Putting solar home system programmes into perspective: What lessons are relevant?

Vleuten, Frank van der; Stam, N.; Plas, R. van der

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2006.04.001

Cited by 66 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…However, in the case of many other rural electrification projects, spare parts are often not available due to a distribution network focused on highly populated areas [81,129,130]. The scarcity of spare parts makes off-grid PV systems unreliable, thus compromising their sustainability.…”

Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review

Féron

2016

Sustainability

115

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Abstract:A review on rural electrification programs and projects based on off-grid Photovoltaic (PV) systems, including Solar Pico Systems (SPS) and Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Developing Countries (DCs) was conducted. The goal was to highlight the main multidimensional drawbacks that may constrain the sustainability of these systems. Four dimensions of sustainability (institutional, economic, environmental and socio-cultural) were considered in this review. It was found that institutional flaws (such as the scarcity of durability/stability and enforcement of formal institutions, weak regulations or standards, incomplete decentralization/participation and the lack of institutional adaptability) seriously compromise the sustainability of rural electrification efforts in DCs. While the lack of an effective focalized subsidy scheme (e.g., cross-tariff scheme) for the electricity tariffs of the poor population often made projects economically unsustainable, the scarcity of environmental awareness, regulations or incentives has often turned presumably clean energy technologies into environmentally unsustainable projects. Progress regarding social acceptance, accuracy and cultural justice is urgently needed for ensuring the socio-cultural sustainability of rural electrification efforts in DCs. This review may help stakeholders to identify and (based on prior experiences) address the most severe drawbacks affecting the sustainability of rural electrification efforts in DCs.

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Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review

Féron

2016

Sustainability

115

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“…Confl icts between Western organizations and local institutional environments are not unique to the ABB case. Several authors have observed comparable confl icts and limited project involvement of local stakeholders in other rural electrifi cation projects around the globe (Neudoerffer et al, 2001;Karekezi and Kimani, 2002;Urban et al, 2007;van der Vleuten et al, 2007).…”

Section: Payment Collection and The Road Aheadmentioning

confidence: 93%

The UN Global Compact and the Enlightenment tradition: a rural electrification project under the aegis of the UN Global Compact

Egels‐Zandén

Kallifatides

2009

Corp Soc Responsibility Env

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Despite extensive academic debate as to what corporate social responsibility (CSR) and other related concepts ought to encompass, there is a lack of critical analysis of what CSR in practice entails, i.e., what actually constitutes CSR practices. This paper critically addresses this question by focusing on one of the most infl uential CSR initiatives -the UN Global Compact. We demonstrate that the principles of the Global Compact are rooted in a European Enlightenment tradition and, based on a study of an Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) CSR project in a Tanzanian village, we illustrate how these principles translate into corporate projects that challenge local institutions, while remaining unquestioned. The paper concludes by opening a space for discussing the desirability of the Enlightenment ethos manifested in Global Compact projects.

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“…In Kenya the access to SHS is self-organized by the user within the framework of an unsubsidized over-the-counter commercial market (Van der Vleuten et al, 2007;Jacobson, 2007). Only 25 percent of sales are finance by the government or donors (Jacobson, 2007).…”

Section: "Market Shs" Model In Kenyamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The foreign funding for the "market SHS" is provided to individual users in form of establishing micro-loan arrangements at local banks or other financial institutions ( Van der Vleuten et al, 2007).…”

Section: Financingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating technology transfer projects and institutional development in developing countries

Kovič¹

2010

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate that the success of technology transfer projects depends, among others, also on the projects' conformity with the institutional development in the concerned country. Design/methodology/approach -The paper focuses on a study of two different user models of solar home systems in two different African countries with different institutional development, Zambia and Kenya. In the studied countries the solar home systems and thus home electricity are available to the users under different circumstances and terms. These circumstances and terms are closely connected to the functioning of the economic and judicial institutions in the mentioned countries. Findings -The paper illustrates that, while the technology transfer project based on a "fee-for-service" solar home system was successful in Zambia, it would be unsuccessful in Kenya. And contrariwise, the technology transfer project based on a "market" solar home system was successful in Kenya, but would be unsuccessful in Zambia. The reasons for this difference are based on the different institutional development in the mentioned countries. Originality/value -The paper illustrates that the success of a technology transfer project is dependent not only on emission reductions, but also on the accessibility of the project to the targeted user. The latter requirement, however, depends on how well the project takes into account which institutions are developed in a country and how well they function.

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Putting solar home system programmes into perspective: What lessons are relevant?

Cited by 66 publications

References 1 publication

Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review

Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review

The UN Global Compact and the Enlightenment tradition: a rural electrification project under the aegis of the UN Global Compact

Investigating technology transfer projects and institutional development in developing countries

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