Rural Electric Power Project (REPP)

Village-scale clean energy microgrids have the potential to power rural development by bringing electricity to over 1.2 billion people who currently lack access. Past efforts to electrify rural communities have been plagued by energy theft, unaffordable connection costs, intermittent supply, and poor maintenance. The Rural Electric Power Project (REPP) seeks to address these problems by incorporating new technology as well as more sustainable financing and distribution mechanisms – including pay-as-you-go power systems – to better serve the rural poor.

Project Stage

Design & Implementation

Implementation time

1-3 years

Last update: October 05, 2023

Overview Contributors

Challenge

Past efforts to electrify rural communities have been plagued by energy theft, unaffordable connection costs, intermittent supply, and poor maintenance.

Description

The Rural Electric Power Project (REPP) seeks to address these problems by incorporating new technology as well as more sustainable financing and distribution mechanisms – including pay-as-you-go power systems – to better serve the rural poor.

SDGs

Outcomes

The REPP engineering team has designed (through multiple iterations) a prototype DC microgrid that optimizes for both cost and efficiency. The team has been able to modify the architecture of the grid to use commercially available (380-48V) bus converter modules at aggregation points in the distribution system, and to convert from 48-12V at each individual home. The modified hardware has been tested in the lab over a wide range of operating conditions.