Browsing by Author "Motiki, Thuso Stephen"

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    Optimized network planning of electrification projects in remote areas of Lesotho
    (National University of Lesotho, 2021) Motiki, Thuso Stephen; Thamae, Leboli Zak
    The United Nations has, in 2015, adopted an urgent call for action by all countries for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which among them is access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all (SDG7). The call led to an increase of 120 million people gaining access to electricity each year but declined in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. So far, tools have been developed and several approaches have been applied to solve rural electrification problem but they often neglect the important spatial information such as population distribution which is one critical drawback. These data are important for the design of electrical networks hence when neglected lead to systematical capital investment miscalculation. The proposed strategy in this study utilizes a Geographic Information System (GIS) and terrain analysis to create an optimum electric network topology of the proposed case study involving the rural areas of Butha Buthe district in the mountains of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Furthermore, the geospatial-based procedure for rural electrification planning will be able to select and design an effective energy system for the defined geographical region to identify the least-cost solution to the existing national grid of non-electrified communities. The simulation tool to be used in this study, herein called GIS for Electrification (GISEle), focuses on data analysis and exhausts all means leading to the identification of the optimal techno-economic solution where energy lacks. The collected spatial data is exploited to identify populated areas and subdivide them into clusters thereafter designing the electrical network connecting those clusters with minimized costs. The performance of the procedure has been tested in 10 villages in the rural areas of ButhaButhe, Lesotho. The analysis shows that the geospatial tools are very important but work best on the application as per the need of the specific demand of the client. In this case, the model demonstrated huge achievement and design time saving as the electrical designers do not have to re-design the network when designs are now transferred from paper to the ground. GISEle looks at all aspects from terrain to road access making it easier for operation and maintenance purposes. The total GISEle costs for Makhunoana 1 community council are M1, 117, 517. 12 which is lower than the cost price of M2, 475, 000 from the Electrification Master Plan (EMP). The overall costs for Ts’a-Le-Moleka community council using GISEle tool are M1, 385, 229.12 and they are lower as compared to the overall cost of M1, 815, 000 from the EMP. Furthermore, the overall GISEle electrification cost for Makhunoana 2 are M1, 107, 741.12 with a slide difference from M1, 095, 000 from EMP study. Lastly, Ntelle GISEle electrification costs are M2, 004, 440.96 and are also lower compared to the M2, 070, 000 from EMP. This figures mean that GISEle is more preferable than EMP and more viable as the electrification planning demonstrated detailed design not estimates as the case for EMP.