Mini-grid site selection in West Africa using Village Data Analytics (VIDA)

A collaboration between TFE and leading mini-grid developer PowerGen to find viable sites using VIDA.

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VIDA is an artificial intelligence (AI) powered, data-enabled service that utilizes satellite imagery, publicly available geospatial data, on-ground survey data, and energy modeling to identify and extract insights about rural villages and to assess their suitability for off-grid electrification, including mini-grids.
In this collaboration between TFE Energy and leading mini-grid developer PowerGen, we deployed VIDA in West Africa to test and validate its predictions during a mini-grid site selection campaign by PowerGen.
With VIDA, we analysed an area of 5,500km2, short-listed promising villages and compared them with the results from the on-site surveys performed by PowerGen.
This report outlines the methodology, the validation process, and its results.



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