Solar PV research in East Africa has concentrated on solar home systems (SHS) in each country. However, several other fundamental advances in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry have emerged, and the developments have seen the sector experienced significant growth and diversification of models, regulation, and financing. This paper begins with an extensive narrative on the solar PV outlook of each of the six countries studied. A solar PV minigrid was also simulated using HOMER software with a critical load of 2800.0 kWh/day in order to analyze the peak shaving capability and assess the affordability of the solar PV microgrid having commercial and industrial loads. The regional overview of the efforts was identified, followed by a description of the models, payment methods, and barriers encountered collectively. The lessons from this research suggest that there is a vast potential for solar PV micro and minigrid deployment in the region with a population of over 100 million people lacking access to electricity by the end of 2019. It shows that solar PV minigrid deployment in East Africa is still at a nascent phase. Also, minigrid developers face several challenges operating in rural areas. While solar PV minigrids remain fairly nascent in the East Africa region, the technology is gaining traction, a development that indicates budding confidence in the solar PV minigrid technology. This study identifies that (1) with large critical loads (industrial and commercial), solar PV minigrid can still contribute to affordable electricity through peak shaving, except Tanzania; (2) solar PV minigrid projects are largely dependent on donor financing, require vast financial diversity to get off the ground, and offer consistent service; (3) Governments support in the form of National electrification strategies, policies, and regulation are key ingredients for realizing the electrification of rural populations through minigrids; (4) hybrid minigrids and power demand creation have emerged as an approach that ensures sustainability or profitability for the operating solar minigrid firms. Overall, government policy and regulation, funding, and financial sustainability remain the major hurdles to minigrid uptake in the region.

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太阳能光伏微型电网技术：东非共同体国家的调峰分析

东非的太阳能光伏研究集中在每个国家的太阳能家庭系统（SHS）上。然而，太阳能光伏 (PV) 行业的其他几项根本性进步已经出现，并且该行业经历了显着增长和模式、监管和融资的多样化。本文首先对所研究的六个国家中的每个国家的太阳能光伏前景进行了广泛的叙述。还使用 HOMER 软件模拟了一个太阳能光伏微型电网，其临界负载为 2800.0 kWh/天，以分析调峰能力并评估具有商业和工业负载的太阳能光伏微型电网的承受能力。确定了工作的区域概述，然后描述了模式、支付方式和共同遇到的障碍。这项研究的经验表明，到 2019 年底，该地区有超过 1 亿人无法获得电力，太阳能光伏微型和微型电网的部署潜力巨大。这表明东非的太阳能光伏微型电网部署仍处于起步阶段。此外，微型电网开发商在农村地区运营也面临一些挑战。虽然太阳能光伏微型电网在东非地区仍处于起步阶段，但该技术正在获得吸引力，这一发展表明人们对太阳能光伏微型电网技术的信心正在萌芽。该研究确定 (1) 具有较大的关键负载（工业和商业），太阳能光伏微型电网仍然可以通过调峰为负担得起的电力做出贡献，但坦桑尼亚除外；(2) 太阳能光伏微型电网项目在很大程度上依赖于捐助者的融资，需要广泛的财务多样性才能起步，并提供一致的服务；(3) 国家电气化战略、政策和法规形式的政府支持是通过微型电网实现农村人口电气化的关键因素；(4) 混合微型电网和电力需求创造已成为确保运营太阳能微型电网公司的可持续性或盈利能力的一种方法。总体而言，政府政策和监管、资金和财务可持续性仍然是该地区采用微型电网的主要障碍。(4) 混合微型电网和电力需求创造已成为确保运营太阳能微型电网公司的可持续性或盈利能力的一种方法。总体而言，政府政策和监管、资金和财务可持续性仍然是该地区采用微型电网的主要障碍。(4) 混合微型电网和电力需求创造已成为确保运营太阳能微型电网公司的可持续性或盈利能力的一种方法。总体而言，政府政策和监管、资金和财务可持续性仍然是该地区采用微型电网的主要障碍。