Meet mini-grids — the clean energy solution bringing power to millions | Tombo Banda

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I'm Elise Hu. It's TED Talks Daily. Today, a case for electrifying rural areas that doesn't just benefit people and their livelihoods, but helps the environment too. In her 2023 talk from the TED Countdown Summit, energy access innovator Tambo Banda sheds light on how to get more people, more power, more quickly. After the break.

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In 1994, electricity came to my mother's childhood village in Zomba, Malawi, where my grandmother still lived. I used to love going to Zomba as a kid. I was a typical city brat, romanticizing village life. I used to love going. I used to get to carry water on my head.

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And, you know, I remember the smell of kerosene as my grandma told stories at night, and my grandpa would be nodding off to these stories. But when that electricity came, it meant no more stinging eyes for my grandma from the smoke from the outside kitchen. It meant no more bedtime at seven.

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There was news to be watched. And more importantly for my cousins, Manuel and Charles, it meant a magical thing called more time. more time to pursue hobbies and interests and to study. They both went on to pursue further education. And for the village, it meant shops could stay open for longer, there were more jobs and a stronger local economy.

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Electricity came to Zomba because the main grid extended there. But for so many, the wait is still ongoing. The most recent data shows that less than 15 percent of Malawians have access to electricity. For sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people without electricity is more than 500 million. Globally, that number is even higher. There is a solution that could mean people get more access sooner.

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Mini-grids. Localized, standalone energy systems to power individual communities. They usually consist of a solar panel array, a battery bank and backup system connected to a small distribution network.

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And in areas near rivers, they can be connected to hydropower turbines. So how do we get more people, more access, more quickly? The traditional process of electrification is slow and expensive. Utilities are often cash-strapped, rural electrification agencies are often underfunded, governments have many competing priorities.

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But we need electrification not only because it provides opportunity, like it did for Zomba, but because lack of electrification means more environmental damage. Where there is no power for industry and homes, people who can afford to use diesel generators. And for the vast majority of rural communities, they resort to cutting down trees for firewood for cooking and lighting.

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It is estimated that at current rates of consumption, Malawi's demand for firewood could outstrip sustainable supply by 2025. And if we look at coal-fired power stations, which until recently have been cheaper to deploy than renewable energy, they exacerbate climate change, leading to more extreme and destructive weather.