The general framework for the development of minigrids

Global energy demand has increased dramatically in recent decades, reflecting humanity's growing dependence on one or more types of these energy carriers. The daily activities of the majority of humanity are in fact dependent on access to one or more types of energy carriers. Electricity currently accounts for around 20% of final energy consumption worldwide, but this percentage is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, with projections reaching 50% . Access to and consumption of electricity vary greatly from one region of the world to another, depending in particular on the existence of a nearby national grid and the age of the infrastructure responsible for the quality of the energy distributed. Large electrical systems are planned based on economic and social considerations, as well as technical and environmental factors. When the right indicators are not in place, but there is a need for electricity, as can be the case in sparsely populated or highly isolated areas, localized intermediate infrastructure can be an attractive solution. These are known as mini-grids.

In developing countries, minigrids (or mini-grids) are one of three solutions for providing electricity to remote villages that are far from national power grids. This solution falls between rural electrification (local grids connected to national grids) and solar home systems (which equip a home with a kit of solar panels and a battery managed by a controller), potentially grouped around a small community, or microgrids. Some authors estimate their power between 10 kW and 10 MW, potentially overlapping with the concept of microgrids for low power. The minigrid is not electrically connected to other networks at the time of its installation. It consists of a mini-electricity distribution network, powered by autonomous local production sources (hydroelectricity, solar panels, or other renewable energy sources) and managed by an energy management system (EMS – ). It is referred to as hybrid when it is coupled with a diesel generator. It can be combined with an energy storage system (usually batteries). The considerable drop in the price of photovoltaic panels since 2010 has led to a spectacular boom in minigrids, which were only a niche market 20 years ago.

Minigrids are currently undergoing significant development and are the subject of interesting innovations...