Rural electrification - Energy Solar energy solar pv energy

Solar photovoltaic energy

Practical Action

PV applications in lesser developed countries

Rural electrification

 lighting and power supplies for remote building (mosques, churches, temples etc farms,

schools, mountain refuge huts) - low wattage fluorescent or LED lighting is recommended:

 power supplies for remote villages:

 street lighting:

 individual house systems (solar home systems):

 battery charging:

 mini grids.

See the Practical Action Technical Brief Rural Lighting

Water pumping and treatment systems

 pumping for drinking water:

 pumping for irrigation:

 dewatering and drainage:

 ice production:

 saltwater desalination systems:

 water purification.

See the Practical Action Technical Brief Solar PV Waterpumping

Health care systems

 lighting in rural clinics:

 UHF transceivers between health centres:

 vaccine refrigeration:

 ice pack freezing for vaccine carriers:

 sterilises:

 blood storage refrigerator.

PV is frequently used to power vaccine refrigeration in remote health centres. See the Practical

Action Technical Brief Solar Photovoltaic Refrigeration of Vaccines.

Communications

 radio repeaters:

 remote TV and radio receivers:

 remote weather measuring:

 mobile radios:

 rural telephone kiosks:

 data acquisition and transmission (for example,

river levels and seismographs).

Transport aids

 road sign lighting:

 railway crossings and signals:

 hazard and warning lights:

 navigation buoys:

 road markers.

Security systems

 security lighting:

 remote alarm system:

 electric fences.

Miscellaneous

 ventilation systems:

Figure 3: The La Encanada infocentre,

Peru has solar panels to generate

electricity and a satellite for connectivity.

Photo: Practical Action / Jaime Soto.