Matching renewable energy systems to village-level energy needs Page: 30 of 71
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TR-514
SECTION 3.0
A GENERAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE MATCHING PROCESS
The needs/technology matching process has been designed for use in a specific location.
To illustrate how the process actually works, an initial matching analysis is presented
based on the general characteristics of fundamental needs that are applicable to most
developing regions. This initial match does not identify which technologies are best
suited to a given task in any one developing country site, but is useful to a developing
country and foreign assistance officials for the following reasons:
" it illustrates the method for site-specific matching;
" it indicates the types of information that must be collected to fit needs and
technologies for a certain location;
" it shows which technologies may be potentially useful in providing energy for
certain basic needs; and
" it indicates where further research is needed on
- the performance and energy use of basic need tasks, and
- the applications of renewable energy technologies on rural, developing vil-
lages where low-cost and small-scale technologies are required.
The initial matching process employs general characteristics of needs and technologies
that are not descriptive of any particular region. By examining research on how basic
human needs are met in diverse locations, it is possible to identify certain common char-
acteristics that describe the seasonal, temporal, and energy requirements for basic
needs. The cultural factors are not generalizable and, because of their importance, must
be studied for each location. In the initial matching process the general basic need char-
acteristics are compared and matched with the characteristics (i.e., form of energy out-
put, temperature, spatial distribution) of the technologies that are not dependent on cli-
mate conditions. When initial matches between the need and technology characteristics
are found, the technology is noted as a potentially good source for meeting the basic
need. This is contingent on cultural and climate factors as well as the availability of the
renewable energy resource required to power the technology.
Portions of the procedure have proven difficult to execute in such a general case. This is
particularly true of factors that are highly dependent on the local climate, seasonal vari-
ability, time of day, etc. In these cases, a range of possible conditions is presented.
Storage was found to be such an important factor, because of its impact on the ability of
a technology to perform certain tasks and on total system cost, that it has been included
as a separate option for each technology.
Cost has proven to be a particularly difficult problem because of the technological
options included within each category, which range from simple field-assembled systems
to manufactured products. The focus is on manufactured systems for two reasons: their
costs are known and they form the upper limit of expenditure to meet a given need. This
does not imply that they are necessarily more (or less) appropriate; that depends on the
local circumstances and requirements for energy. Wherever possible, the cost figures for
village-built systems are given for comparison.15
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Ashworth, J.H. & Neuendorffer, J.W. Matching renewable energy systems to village-level energy needs, report, June 1, 1980; Golden, Colorado. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1054018/m1/30/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.