Decentralised rural electrification

Holland, Ray; Perera, Lahiru; Sánchez, Teodoro; Wilkinson, R. E.

doi:10.1016/s1471-0846(01)80060-3

Cited by 19 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Community participation is a key factor that reduces bureaucracy and transaction costs [33]. Similar to other investments, community participation is believed to improve the long term sustainability of decentralized energy projects [34]. For instance, community participation and local knowledge were found to have a determining role for the success of decentralized energy projects in Bolivia [35], India [36], and Brazil [37].However, DES in developing countries are often initiated and established with assistances from outside (government, non-governmental or international donors and partners) [11,34], making them susceptible to uncertainty without the continued support of outsiders.…”

Section: Successes and Failures Of Des In Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to other investments, community participation is believed to improve the long term sustainability of decentralized energy projects [34]. For instance, community participation and local knowledge were found to have a determining role for the success of decentralized energy projects in Bolivia [35], India [36], and Brazil [37].However, DES in developing countries are often initiated and established with assistances from outside (government, non-governmental or international donors and partners) [11,34], making them susceptible to uncertainty without the continued support of outsiders. Community-based approaches through empowering and creating local participation in the planning and execution of DES projects would enable direct control by local players in the monitoring and management of resources to improve the sustainability of investment decisions [38].The community approach has been considered as a valid alternative to the government-and market-based provision of energy [39].…”

Section: Successes and Failures Of Des In Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of the Successes and Failures of Decentralized Energy Solutions and Implications for the Water–Energy–Food Security Nexus: Case Studies from Developing Countries

Guta

Jara

Adhikari³

et al. 2017

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Access to reliable and affordable energy is vital for sustainable development. In the off-grid areas of developing countries, decentralized energy solutions have received increasing attention due to their contributions to reducing poverty. However, most of the rural population in many developing countries still has little or no access to modern energy technologies. This paper assesses the factors that determine the successes and failures of decentralized energy solutions based on local harmonized case studies from heterogeneous contexts from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. The case studies were analyzed through the coupled lenses of energy transition and the Water-Energy-Food Security (WEF) Nexus. The findings indicate that access to modern decentralized energy solutions has not resulted in complete energy transitions due to various tradeoffs with the other domains of the WEF Nexus. On the other hand, the case studies point at the potential for improvements in food security, incomes, health, the empowerment of women, and resource conservation when synergies between decentralized energy solutions and other components of the WEF Nexus are present.

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Section: Successes and Failures Of Des In Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Successes and Failures Of Des In Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Successes and Failures of Decentralized Energy Solutions and Implications for the Water–Energy–Food Security Nexus: Case Studies from Developing Countries

Guta

Jara

Adhikari³

et al. 2017

Resources

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In that context, Gollwitzer [13] highlights the importance of the organizational set-up, which includes adopting and enforcing norms and regulations. Authors further agree that, for an effective sustainable energy development, the openness to participation of all stakeholders is imperative [14][15][16]. The participation is important for decentralization, which makes sense not only because of numerous technical advantages of decentralized renewable energy (RE) solutions [17,18], but also because it favors the adaptability of the institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Peru Prepared for Large-Scale Sustainable Rural Electrification?

Féron

Cordero

2018

Sustainability

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Peru has historically been among the Latin-American countries with a low rural electrification rate. Aiming to improve this situation, the country conducted several electrification efforts in the last few decades that included off-grid photovoltaic (PV) solutions for remote areas (where the grid expansion was unviable). More recently, the government has also sponsored a 'massive program' that aims to deploy a minimum of 150,000 off-grid PV solutions in the upcoming years. In this paper, we assess the sustainability of rural electrification programs in Peru, paying special attention to the ongoing "massive program". Our assessment considers four dimensions of sustainability (institutional, economic, environmental, and socio-cultural) and is based on an exhaustive qualitative document analysis complemented by semi-structured expert interviews. We found that the lack of strong formal institutions with a flexible and decentralized structure seriously compromises the sustainability of rural electrification efforts in Peru. Staff rotation and overlapping competences have caused disturbing changes and inhibited following a strategic line, while widespread outsourcing combined with weak controls have often affected the reliability of the deployed systems. Although cross subsidies have made off-grid PV systems affordable for users, systems often fell short of energy demand. Notably, we found that Peruvian officials appear to be unaware of the importance of local participation, and there is a significant mistrust between the government and the rural population (especially in areas where mining is extensive). As a consequence, most of the projects are still designed without the participation and engagement of the communities, which has frequently led to project failures, payment defaults, and inhibited seizing opportunities regarding productive uses of off-grid PV systems. We expect that our findings may help Peruvian institutions to address the most severe drawbacks affecting their rural electrification efforts based on off-grid PV systems.

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