What is FairGrid and how did it happen?
Ulrich Vollert is an industrial engineer with many years of experience in planning and configuring all types of power supply systems. Since 2008 he works self-employed as a planner and technical engineer for solar power systems and energy efficiency measures for households and small businesses
In May 2016, a business man from Nigeria who lives in Germany asked him to plan a solar power system for his house in Nigeria. In Lagos, a city with 16 million inhabitants, power from the grid is only available for some hours per day. PV systems, if connected to the grid, need the grid to feed-in excess solar power. Without a functioning grid solar power is not economically feasible, i.e. there will be no market for PV. The poor state of the power system in Nigeria lead Ulrich Vollert to develop the FairGrid idea which aims to improve the living conditions of the people.
At first, he was just looking for a power supply concept for a single residential building. However, he soon realized that a comprehensive solution for the entire power grid is needed.
The implementation of the FairGrid idea could start with an autonomous pilot project for a small village which then could gradually expand. Experience gained with the pilot project will help refining the concept.
Success: Sustainability Award 2018
Preisverleihung in Berlin
Translated from Bundespreis Nachhaltigkeit
The Fair Grid project was selected as it provides fair access to, and improved stability of, the electric grid in African countries. A reliable electricty supply fosters the access to knowledge, improves social participation, and creates the technical prerequisites for establishing a pension scheme. Thus, Fair Grid is far more than just a means to abate the energy shortage.
FairGrid addresses among others SDG 4, SDG 7 and SDG 10 of Sustainable Development Goals.
