Is the island electricity really free
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This has been reposted as I found it impossible to tag the existing entry
Looking at that question with a sustainability perspective the answer has to be no the island electricity is_not free.
While there is no fuel cost and all the equipment was donated for the medium to long term one must not forget the upkeep cost of the equipment.
The solar panels & wind turbine can be expected to last 20 + years barring any accident. The batteries however are a different matter. Their life under ideal conditions could be up to 10 years but being more realistic one should budget for replacement over a 5 year cycle.
In the past (some 40 years ago) it was common in the UK for such batteries to be repaired rather then replaced at a cost of around 10 – 15% of a new replacement.
Not sure if battery re-conditioning facilities might exist in Fiji, the process is not exactly difficult.
Full replacement cost of the Vorovoro system batteries would be approx FJ$2500. These batteries are fairly standard 6 volt 200Ah units more commonly used within fork lift trucks etc.
If we assume that reconditioning at 20% replacement cost is possible for the point of initial argument we are looking at an operational cost of FJ$100 / year. Translating that into an on island power usage of 2KWh per day (presently we use approx ½ that but 2KWh /day is within system capacity and allows for future village development)
100/365 = 0.274 therefore each unit (KWh) electricity has a nominal value of FJ$0.137 under optimum recycling conditions.
Moving up to the other end of the scale – outright battery replacement after 5 years – gives:
500/365 = 1.37 giving us a nominal value for the electricity of FJ$0.685 /KWh
Because there is no fuel element to the power supply we do not of course here have a case of use less pay less. I have though used the traditional model of electric power costing in this example to permit better comparison with traditional valuation of electric power. Obviously maintenance costs for the wind turbine & solar panels (+ their eventual replacement costs) will need to be factored in to obtain complete figures for a future business model.
Hopefully though here I have managed to indicate that the “free electricity” is not really free at all.
Comments
Thanks for the break down on this JW.
I am wondering if it is time to start evaluating the use of indiviually powered solar lighting that has come down in cost a lot in the last year, and are quite efficient. Also, they don’t need to be wired, which saves alot in cost, neither do they use huge batteries. There are quite a variety available online, the waterbottle one that Kaz came up with is a good example, but there are brighter ones available.
I brought a couple that were 6 leds and a panel about 6”X4”, it worked brilliantly in my hut and could stay on all night (to keep the mice from coming in…) You need at least 3 leds for a good bright light.
I know none of this will last forever. On Vorovoro, we do need lighting however, in whatever form that is ecological/sustainable.
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