Decentralized, off-grid power could be used to bring modern conveniences to the underdeveloped world potentially freeing hours of labor currently used to access energy in crude forms, chiefly through burning wood. Arguably, the greatest potential for impact on humanity for alternative energy lies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with its large, dispersed, and impoverished population and with the highest solar irradiance for populated areas on earth, particularly in east and central Africa. The opportunity involves building, from virtually ground zero, an energy supply that could be based on zero carbon foot-print with low operating costs. Currently the impact of photovoltaics in SSA is limited to powering cell phone towers, a very few examples where donated PVs have been installed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and a few cases where centralized governments have purchased solar powered street lamps and the like. For example, in a country like Ethiopia with the second highest population in Africa (roughly 100M), there are approximately 20K solar systems. The chief obstacle to the use of solar power is the cost of PV panels, batteries, control electronics and wiring. Through two projects, partly funded by the US Department of State and the Agency for International Development, we have collaborated with African universities in the development of technology to manufacture photovoltaics and sensors in Africa for use in the African market taking advantage of low labor costs. In the NanoPower Africa Project (NPA) we were able to develop manufacturing capabilities for printed electronics technology to produce silicon based solar cells intended to charge cell phones. Funding for the NPA project ended in 2013. Some of the partners in the project have decided to target short-term manufacturing development in Ethiopia that has lead to plans for solar panel and battery assembly facilities on several university campuses in the Tigray and Oromo regions of Ethiopia. This presentation will give a brief overview of the potential for the use of technology to address development issues using these examples from SSA.

Expanding use of photovoltaics in the developing world: The Nanopower Africa and Power Ethiopia projects

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.