http://www.repositorio.uem.mz/handle258/114 2026-04-23T07:11:34Z http://www.repositorio.uem.mz/handle258/896 Title: Rural electrification in Mozambique: challenges and opportunities Authors: Manhique, Milagre; Barchiesi, Dominique; Kouta, Raed Abstract: The International Energy Agency states that access to electricity is an essential condition for sustainable human development, however, it is estimated that approximately 22% of the world population (about 1.6 billion people) does not have access to electricity, a significant part of these people live in rural areas of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the fact that Africa has enormous potential in renewable and non-renewable energy sources. In Mozambique, approximately 50% of the population does not have access to electricity due to the fact that 66.6% of the population lives in rural areas, where the rate of access to electricity is even worse, paradoxically, Mozambique has a significant potential for renewable energy sources equivalent to 23 TW, this potential when combined with factors such as commitment to ensuring access to electricity for all, forecast of population growth and electricity demand, generates huge investment and long term business opportunities in the electricity sector, however, there are economic, social and cultural challenges that constitute uncertainties that should be considered in the decision-making process for investment in rural electrification infrastructure in the specific context of Mozambique and Sub-Saharan Africa in general. This article aims to discuss the possibilities that Mozambique has to guarantee access to electricity for all by 2030 (emanating from United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7) emphasizing land use plans and education for rural electrification benefits through the use of renewable energy sources 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.repositorio.uem.mz/handle258/877 Title: Social innovation for community energy in developing countries – new models and a Mozambican case study Authors: Silva, Fábio; O'Regan, Brian; Manhique, Milagre; Soares, Castro; Mould, Karen; Lyons, Pádraig Abstract: In recent decades, the transition from fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy sources has profoundly changed the world's energy landscape. This in turn has given rise to the concept of energy transition based on the principle of the "three-D’s", Decarbonization, Decentralization and Digitalization. The emergence of the concept of community energy suggests a "fourth-D", denoting democratization as a pillar underlying the concept of community energy. This concept is where energy is produced by and for the community, placing the citizen and community at the center as key actors in the entire energy value chain (generation, distribution, consumption, and associated services). This work aims to discuss the social innovation model suitable for the implementation of energy democratization, which leads to the successful penetration of the concept of community energy in developing countries, especially Mozambique, which is a use case study explored in this paper. We explain how this social innovation model can promote socio-economic empowerment, sustainable industrial and human development, and energy inclusion that contributes to environmental balance and social stability in rural communities in Mozambique. The global energy landscape is not uniform in terms of access to energy sources and this debate in developing countries is still relevant and significant, as a considerable number of citizens do not have accessibility to electricity and are still seeking access to it for the first time (energy inclusion). But beyond the social innovation through energy inclusion, we also discuss new innovative modular ways of implementing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) based on typical Photovoltaic (PV) panels and energy storage (batteries). A modular approach for the implementation of smart grids can promote a more cost-effective organic growth, distributing resources more evenly and avoiding oversizing or undersizing of rural electrification systems. Such modularization would also allow new partners or new equipment sets to be added to the infrastructure smoothly. Finally, we suggest the introduction of an AI-based algorithm capable of adapting the smart grid management to new infrastructure modifications (addition of new prosumers or consumers). The algorithm proposed would be able to help control the quality and cost of power for all participants, reduce operation and maintenance costs of the systems, and balance generation and consumption. With that, the suggested modular implementation in conjunction with AI-based smart grid management will provide smart grids that can reduce costs of investment and fair consumption and generation balance that, with time, can promote local sustainable industrial and human development in a virtuous circle to boost social transformation 2022-07-08T00:00:00Z