Power to the people

15 December 2016

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Power to the people

A micro-grid system that could potentially provide power to the world’s most remote communities has been designed by a Victoria University of Wellington student, who was inspired by the situation in his home country of Nigeria.

Daniel Akinyele graduated yesterday with a PhD in Engineering—the first from Victoria’s recently-established Smart Power and Renewable Energy Research Group in the School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Daniel’s research examined new energy systems for small communities that are not connected to a central power grid, and which rely largely on petrol-powered generators as a power source. He focused on developing solar photovoltaic micro-grids which capture energy from the sun and turn it into electricity.

“Micro-grid systems are basically smaller versions of the big electricity grid. Instead of waiting for the government to extend the main electricity grid to remote communities, which is usually not economically feasible and may not materialise in the short-term, I wanted to create a customisable energy system that could be installed on site and which would ensure these societies could meet their daily energy demands.”

Daniel used Nigeria as a case study. “I’m from Nigeria and was aware of its current electricity situation, so I wanted to use my knowledge to help address the energy challenge in my country. I had the opportunity to visit several remote areas and interact with the people there, get to know them and their energy requirements, and what their preferences were. With that information I could create a solar power system that works for them.”

He says the beauty of his research is that the knowledge he’s developed can be applied to any setting. “If I’m given the metrics and design parameters, I can create a solution for anywhere in the world. It could be suitable for some of New Zealand’s remote areas, or parts of the country cut off by an earthquake, for example. I am currently researching photovoltaic micro-grids for off-grid Māori communities in New Zealand.”

Daniel’s thesis has so far been the basis of 15 scientific papers which have been published in some of the world’s top renewable energy technology journals—one of the papers is the Sustainable Energy Technology and Assessments journal’s most downloaded and most cited article.

“Victoria University has been vital to my success,” he says. “Starting with a scholarship to come here in 2013, and backed up with ongoing support, I’ve been able to achieve my research goals and forge ahead with my aspirations. It’s a real privilege to study at Victoria.”

Daniel says his PhD research is just the beginning. “I’d love to design systems using other sources of renewable energy, such as wind, hydro or biomass. The concept has got a lot of potential, and I’d like to examine the micro-grid system from a more holistic perspective in the future.”

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