Application · Village microgrid

Village & community microgrid

Where the grid arrives late or not at all, one 20–50 kW turbine on the village ridge can carry the school, the clinic, the water pump and a hundred households — for less than five years of diesel.

A village microgrid is a 400 V three-phase distribution line of 1–3 km, fed by one or two mid-size turbines, a PV array and a battery bank, with a diesel set for the calm month. A 50 kW turbine at a 5.5 m/s ridge site produces about 120 MWh a year — enough for 80–120 efficient households plus community loads.

The engineering is standard; the hard part is the tariff and the O&M. We supply the controller with prepaid-metering integration, train two local technicians, and stock the spare-parts kit that keeps the line up between site visits.

Typical load profile

Load	Power	Hours/day	Daily energy
Household connections (100 × 1 A)	15,000 W	6 h avg	90 kWh
School and computer lab	4,000 W	8 h	32 kWh
Clinic and vaccine fridge chain	1,200 W	24 h	28.8 kWh
Village water pumping	3,000 W	4 h	12 kWh
Cold store for produce	2,500 W	8 h	20 kWh

Recommended configuration

Recommended model: 2 × GH-A20K or 1 × GH-D50KW on 24–30 m towers
Distribution: 400 V three-phase, 1–3 km LV line
Storage: 120 kWh LFP, 1 h peak shaving
Backup: 60 kVA diesel, auto-start
System cost: USD 52,000 – 95,000 turnkey
Annual output: 90 – 130 MWh at 5.5 m/s

One strong ridge beats ten small towers

For mini-grids, two 20–50 kW machines on one surveyed ridge cost less per kWh than twenty 2 kW towers scattered along the road — fewer foundations, one crane mobilisation, one O&M route.

The diesel is a last resort, and the meter enforces it

The hybrid controller runs wind and solar first, battery second, diesel only below 40 % state of charge. Prepaid meters keep household demand inside what the turbines actually produce.

Train two technicians, stock the spares

Every mini-grid failure we have seen was a logistics failure, not an engineering one. Bearings, blades, controller boards and fuses stay on site; two trained locals handle 90 % of events the same day.

Frequently asked questions

How many homes can a 50 kW wind turbine power?

At a 5.5 m/s site it produces about 120 MWh a year — 80 to 120 energy-efficient households at 300–400 kWh each, plus the school, clinic and water pump. Add PV and the number roughly doubles in hybrid operation.

What does a village microgrid cost?

A turnkey 50 kW wind-solar-diesel system with 120 kWh of storage and a 2 km line runs USD 52,000–95,000 depending on terrain and tower height — typically less than five years of the diesel it replaces.

Who maintains it after commissioning?

We train two local technicians and leave a documented spare-parts kit on site; the controller reports status over 4G so faults are diagnosed remotely before anyone drives out.