Application Cases of Integrated Mini-grids for Sustainable Water, Energy, and Food Supply in Remote African Communities

Mini-grids can provide energy for productive uses in the water and food sector, which are vital for achieving water, energy, and food security in rural African communities. However, the integration of mini-grids with water and food systems, considering interlinkages between water, energy, food and local conditions, is not well understood or documented in the literature especially for the rural African context. This paper explores application cases of integrated mini-grids for sustainable water, energy, and food supply in Africa, based on twelve interviews and analyses of eight African case studies. Therefore, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from academia, industry, agriculture, local governments, and communities, resource mapping using earth observation tools, and an expert workshop have been conducted. The results are used to define application cases for integrated mini-grids including their water, energy and food resources, demands, technical components, productive uses, and storage options. The results support the understanding of application cases of integrated mini-grids including their potentials and challenges and lay the foundation for the development of planning software and scale-up in remote African communities.