Public Private Partnerships (PPP) - INENSUS

Overview

In 2010, 80% of Senegal’s rural population did not have access to electricity. This project promotes the use of renewable energies in Senegal’s rural electrification market. Within the public private partnership (PPP) between PERACOD and INENSUS the project aims the realisation of village electrification by means of solar-diesel-wind hybrid systems. It is financed under EnDev (Energising Development).

• PERACOD - a programme of the Ministry in charge of Energy, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via the GIZ.
• INENSUS - INENSUS West Africa S.A.R.L was born on December 2008 as a joint-venture of the German enterprise INENSUS GmbH and the Senegalese enterprise MATFORCE Compagnie Sahélienne d’Industrie.

History of the Project

The origins of the PPP project can be traced to a business trip organised by GIZ on behalf of the ministry of economy in 2006. Several German enterprises visited Senegal and, in the aftermath, two projects materialised:

• the PPP between INENSUS and GTZ/PERACOD and
• a second PPP between solar23, dena and GTZ/PERACOD

-> See also solar23 Presentation.

Awards

In early 2011, the PPP was awarded two prestigious awards:

• IKU award 2010
• SEED award 2010.

-> See info flyer on the SEED award here.

Productive Use of Electricity

INENSUS produces and sells electricity in a mini-concession according to the “MicroPowerEconomy” model for a minimum of 15 years. Due to its flexible technical concept, this innovative management scheme allows a better supply of electrical energy adaptable to the users’ demand. The development of the village is linked to revenue-generating activities, which the inhabitants can now pursue thanks to electricity access as the economic growth in the village is encouraged by a stimulation of productive uses of electricity (agriculture, milling, sewing, metalwork etc.).

Supported by a system of microcredits, they can invest in electrical devices and develop their business. Being able to consume energy, they will thereby boost the economic development.

Benefits of an Energy Mix

One of the innovative approaches of this PPP is the integration of three different generation technologies (deriving electricity from a combination of solar energy, wind energy and diesel) into one minigrid.

Several benefits are meant to be realised this way:

• Higher security of supply (lower probability of power outages): it is difficult and expensive to lay out a system in a way as to guarantee that it will work under all circumstances. A combination of different technologies in one system will most likely provide higher security of supply at a lower cost. Low probability of interruption of electrical services, because these two systems (solar and wind) can produce electricity night and day.
• Optimal utilisation of local renewable energy sources should reduce specific cost of energy.
• Lower specific cost of storage: optimal utilisation of the different energy sources available should reduce the size of the battery necessary, or, inversely put, should provide for more service with the same battery size.
• Reduction of diesel consumption in comparison with the classical system.
• The costs of the system are relatively low, since it is not necessary to have a large wind turbine and batteries of very high capacity.

Innovative Approaches

The PPP is innovative in several aspects:

• Utilization of a small wind energy turbine for rural electrification. Most wind energy schemes deal with wind parks that feed into the interconnected grid. This is this first project in Senegal to tap into wind energy resources for rural electrification.
• Application of a new tariff scheme. INENSUS tries to apply a new tariff scheme (still to be validated by the regulatory authority, CRSE) which consists in selling energy and power blocks. Each block is cost-recovering in itself. Currently, blocks are sized at 50W power, 1,4kWh per week consumption and are priced at 2840 XOF ( 4,33 EUR) per block.
• Installation of a three-phased grid. This means higher cost of investment for inverters, but also higher potential for future development, as more powerful machinery is frequently operated by three-phase motors.
• Utilisation of pre-paid meters. This project is the first in Senegal to use pre-paid meters in rural electrification. The meters have been developed and supplied by INENSUS. The device not only integrates prepayment, but also limits power and energy according to programmed values. The meters also integrate the possibility to disconnect loads based on priorities. In case of an overloaded grid, low-priority charges are disconnected first, while high-priority charges (health station) remain connected as long as possible.

The Project

1st Phase: Wind Measurements

Measurement pole in the village of Sakhor in the Sine Saloum delta. The pole is 12m high and has two anemometers. Over the course of the 12-months period, it suffered from substantial corrosion due to the salty atmosphere.

In a first phase, wind measurements were taken at five villages. Four of the five sites were chosen alongside the so-called "Grande Cote" (big coast) region of Senegal, north of Dakar. This region is known for its wind potential and has been investigated for other wind energy projects as well (see a TERNA study here). A last site was chosen inland along the delta of rivers Sine and Saloum.

The wind measurements were conducted with poles of 12m that carried two anemometers, one at 7m and another at 12m height. After 12 months of measurement, the site of Sine Moussa Abdou showed the most potential: average wind speed was estimated to be 5.27m/s at the hub height of 18m (more information in this document). This village was subsequently chosen for the implementation of a pilot project.

In addition, the first phase dealt with the elaboration of a business plan and the adaptation of INENSUS’ approach to the Senegalese framework conditions.

2nd Phase: One Village (Sine Moussa Abdou)

In a second phase, the village with the highest potential, Sine Moussa Abdou, was chosen for electrification.

This part of the PPP was carried out in collaboration between GIZ/PERACOD, the newly founded INENSUS West Africa S.A.R.L. and EWE AG over a period of 18 months.

The Village

• The village has a population of about 900 inhabitants in 69 households
• Principal activities are agriculture, animal husbandry and small-scale commerce
• There is one primary school with three rooms and 70 pupils
• One Arabic school with 120 pupils
• One health post (average of 70 patients per month)
• One mosque
• One primary school

The Power Plant

• One wind turbine of 5 kW
• One photovoltaic plant of 5 kWp
• One diesel generator of 11 kVA

Technical Details

The system features the following components:

• Wind energy turbine: Fortis Montana, 5kW, 18m hub height. The turbine is connected to the battery bank via a charge controller. In case there is excess power, this power is diverted to heating resistors and “burnt off”.
• Solar generator: 5.16 kW (24 REC 215AE modules in three strings), mounted on aluminium supports from Schletter, connected via 3 SMA SB 2500 grid-tie inverters.
• Battery inverters: three SMA SunnyIsland 5048.
• Diesel generator: 10 kVA, Cummins, with a reservoir of 3500l.
• Battery bank: Hoppecke OPzS, 2500Ah, 48V, with system for automatic refilling of distilled water.
• Grid: three-phase grid with 35mm² for each phase, 54mm² for neutral and 16mm² for public lighting, pre-assembled, about 2.5km in length, operated in three phases.

Timeline

The implementation followed this rough timeline:

• April 2009: PPP contract signed by all three parties
• May 2009: technical specifications available
• June 2009: first draft of powerhouse plan / technical drawing available
• July 2009: grid study available
• August 2009: final version of powerhouse plan / technical drawing available
• September 2009: evaluation of offers for purchase of solar equipment in Germany
• October 2009: formal document between ASER and INENSUS signed
• November 2009: powerhouse constructed
• December 2009: grid constructed
• January: installation of power equipment (solar, diesel, wind) and household installations
• March 2010: inauguration by the deputy minister of energy

After the inauguration, some work remained to be done on the grid itself and concerning household installations. The project was continued until the end of 2010 and included monitoring, fostering of productive use activities, continued work with officials, and other activities.

3rd Phase: Extension to Three Villages

In February 2010 the planning stage of the third phase started.

Impacts - Daily Life and Education

• Level of education is progressing (due to light in the evening to review lessons and learn)
• Shortly after the installation of the first electricity connections the success rate for the entrance exam for the secondary school was 100% (first time in the village's history)
• It will be possible to equip a school with a computer, and the installation of an internet access point will allow students to do research and teachers to be up to date and inform themselves
• There are plans to buy fridges, which would allow to stock vegetables, meat and fish

Further Information

• Public Private Partnership (PPP)
• INENSUS corporate website and promotional video on youtube
• SEED award
• IKU award press release
• Energypedia newsblog about INENSUS AWARD
• Factsheet rural electrification project INENSUS-PERACOD

References

• Factsheet:Rural electrification: A public-private partnership for innovative projects in Senegal