312 kW Solar PV-Diesel Minigrid in Bambadinca, Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

Bambadinca is a village in Guinea Bissau, a developing country, in West Africa, with about 7,000 people with no reliable access to electricity, where 70% of the population lives with less than 2US$/day. The purpose of this project, funded by the European Commission - as part of the ACP-EU Energy Facility budget line IPAD - Portuguese cooperation Agency, is the village rural electrification through a microgrid, providing good quality, reliable and affordable electricity to the population, to fight extreme poverty increasing educational opportunities, improving health conditions and supporting fundamental economic activities. To accomplish these objectives and to ensure economical and financial sustainability, a three-party participatory management model for the Decentralized System for Production and Distribution of Electricity from Renewable Energy, will be implemented by a local association in cooperation with national authorities. In this paper we discuss the sizing of the PV hybrid power plant, micro-grid design options and layout, management model and project deployment challenges.