Power generation in rural communities

Supervisor: Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian

For electrification projects to be successful, they must be suitable for the needs of the communities using them. Whilst electricity generation from some renewable sources is intermittent, hybrid solutions integrated with other forms of power generation and storage are able to provide reliable power, and can be optimised to a lower economic cost. There is also potential for smart grids and more adaptive local demand.

Models and systems used for delivering energy to rural areas have been designed in industrialised countries, so there is uncertainty about how appropriate they are for developing countries. Areas where socio-technical nexus issues are particularly important include modelling load profiles, calculating willingness to pay and ongoing maintenance. This research will look at ways to evaluate microgrid systems and models, identifying how they can be improved by jointly considering social and technical aspects.

The major current areas of research in the group include

• carbon capture technology from power generation
• low emission CCGT technology
• clean coal/biomass combustion technology
• fuel cells
• alternative aviation fuels
• biogas from waste

For further information contact Professor Derek B Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk)