing mobile infrastructure in a given area. The SharedSolar technology is a near-term, entry-level approach: the application runs on a local server, in-country, with an attached modem (a local SMS device). It can be run on a basic netbook. SharedSolar is a modular system, so the team can add solar generation capacity or deploy additional systems as demand for electricity increases.

 

 

What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

When selecting a site to place the system, there are often land rights or land access issues. And although it hasn’t been an issue yet, the team is aware of the possibility of tampering. For instance, a neighbor could dig up someone else’s wire.

Another challenge for SharedSolar comes with trying to develop the business model alongside the technology.  In addition to reducing costs and improving livelihood for the rural consumers, SharedSolar has a goal to test a business model for micro-utility power