South sudan rural electrification project the hybrid mini-grid & PBK project

Village Help for South Sudan in collaboration with IEEE's Community Solutions Initiative (CSI) and private donors are striving to create a sustainable business model for rural electrification in South Sudan, one of Africa's least developed countries. The pilot project is a combination of Mini-grid PV system with Portable Battery Kits (PBKs) as a means of delivering electricity to remote regions. The 4.2 Kilowatt PV system will have a Mini-grid to connect customers living within range; it will also be used as a charging station for PBKs that are used by customers not able to connect to the grid. The Mini-grid, which is most commonly used to bring electricity to remote areas does have drawbacks in its limited capability and reach beyond a few hundred meters. The PBK model developed by IEEE's CSI has the advantage of its great portability, allowing customers to charge their portable batteries at the main station and take them to light their home and charge small electronics such as cell phones and radios. A single PBK, however, has very limited power reserve and does not deliver any AC Power often required to power many electronics. The goal of this pilot is to test the effectiveness, scalability, and business sustainability of delivering electricity to remote regions of the world using the hybrid model of Mini-grid and PBKs.