Sustainability and Circularity Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Hubs for Rural Villages in sub-Saharan Africa

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The project aims to improve the sustainability of off-grid solar power systems, and to identify productive uses of off-grid solar power that can encourage socio-economic development in rural communities in sub-Sharan Africa (SSA). Economic, social, technical and environmental sustainability will be considered, with the intention being to design and build a sustainable off-grid solar power system in Malawi, and develop a structure that can be applied across SSA. Doing so would de-risk off-grid solar systems, attract investment, and accelerate electrification in the most electricity deprived area of the world. Malawi is used as the focus of the study due to its low rate of rural electrification.Objectives- Accelerate electrification and encourage socio-economic development across sub-Sharan Africa - Make a framework for increasing the economic, social, technical and environmental sustainability of off-grid solar systems in sub-Sharan Africa- Highlight potential approaches to addressing solar electronic waste across sub-Sharan Africa - Build a sustainable off-grid solar system in Malawi Key research questions:- What are the key barriers to the uptake of off-grid solar power in sub-Sharan Africa?- How can economic, social, technical and environmental sustainability be achieved for off-grid solar power systems in sub-Sharan Africa?- How can themes of a circular economy be integrated into the off-grid solar market in sub-Sharan Africa?- What productive uses of off-grid solar power can aid socio-economic development in Malawi?Methods: 1. Literature review: the circular economy of off-grid solar in sub-Sharan Africa- Assess the current resource management and end of life practices in the off-grid solar market across SSA- Identify opportunities and policy recommendations that can improve the material circularity of off-grid solar products - Identify the criteria for an environmentally sustainable off-grid solar system2. Interviews: academics, NGOs, politicians, solar energy companies- Engage with local stakeholders Identify barriers, and discuss potential solutions, to the uptake of off-grid solar in Malawi- Identify community priorities for energy use- Identify potential productive uses of off-grid solar in Malawi3. Field trip to Malawi- Further engagement and interviews with local stakeholders- Identify the requirements for the social sustainability of community energy projects- Assess how users interact with off-grid solar products - Assess the opportunities for introducing circular initiatives for solar products - Assess the requirements and feasibility of an off-grid solar community energy system4. Design an off-grid solar community energy system- Collaboration with the university of Manchester's department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering5. Life cycle assessment - Assess the environmental impacts of the proposed off-grid solar system deign - Assess our design's potential for greenhouse gas emission mitigation6. Circularity analysis- Assess the performance of the proposed design in the context of a circular economy Novelties:The topic of waste management has recently gained significant attention within the off-grid solar industry. Although, a circular economy performance assessment of the off-grid solar market in SSA has not been carried out before. Malawi has an undeveloped solar market, almost no research has been published on off-grid solar in Malawi, and none relating to circular economy or solar electronic waste management. Another aim of the project is to identify new opportunities for productive uses of off-grid solar energy and, with the help of the University of Manchester's Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, a new sustainable design for an off-grid energy system will be made and assessed.