A community based approach for sustainable off-grid PV systems in developing countries

Abstract

The energy requirements of developing countries underpin progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Rural electrification is acknowledged as key to providing a source of reliable, affordable and sustainable energy. Many planners and decision makers agree that the off-grid PV system has the potential to become a valued and straightforward source of electricity for remote rural communities. However, there are several challenges that need to be addressed to realize the potential of PV as a sustainable solution. These challenges are illustrated and highlighted by many reported cases of poor sustainability/longevity of PV installation in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews the sustainability of off-grid renewable energy deployments in sub-Saharan Africa along with recent attempts to define sustainable energy frameworks. The specific case of off-grid PV systems for improved educational and health facilities are considered and a community based approach for improved sustainability is proposed. Case studies illustrating practical implementation of this approach in Gambia and Malawi are described

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

“…The economic sustainability of electrification solutions requires ensuring the funding or affordability of the systems (i.e., the initial investments and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) over its lifetime) [24,26,29,35,38,[44][45][46][47]. In the energy sector, other important indicators for the economic sustainability of electrification solutions are the cost-effectiveness [25,26,46,48] and the reliability of supply (see, e.g., [25][26][27]34,49,50]).…”

“…For an energy system to be sustainable, it needs to be socially accepted, which implies the active participation and engagement of the community aimed at enhancing the accountability of the project [40,47,50,56,60,189,190]. Off-grid PV systems can be a great opportunity to assure social acceptance; Burton and Hubacek [191] found that, compared to large-scale solutions, small-scale energy approaches may have a higher social acceptance.…”

“…This behavior is also believed to be due to the lack of mutual social control [85]. Therefore, Frame et al [47] propose that the community should own the systems (SHS, as well as PV solutions for community facilities like schools and health centers), which implies getting organized in a committee to administrate and maintain them to generate a sense of responsibility. Still, McKay [165] compared two models of ownership to set up off-grid PV systems in Nepal and found that social issues emerged in both cases.…”

Rural Electrification Efforts Based on Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in the Andean Region: Comparative Assessment of Their Sustainability

“…In that context, Gollwitzer [19] highlights the importance of adopting and enforcing norms and regulations. Authors further agree on the relevance of the openness to people's participation [20][21][22] and of decentralization [23,24], which favors the adaptability to local needs [14,17,21,25].…”

Are the Rural Electrification Efforts in the Ecuadorian Amazon Sustainable?

“…Socio-cultural sustainability also requires social acceptance (which implies a participatory and inclusive approach in which the local community is engaged to increase their accountability for a technology; [37,54,55]); as well as accuracy (which comprises the selection of the technology appropriate to the local consumer demands; [23,42]). …”