Hi Allan and Chris,

Thank you both for your answers. 

Question 1:

That's interesting to hear! I haven't been to Ghana so I don't have any insight on the people or their needs, but I think a poll in different countries would give us a much better insight.

I cannot speak for all of the other countries in Africa, but in Kenya for example, the electricity distributor is a monopoly so there isn't as much choice as there is here in the UK. Blackouts due to various reasons occur, (definitely at a higher frequency in some places than others) and that unfortunately is something that one has to contend with. 

Those that can afford backup diesel generators have them, and can simply switch to them once there is a blackout. Some people also have solar panels installed on their roofs but are ultimately still connected to the grid. 

I think that a village mini-grid makes a lot of sense. I also think that there is a lot of energy potential that is not being taken advantage of in African countries (other than solar power), particularly those that are on the coastline and at the same time  have an extremely low number of people with access to electricity. Finding a way to harness that energy and connect people to the grid (whether the main one or a mini grid) should be a priority. 

Question 2:

Thanks for sharing the Solshare page. What they are doing is really interesting and I really like the idea of peer to peer trading as it provides opportunities to earn an income to the community. MKopa solar is what came to mind for me when I first read your article - 

Question 3:

Does that mean that you intend to offer the solution on a payment plan eventually or has that not been decided yet? 

Still on the question of the rollout, I noted the interactive map in the table that shows the shares of the population with access to electricity. Would the first priority be the Central African countries which have less than 20% of people with electricity access? Then followed by those with less than 30% and so forth?

On your final point Alan, I think that would be great. We know that the electricity network has remained largely unchanged for more than 100 years now. There has been an attitude of “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”. However with the integration of LCTs such as intermittent solar energy and electric vehicles etc., enhancements are having to be made in order for the grid to cope with all these added demands. There is also the added factor of transitioning to the smart grid. It has taken us quite a while to get to this stage and innovative designs for AC voltage control are being thought about and designed, and developed. 

How easy/difficult do you think it will be to get these stakeholders in economically developed countries to innovate in the DC electricity direction? What would the benefit for them be considering the investments that they have made to stabilise the AC grid ? 

Thanks and kind regards,

Elizabeth 

Hi Allan and Chris,

Thank you both for your answers. 

Question 1:

That's interesting to hear! I haven't been to Ghana so I don't have any insight on the people or their needs, but I think a poll in different countries would give us a much better insight.

I cannot speak for all of the other countries in Africa, but in Kenya for example, the electricity distributor is a monopoly so there isn't as much choice as there is here in the UK. Blackouts due to various reasons occur, (definitely at a higher frequency in some places than others) and that unfortunately is something that one has to contend with. 

Those that can afford backup diesel generators have them, and can simply switch to them once there is a blackout. Some people also have solar panels installed on their roofs but are ultimately still connected to the grid. 

I think that a village mini-grid makes a lot of sense. I also think that there is a lot of energy potential that is not being taken advantage of in African countries (other than solar power), particularly those that are on the coastline and at the same time  have an extremely low number of people with access to electricity. Finding a way to harness that energy and connect people to the grid (whether the main one or a mini grid) should be a priority. 

Question 2:

Thanks for sharing the Solshare page. What they are doing is really interesting and I really like the idea of peer to peer trading as it provides opportunities to earn an income to the community. MKopa solar is what came to mind for me when I first read your article - 

Question 3:

Does that mean that you intend to offer the solution on a payment plan eventually or has that not been decided yet? 

Still on the question of the rollout, I noted the interactive map in the table that shows the shares of the population with access to electricity. Would the first priority be the Central African countries which have less than 20% of people with electricity access? Then followed by those with less than 30% and so forth?

On your final point Alan, I think that would be great. We know that the electricity network has remained largely unchanged for more than 100 years now. There has been an attitude of “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”. However with the integration of LCTs such as intermittent solar energy and electric vehicles etc., enhancements are having to be made in order for the grid to cope with all these added demands. There is also the added factor of transitioning to the smart grid. It has taken us quite a while to get to this stage and innovative designs for AC voltage control are being thought about and designed, and developed. 

How easy/difficult do you think it will be to get these stakeholders in economically developed countries to innovate in the DC electricity direction? What would the benefit for them be considering the investments that they have made to stabilise the AC grid ? 

Thanks and kind regards,

Elizabeth