As per definition, rural electrification is the process that is performed in order to provide electrical power supply to rural and remote areas in different parts of the world. It is a fact that electricity is not only used to provide sufficient lighting as well as other household purposes. However, it is also used in mechanization of various farming operations. Best examples are hoisting grain for storage, milking, threshing, and others.
In some areas where there are labor shortages, electricity is also able to generate better productivity with lower production costs. In the United States, there was a famous program called New Deal’s Rural Electrification Administration that initiated several schemes that are also practiced in other countries.
In 2009, according to IEA, there is about 1.456 billion people worldwide who do not have any access to electricity. Approximately 83% of the said number is living in the rural areas. There is about 10% of the rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa that has access to electricity.
However, the progress of rural electrification all over the world is moving very slowly. The IEA foresees that if the current situation does not change, the total number of people who do not have electricity would approximately fall down to about 1.2 billion year after year until 2030.
Water Pumping
The history of water pumping is quite long and it dates back to centuries past. As a matter of fact, there have been many methods that are enhanced over the years. Many of those developments have all resulted to effective methods with minimum efforts. Mainly, the said enhancements used different power sources such as animal power, human energy, wind, hydro power, fossil, as well as solar powers.
To date, there are about ove
r 10,000 water pumps that are powered by PV modules all over the world that are reported to be successfully operating.
Lighting
Photovoltaics systems are known to be the main producer or supplier of lighting. Lighting is considered to be as one of the biggest applications in the world these days. As a matter of fact, there are about tens of thousands of units that are already installed in different parts of the world. The PV systems are mainly used in order to provide better lighting which are in domestic as well as in community buildings. Many schools as well as health centers are also benefiting from the said systems. Moreover, PV systems are greatly used by people for lighting tunnels and street that generally add more security to the area.
Health Care
Many people are getting a lot of benefits from extensive and comprehensive vaccination programs. Such are usually applied all over the developing world. They are in place in order to cater to people’s fight against any forms of common diseases.
In order to be able to acquire positive effects, the said vaccination programs have to administer various immunization services to many rural areas. And naturally, it is important that the temperature of those vaccines is maintained within its strict range specially when in route and when being stored. That is why refrigeration is important. The said purpose is often referred to as vaccine cold chain.
Domestic Supply
The PV domestic supply systems are mostly popular in many developing countries as well as other remote areas in various industrialized countries. The sizes of those systems vary from about 50 Wp up to 5 kWp. However, such sizes largely depend on the existing and standard ways of living of the people. In general, larger PV systems are being used in remote areas or even in island communities that consist of many developed countries. There are many household appliances that use these systems such as washing machines, refrigeration, lighting, television, and many others.
On the other hand, in developing communities or regions, large systems that are about 5 kWp are usually found for the purpose of supplying the smaller systems in villages. They can produce about 20-200 Wp which is typically used to supply basic and necessary needs such as television, radio, lighting, and others in various residences.