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The floodplain areas along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan are essential as they hold the riparian (local) ecosystems because they provide firewood, pastureland, and areas for recreation and protection against erosion. Due to limited access to adequate, reliable, and sustainable energy services, the rural population usually derived their energy needs from multiple natural energy resources (i.e., firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung, and wood branches). This is considered a common and predominant practice in rural Kyrgyzstan. This situation leads to a negative impact on local ecosystem services. In addition to that, the reliance on solid fuels contributes to indoor and outdoor air pollution, which is partially threatening the local ecosystem services. By contrast, the employment of renewable-based energy supply systems would substantially reduce the burden on the environment, which is mainly untapped. To integrate renewable energies, it is important to understand the energy behavior of floodplain communities. In that response, the presented article is the first attempt to capture the energy identity of the floodplain community of Kyrgyzstan based on a quantitative energy-based (on-site) household survey. Furthermore, the present research article synthesizes the driving factors that have a (direct or indirect) impact on the energy and local ecosystem services. In addition, the present article proposes a brief pathway for the sustainable energy transition. The article records the recommendation to integrate renewable energies to preserve the local ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan.
The northern part of the globe is dominated by industrialisation and is well-developed. For many years, the southern part of the world (South Asia, Africa etc.) has been a target of research concentrating on access to energy (mainly electricity) in rural regions. However, the Central Asian region has not been a focus of energy research compared to South East Asia and Africa. Despite plentiful domestically available energy resources, the energy supply in Central Asia is very unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. Almost half of the total population of Central Asia lives in rural areas and there is a lack of access to modern energy services to meet primary needs. To analyse the energy situation (i.e., electricity, heating, hot water consumption, cooking, etc.) in rural Central Asia, this paper reviews residential energy consumption trends in rural Central Asian regions as compared to urban areas. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the potential of renewable energies in Central Asia. To perform the study, a qualitative comparative analysis was conducted based on a literature review, data, and statistical information. In summary, the presented article discusses the rural energy situation analytically and provides in-depth insights of Central Asian energy infrastructure.
More than half of the urban population of Sub-Saharan Africa lives in informal housing conditions. While urban areas are, in general, characterized by a high electrification rate, residents of informal settlements are still affected by energy poverty, the use of traditional energy sources and unreliable electricity supply. The aim of the study is to give an overview of different renewable-energybased solutions which are able to improve local energy provision. These are Solar Home Systems, Mini-Grids, and Energy-Hubs. The technologies are compared to another option for improving energy supply, namely Grid Expansion. The analysis is based on 24 Key Performance Indicators, which can be classified into technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions. The selection of indicators is based on the challenges prevalent in informal settlements that impede a comprehensive, sustainable energy supply. The literature-based indices are used to determine which of the four technologies is a suitable solution for minimizing the challenges prevailing in informal settlements. The resulting matrix provides a holistic comparison and serves as a decision aid in selecting the appropriate technology for future projects in informal settlements, depending on local conditions and the needs of the population. The results show that the Energy-Hub is a valid alternative for energy supply improvement in Informal Settlements.
This paper proposes a home energy management system able to achieve optimized load scheduling for the operation of appliances within a given household. The system, based on the genetic algorithm, provides recommendations for the user to improve the way the energy needs of the home are handled. These recommendations not only take into account the dynamic pricing of electricity, but also the optimization for solar energy usage as well as user comfort. Historical data regarding the times at which the appliances have been used is leveraged through a statistical method to integrate the user’s preference into the algorithm. Based on real life appliance consumption data collected from a household in Morocco, three scenarios are established to assess the performance of the proposed system with each scenario having different parameters. Running the scenarios on the developed MATLAB script shows a cost saving of up to 63.48% as compared to a base scenario for a specific day. These results demonstrate that significant cost saving can be achieved while maintaining user comfort. The addition of supplementary shiftable loads (i.e., an electric vehicle) to the household as well as the limitations of such home energy management systems are discussed. The main contribution of this paper is the real data and including the user comfort as a metric in in the home energy management scheme.
AbstractBuildings in rural Central Asia have unique characteristics as they were built during the Soviet era (during 1950–1960) without any energy efficiency measures. The special and aged building stock pose a crucial challenge on energy security and energy supply. However, accurate scientific data on their energy usage is lacking, highlighting a research gap about robust and validated methodology to determine the energy use of rural Central Asian buildings. In response to this need, this research paper proposes a set of generalised residential building typologies for rural Central Asia, with a focus on Kyrgyzstan. The study combines quantitative and qualitative methods, including household surveys, energy demand modelling, EnergyPlus simulations, and result validation. It derives energy-based building typologies from construction year and building envelope characteristics. Through numerous validated simulations, it was identified that the heat demand for rural Kyrgyz houses is 3–5 times here compared to European houses (250–400 kWh/m2). The study revealed the estimated heat demand for homes in rural Kyrgyzstan, indicating a significant potential for improving building energy efficiency in the region. These results can inform specific approaches, such as building renovation plans, energy certification, and renovation strategies. Furthermore, the validated methodology introduced offers opportunities for researchers in the field of building energy efficiency and can be applied to similar regions in Central Asia with comparable building stocks and climates.
This paper introduces a comprehensive approach for sizing grid-connected hybrid renewable energy systems tailored for electric bus fleet operations. The study involves two main steps. First, a mathematical model that optimizes the configuration of such systems by considering daily electric bus consumption, solar irradiance, wind speed, and biomass potential is formulated. The model utilizes Pareto frontier multi-objective optimization to minimize the net present cost, the cost of energy, and greenhouse gas emissions. Second, the model is rigorously applied and tested in a real-world case study in Fez, Morocco, using HOMER Pro; the case study centers on the daily energy requirements of the buses, estimated at 2.5 megawatt hours per day, with a peak demand of 345 kilowatts. Two scenarios are explored, revealing a discernible trade-off dilemma between the full hybrid renewable energy scenario (Scenario 1) and the grid-connected hybrid renewable energy scenario (Scenario 2). In Scenario 2, the grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system demonstrates a notable 42.8% reduction in the net present cost, totaling USD 984,624. Similarly, the levelized cost of energy experiences a significant decrease, reaching approximately 0.08 USD/kWh, marking a 38.1% reduction. However, this apparent economic advantage is juxtaposed with a critical consideration—an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from null to 330,418 kg/year.
Building construction in rural Kyrgyzstan is heavily dominated by earthen buildings. Old and inappropriate residential building structures contribute significantly to high domestic space heating energy consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the relevant building construction techniques. However, the scant information on Kyrgyz building techniques, especially for high-altitude rural settlements, was the prime motivation to perform the presented study. The key objective of the study is to investigate residential building construction techniques in high-altitude rural Kyrgyzstan, and this was to be achieved by house visits during field trips, literature review, and pilot interviews with local people. The analysis enabled the detailed identification of individual building envelopes as well as predominant building materials to be recorded. Based on the assessment, a housing profile was created that represents the typical characteristics of traditional rural Kyrgyz houses. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the potential for energy savings in rural Kyrgyz houses of 50–70%. However, local conditions prevent people from making improvements to all domestic energy efficiency parameters simultaneously. Therefore, the study developed a ‘sequential roadmap’ to reduce domestic space heating demand in different phases based on simulation studies. Existing low-income rural Kyrgyz habitations can use the presented roadmap to reduce domestic space heating demand sequentially to overcome financial barriers and, therefore, contribute to establishing sustainable buildings in Kyrgyzstan. These results may be partially replicated in other Central Asian rural communities depending on their location and building characteristics.
Energy is a pivotal element for overall development. Therefore, affordable and clean energy for all (Sustainable Development Goal 7) is one of the important elements. Despite a suitable approach, Kyrgyzstan lags behind to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Improving access to energy can significantly impact the progress of many other sustainable development targets. However, access to reliable, sustainable, and adequate energy is a crucial task in rural Kyrgyzstan. Taking into consideration the energy situation and the importance of the availability of energy services, the overarching aim of the presented article is to map the potential of improving rural energy services to foster overall sustainable development goals. The article presents the most relevant information about rural energy usage behaviour based on three primary pillars: energy demand, energy carrier, and energy sources. In addition, the presented research article synthesises the key driving factors which have a direct or indirect impact on the energy services in rural areas. The summarised data displays a deep insight into a variety of complex and dynamic household energy consumption patterns. The article provides a potential solution nexus to foster improved energy services in rural Kyrgyzstan and therefore to foster the overall sustainable development in Kyrgyzstan. The findings of the article help to formulate a strategy to design rural energy services for policy makers and stockholders.
Kyrgyzstan – a Central Asian country – faces a high degree of energy insecurity. Especially the Kyrgyz power sector suffers from outdated infrastructure and is not capable of fulfilling the growing and fluctuating inter-seasonal energy demand. On the contrary, the country is endowed with an abundant amount of renewable energies, which can significantly contribute to bringing stability to the energy sector. The current energy policy is considered as one of the key barriers to the developing the renewable energy sector in Kyrgyzstan. Hence, there is an immediate need to evaluate the formulated energy policy to investigate gaps and uncertainties. In response to that, the presented study is the first attempt that provides an in-depth assessment of Kyrgyzstan's current energy legislative framework. It determines the primary mechanisms for the operation and conduction of renewable energy sources in terms of legal and economic aspects. Furthermore, it provides detailed insight into the current Feed-in tariff calculation methodology and scrutinizes the special provisions for private investors. Based on the in-depth assessment, the article recapitulates the shortfall in the existing energy policies. The article found that there is huge potential available for the renewable energy market. To unlock that, the presented article emahsised on synergestic policy making approach to overcome barriers and expand the Kyrgyz renewable energy sector. The article further showcased how the improvements in the regulatory framework would raise the interest of the private investors / local energy players to promote the installation of renewable energy technologies over the county.