Energy storage integration with solar PV for increased electricity access: A case study of Burkina Faso

Hamza Abid, Jagruti Thakur, Dilip Katiwada, David Bauner

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Electricity access remains a challenge for the majority of the West African countries, wherein 5 out of 16 have an electrification rate of less than 25%, with Burkina Faso having only 9% of the rural population with electricity access in 2017. This study presents a techno-economic feasibility analysis of solar PV system integration with conceptualized Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) and electric batteries for Burkina Faso. The study explores two cases (a) an off-grid PV with a storage system for rural areas and (b) a grid-connected PV system for an urban location. The least-cost configuration of PV with feasible storage is investigated using HOMER. The results show that Solar PV with PHS remains the optimal system configuration for both rural and urban cases even when the construction costs of lower and upper reservoirs are considered. Battery energy storage systems remain an economically expensive solution even when the added costs of pumped hydro storage are included, owing to the low lifetime and high capital costs of battery storage. The capital cost of PV remains to be the most dominating factor for both cases, signifying the importance of policy interventions for cost reduction of PV for increased green electrification in West African countries.
Original languageEnglish
Article number120656
JournalEnergy
Volume230
ISSN0360-5442
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Battery energy storage system
  • Burkina Faso
  • Electricity access
  • Grid extension
  • Photovoltaics
  • Smart energy systems
  • West Africa

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