Microgrid LCOE and Load Profiles for Sub-Saharan Africa

Encompassing modeling results from two tools for analyzing microgrids in sub-Saharan Africa. The Microgrid REopt LCOE Results Explorer provides levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for systems serving 100 homes, two shops, and one school, while the Microgrid Load Profile Explorer generates hourly electrical load profiles for various household and commercial entity types.

Use Cases

• Analyze how LCOE changes with variations in geographical location, fuel prices, and discount rates using the REopt LCOE Results Explorer.
• Generate and compare hourly electrical load profiles for different household income types (high, medium, low) and commercial entities like schools and clinics.
• Model the impact of the number of households and commercial entities on maximum and minimum electrical load using the Load Profile Explorer.
• Break down LCOE into cost components to understand contributions from technology, distribution, and soft costs for different microgrid configurations.

Strengths

• Models systems for a specific, representative village size of 100 homes, two shops, and one school.
• Based on NREL's REopt techno-economic decision support model for optimal technology selection and dispatch.
• Covers a wide range of input parameters including geographical location, fuel prices, and technology costs.
• Provides load profiles for multiple specific entity types common in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.

Limitations

• The dataset appears to be tool outputs or modeling results, not raw observational data, limiting direct empirical analysis.
• Specific data volume (rows, columns) and file structure are unknown, complicating assessment of analytical scope.
• Geographic focus is exclusively on Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting applicability to other regions.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy

Collection Method

Modeling results generated using NREL's REopt techno-economic decision support tool.

Freshness

Last updated March 21, 2026.

Geography

Sub-Saharan Africa