Rural Electrification Practicalities of Using Single Wire Earth Return as a Low-Cost Method for Grid Extension: The Case of Ntenjeru, Uganda
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Date
2009
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bakkabulindi, G., Da Silva, I. P., & Lugujjo, E. (2009, August)
Abstract
The fact that the vast majority of Uganda’s rural
areas remain un-electrified makes it imperative that low cost
distribution technologies be implemented in order to provide
affordable electricity to rural households. Such low cost
technologies include the Shield Wire System (SWS), Single
Wire Earth Return (SWER) and appropriate engineering
techniques. The SWER technology is presented in this paper
as well as the implications of its proposed implementation for
electrification of the village of Ntenjeru in Uganda. While
SWER can reduce the costs of electrification by more than a
third compared to conventional high tension transmission
lines, there are stringent grounding and safety issues as well as
load capacity constraints involved. Furthermore, with the
earth used as a current return path, soil resistivity analysis is
important in these systems. Since soil resistivity can vary
sharply over varying terrain and in different weather
conditions, robust SWER systems have to be carefully
designed. An analysis of the financial and electrical load
implications of this technology in Uganda’s local conditions
will be presented and its viability as a sustainable method for
electric energy distribution in the chosen case study area.
Description
Keywords
Power distribution, rural electrification, soil resistivity, SWER
Citation
Bakkabulindi, G., Da Silva, I. P., & Lugujjo, E. (2009, August). Rural Electrification Practicalities of Using Single Wire Earth Return as a Low-Cost Method for Grid Extension: The Case of Ntenjeru, Uganda. In International Conference on Energy and Sustainability (pp. 33-38).