go to top scroll for more

Projects


Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/L002566/1
Title ESCO Box: Smart monitoring, billing and control for pro-poor access to energy services
Status Completed
Energy Categories Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution) 25%;
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts) 75%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields SOCIAL SCIENCES (Business and Management Studies) 25%;
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Development Studies) 50%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 25%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour) 25%;
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Technology acceptance) 25%;
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy) 50%;
Principal Investigator Dr R Gammon
No email address given
Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD)
De Montfort University
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 September 2013
End Date 31 January 2017
Duration 41 months
Total Grant Value £843,943
Industrial Sectors Energy
Region East Midlands
Programme Energy : Energy
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr R Gammon , Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD), De Montfort University (99.999%)
  Other Investigator Dr NS Wade , Electrical, Electronic & Computer Eng, Newcastle University (0.001%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract This lack of access to electricity is particularly acute in rural Africa. Despite major advances, connection over large distances from small communities to existing grids is costly due to the cables, substations and additional equipment required. By 2008, 40% of Africans had access to electricity, but in sparsely populated rural areas the average drops to a mere 22.7%, in stark contrast to the 80% global average. Although many individual sites in rural areas, particularly mobile phone masts, have their own generators, there has been a reluctance to extend these to create local electricity networks. The use of small, independent electricity grids, powered by renewable or fossil fuel generators, presents operational and financial challenges. The proposed ESCoBox is thus indented to address financial and practical barriers to electricity access by enabling local agents to act as small (but expandable) Energy Service Companies (ESCos), by buying power wholesale from larger off-grid generators (e.g. mobile phone mast operators) and selling it to local customers. The ESCoBox is an enabling technology that will allow cross-sector innovation, from novel financing, to social interventions, entrepreneurial ventures and better designed technologies and service
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 19/11/13