Mini-Grid Emissions Tool Cover note

The Mini-Grid Emissions Tool, developed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), provides a standardized methodology for calculating the carbon emissions displaced by renewable energy mini-grids. It improves upon previous methods by accounting for diverse previous energy sources, actual energy consumption by customers, and various generating sources, including hybrid systems.

• The mini-grid emissions tool was created to address the lack of a standardized method for tracking carbon emissions displaced by renewable energy mini-grids. Previous methodologies often overestimated mitigation impact by using a single default emissions factor (assuming all consumers used one fuel source, such as diesel) and basing calculations on total energy generated rather than energy actually consumed.
• To provide more accurate estimates, the tool considers three primary factors: the various energy sources used by customers before the mini-grid was installed to establish baseline emissions, the actual energy consumed by customers, and the specific generating sources of the mini-grid, including hybrid configurations.
• The tool utilizes a tiered system for household energy access to estimate consumption. Tier 1 households (those with basic access to lighting, phone charging, and a radio) are assumed to upgrade to Tier 2 upon mini-grid connection. Tier 2 households are estimated to have an initial monthly consumption of 4.86 kWh, which increases to a plateau of 10 kWh per month as they add appliances like TVs or fans.
• Baseline kerosene emission factors in the tool are derived from GOGLA and UNFCCC sources. The tool incorporates black carbon as a significant short-lived pollutant and uses GOGLA weightings for different lamp types (pressurised, hurricane, and single wick) as defaults, though users can provide project-specific percentages.
• The tool distinguishes between different types of diesel generators to reflect differences in efficiency. Previous small-scale diesel generators (<35kW) are assigned a default emissions factor of 1 kgCO2/kWh, while larger modern back-up generators (35–135kW) used in mini-grids are assigned a lower factor of 0.8 kgCO2/kWh.
• For petrol generators, which are noted as being more prevalent than small diesel generators in rural areas of most Sub-Saharan African countries, the tool uses a default emissions factor of 1.25164 kgCO2/kWh.

APA

Wagura, N., Soni, R., & Farley, S. (n.d.). Mini-Grid Emissions Tool Cover note. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2021-08/SEforALL_Carbon-emissions-methodology-note.pdf

Chicago

Wagura, Naomi, Ruchi Soni, and Sisana Farley. Mini-Grid Emissions Tool Cover note. Sustainable Energy for All, n.d. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2021-08/SEforALL_Carbon-emissions-methodology-note.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wagura |first1=Naomi |last2=Soni |first2=Ruchi |last3=Farley |first3=Sisana |title=Mini-Grid Emissions Tool Cover note |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2021-08/SEforALL_Carbon-emissions-methodology-note.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wagurandminigrid, author = {Wagura, Naomi and Soni, Ruchi and Farley, Sisana}, title = {{Mini-Grid Emissions Tool Cover note}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2021-08/SEforALL_Carbon-emissions-methodology-note.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }