Powered by Renewable-Energy-Based Microgrid
November 2020
1. Introduction
Cape Verde is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) located in the North Atlantic Ocean (16o N, 24o W), west of Senegal with a population of approximately 0.55 million (2019) and classified as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank with a 2019 GDP of $1.98 Billion1. The country has a total land area of 4,033 square kilometers and comprises 10 Islands (Figure 1). It spans 350 km from North to South and 300 km from East to West. The capital, Praia, is located on the Island of Santiago.
Figure 1: Map of Cape Verde Showing its 10 Islands (in bold)2
The Cape Verdean economy is characterized by high importation dependency with a substantial trade deficit. For instance, in the year 2018, imports of goods and services constituted 68% of GDP compared with 49% in export of goods and services. Its main imports are food, fuel, and machinery. particularly of food and agricultural products. About 75% of the country’s food requirement is imported, largely from Europe and Brazil for individual hotels and resorts. This level of import dependence is rather high and inimical to food security. With cycles of long-term drought and generally poor soil growing food on several of the islands, food insecurity is a major risk and concern for Cape Verde3. Climate change and its impacts could have a further detrimental impact on food security if urgent steps are not taken.
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, that “heavy reliance on world markets is detrimental to food security, especially at a time of acute crisis”. In spite of Cape Verde’s situation regarding agricultural production and food imports, the OECD notes, that, the country indeed has the means to optimize its production potential by intensifying agricultural production and increasing investment in agricultural processing4.
The current government is pushing ahead with reducing imports to further increase production and create jobs and employment.
Despite good social and human development indicators, Cape Verde suffers from high rates of youth unemployment, with scarce opportunities, geographic isolation, high rates of out-migration, and high economic transaction costs because of its insularity, microscale, and high cost of inter-island transportation.
Against this background, this proposed project seeks to increase local food production, create jobs (providing income), and deploy innovative and scalable approaches that strengthen the resilience of Cape Verde’s agricultural and food supply system against climate change and its impacts. Specifically, this project seeks support to develop a meat-processing venture that is linked to the raising of its own livestock, the use of hydroponics5 for cultivating animal feed, and the installation of ice-making and storage facilities (Figure 2). Hydroponics is known to significantly reduce water use in agriculture. All these will be powered by a hybrid solar-PV-based micro-grid, thereby linking renewable energy, water supply, and food production.
Figure 2: Schematic of the proposed venture
The location of the project is on the northeast end of the Cape Verdean island of Santiago (Figure 1) where there is water but no access to electricity. The project will therefore install a micro-grid that comprises solar PV and a micro-gen system that together provide energy for the hydroponic farm, the cold storage facility, the ice-making factory, and the workers’ and local populace's housing.
Hydroponics is a technique for growing crops, without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent. It is reputed to be up to 90% more efficient in water use.
2. Detailed Description of Proposed Project
This project is organized around six (6) key components and aspects. These are (1) the energy supply system (2) Livestock Rearing (3) Ice-Making Factory (4) Fodder Production using Hydroponics, (5) Meat Processing and Packaging, and (6) Cold Storage Facility for Meat and Vegetable Conservation. Various components of the proposed project are described in the sub-sections following.
2.1 Component 1: Energy System
As mentioned in Section 1, this project will be implemented in the north-eastern part of Santiago Island in Cape Verde where there is no electricity. There is therefore the need to make provision for energy supply for the agribusiness and meat-processing venture. This energy system will also supply power to local rural households in the remote but agriculturally rich area of Santiago Island. By integrating renewable energy sources into economic productivity, the Cape Verde micro-grid will use sustainable energy to power economic development and job creation.
Our proven process of repurposing used motor oil converts it into clean-burning fuel by effectively eliminating all particles down to 1 micron. Repurposing used motor oil is done by using a process currently used in the U.S. which encompasses 5 filtering systems using diaphragm pumps and centrifuges.
Figure 3: Simplified schematic of the proposed hybrid energy system
The use of waste engine oil from vehicles and other engine-based equipment will help address a major environmental challenge that many countries face. Cape Verde has proclaimed a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. Having attained an island-wide grid coverage rate of 97% thus far, Cape Verde will continue its momentum with this project by bringing a micro-grid to one of the island's most rural areas.
