Development and Analysis of an Off-grid Solar Food Processing System in Kenya

The agricultural sector, including fisheries, is one of the main economic drivers in Kenya, which employs two million people to accelerate the rural community development in the country. These fisheries contribute to food security, livelihood security, poverty reduction, and rural development. However, there are high post-harvest losses due to inefficient and inadequate cooling and drying practices, poor processing and transportation techniques, badly insulated and designed storage containers, and weak handling and mismanagement. These losses impede economic development and cause health problems, which can be minimized by a blend of technical, policy support, and societal solutions. This paper focuses on the technical part of the solution, where we propose an off-grid hybrid food processing system for Kenyan fisheries. Following a feasibility analysis, we implemented a working prototype composed of two main parts: (i) solar PV and battery-based ice machines for cooling, and (ii) solar thermal collector and heat storage-based dryers for drying the fish. Besides, an energy management system is installed to monitor and control the different components in the system. Based on simulation results, a PV system of 15 kW and a lithium-ion battery of 14.4 kWh are selected for powering a 5.6 kW ice machine. Economic analysis of the cooling system shows that a capital expenditure of 85,052 € is needed for the cooling system, which can be further reduced by 40% to make it more economically feasible. The annual operation and maintenance cost is calculated to be 3,410 €. Sensitivity analysis shows that the payback period can be as low as six years when subsidies finance the system. Life cycle analysis shows that the PV-battery-based system can provide better environmental benefits (0.06 kg CO2/kWhe) compared to grid-powered (0.23 kg CO2/kWhe) or diesel-generator powered (1.14 kg CO2/kWhe) systems.