Sep 16, 2019
As the cost of distributed power generation continues to decrease, technologies such as solar home systems and micro-grids become increasingly attractive in the quest for energy access. Here we show, however, that national rural electrification planning mostly continues to ignore distributed power generation. A detailed review of the national rural electrification plans of the twenty countries with the largest numbers of non-electrified households shows that distributed power generation is usually absent or at best a minor component of the strategy. Our original contribution is thus to show where and how national rural electrification planning lags behind technology and business models, with guidelines for future research on explaining these patterns.
Sep 16, 2019
Stand-alone photovoltaic systems provide a potentially sustainable option for rural electrification, but the design and management of these systems is a challenge. Here we examine the ability of dynamic (real-time) pricing in off-grid systems to improve the durability of the batteries used to store power. In a randomized controlled trial with a pre-paid solar micro-grid in rural India, we found that dynamic pricing did not improve technical performance or customer satisfaction. The best explanation for the null finding is that, for various reasons, households minimized their power consumption and there was thus little need for demand management. These findings suggest that the low demand for power is a key challenge for the profitability of pre-paid off-grid systems.
Sep 16, 2019
I propose that vouchers offer a promising approach to making distributed power generation, such as solar home systems, affordable to consumers and profitable for producers and distributors. In a voucher-based system, governments give vouchers to eligible beneficiaries, who then use the vouchers to purchase qualifying products and services. This system enables consumer choice, helps the poor with the affordability of distributed energy products, and injects money into the market for relevant products and services. I discuss practical implementation challenges and argue that digitalization allows governments to significantly reduce corruption and red tape, making vouchers a realistic energy access policy for many governments all over the world.
Sep 16, 2019
Universal electricity access is an important element of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and global efforts to monitor progress in electrification have recently escalated. To inform these efforts, we describe a new database of total, rural, and urban electrification rates across the world. Using transparent coding criteria and decades of data, going back to 1960 for many countries, from nationally representative surveys and official reports from 124 non-OECD countries, we uncover evidence for rapid progress in household electrification relative to earlier estimates. Our comprehensive and freely available database offers a solid baseline for tracking progress in household electrification across the world. We confirm a robust association between per capita income and household electrification, and identify population density and urbanization as additional key drivers.
Sep 16, 2019
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is by far the most popular clean cooking fuel in rural India, but how rural households use it remains poorly understood. Using the 2014-2015 ACCESS survey with over 8,500 households from six energy-poor Indian states, our study reports on results from a comprehensive survey of LPG use in rural India using a holistic approach to understanding the integration of a clean cooking fuel into rural household’s energy mixes. There are three principal findings: (i) fuel costs are a critical obstacle to widespread adoption, (ii) fuel stacking is the prevailing norm as few households stop using firewood when adopting LPG, and (iii) both users and non-users have highly positive views of LPG as a convenient and clean cooking fuel. These findings show that expanding LPG use offers great promise in rural India, but affordability prevents a complete transition from traditional biomass to clean cooking fuels.
