Low-carbon off-grid electrification for rural areas in the United Kingdom: Lessons from the developing world

Yadoo, Annabel; Gormally, Alexandra; Cruickshank, Heather

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.07.040

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Yadoo et al [16] present a comparative picture between Isle of Eigg and a Nepali off-grid system but the focus of their study was on reverse learning from developing countries about the institutional arrangements and delivery mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the Isle of Eigg has achieved its reliable electricity supply to support a modern life style of the islanders and to investigate whether there is any scope for further improvement in its system design.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of off-grid electricity system at Isle of Eigg (Scotland): Lessons for developing countries

Chmiel

Bhattacharyya

2015

Renewable Energy

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a b s t r a c tOff-Grid energy systems are growing in popularity as an independent source of energy to satisfy electricity needs of individual households or smaller communities, mainly in developing countries where the main grid is either not developed or the grid is uneconomical to extend due to remoteness of the location. The Isle of Eigg in Scotland has been successfully using a hybrid off-grid system for several years to provide a reliable 24-h electricity supply to the islanders. This ex-post analysis of the Isle of Eigg system investigates its performance and explores possible alternative configurations which could work more effectively and efficiently. Simulations were carried out using HOMER software for the existing system and for alternative configurations of energy generation. It is found that the existing overcapacity has been instrumental in ensuring a reliable supply but continued reliance on diesel generators adds to the cost. More wind power capacity addition can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and modular sizing of generators instead of adding large capacities could have reduced the idle capacity. This experience suggests that providing reliable off-grid electricity supply is possible but is costly without suitable capital subsidies. Appropriate system design suited to the local condition is important for developing a viable system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of off-grid electricity system at Isle of Eigg (Scotland): Lessons for developing countries

Chmiel

Bhattacharyya

2015

Renewable Energy

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“…On an outcome level, Reiche et al (2000) state that giving local communities ownership will also increase sustainability. Yadoo et al (2011) argue in a similar vein that Nepal's RE programme is so successful thanks to its proven ability to generate a sense of community ownership.…”

Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of culture is exemplified in successful projects that explicitly recognised cultural issues relating to the role of women and local customs and in the failure of those that do not. In Uganda for instance, women were explicitly considered as target customers (World Bank, 2008c), and in Nepal female only discussion and decision groups were formed to ensure participation and voice (Yadoo et al, 2011) which made both projects fairly successful. In South Africa on the other hand, the failure to acknowledge local cooking customs was one of the causes of the poor project outcome (Howells et al, 2010).…”

Section: Reliabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, rural electrification is instrumental in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (Modi et al, 2005;Mustonen, 2010). Experience shows that on the social level, RE positively impacts: (a) the quality of lighting (World Bank, 2008c), (b) health by diminishing indoor exposure to particulate matter (Howells et al, 2005) and by extending clinic hours and strengthening the cold chain (ADB, 2010;World Bank, 2008c), (c) education outcomes, thanks to extended hours for study (ADB, 2010), (d) connectivity to the outside world via increased access to television, radio and mobile phones (Deichmann et al, 2011;Yadoo et al, 2011) and even (e) social status (Chaieb and Ounalli, 2001). In terms of its effects on the environment, RE's effect on deforestation -via wood as fuel for cooking -is contested (Balachandra, 2011;Lachman, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An integrated framework for rural electrification: Adopting a user-centric approach to business model development

et al. 2012

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Rural electrification (RE) has gained prominence over the past two decades as an effective means for improving living conditions. This growth has largely been driven by socio-economic and political imperatives to improve rural livelihood and by technological innovation. Based on a content analysis of 232 scholarly articles, the literature is categorized into four focal lenses: technology, institutional, viability and user-centric. We find that the first two dominate the RE debate. The viability lens has been used less frequently, whilst the user-centric lens began to engage scholars as late as 2007. We provide an overview of the technological, institutional and viability lenses, and elaborate upon the user-centric lens in greater detail. For energy policy and practice, we combine the four lenses to develop a business model framework that policy makers, practitioners and investors could use to assess RE projects or to design future rural electrification strategies.

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“…These barriers can be difficult to overcome without significant investment of financial and human capital. Much of the literature has focused on developing countries and the connection of electricity for the first time [10][11][12][13][14][15], or the adaptation of existing systems to renewable energy (both on-and offgrid) [10,11,[16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing the viability of renewable energy in community electrification: The case of remote Western Australian communities

Byrnes

Brown

Wagner

et al. 2016

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Governments and utilities are struggling to respond to the increasing costs of energy supply in remote networks while still meeting social objectives of access and availability. Due to vast distances and sparse population, remote Australian communities are generally electrified by distributed networks using diesel generation. This is expensive, environmentally damaging and fails to exploit vast renewable resources available. These communities are often regarded as "low hanging fruit" from a renewable energy deployment perspective. This paper examines why picking that fruit is not straightforward. In Western Australia, the local electricity distribution utility responsible for remote networks, developed a scheme to incentivise renewable energy deployment in remote communities. This scheme aims to facilitate renewable energy deployment from the "bottom up" by providing a feed-in tariff capped at $0.50/kWh, to reduce the supply cost and environmental damage from diesel generation. This incentive is designed to encourage communities to fund installation. However, to date, there has been limited deployment of renewables in remote communities. The viability of renewable energy in three indigenous communities in the Kimberley region of Western Australia all connected to isolated, diesel powered networks is assessed. Both the potential benefits that can arise across remote communities as well as the barriers to deployment are considered. Renewable energy installation is found to benefit the utility but can also benefit communities subject to their cost of capital and to the imposition of connection charges. However a range of barriers are frustrating deployment and a dynamic and adaptive approach that recognises local challenges and provides the communities with a pathway to installation is needed.

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Low-carbon off-grid electrification for rural areas in the United Kingdom: Lessons from the developing world

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Analysis of off-grid electricity system at Isle of Eigg (Scotland): Lessons for developing countries

Analysis of off-grid electricity system at Isle of Eigg (Scotland): Lessons for developing countries

An integrated framework for rural electrification: Adopting a user-centric approach to business model development

Reviewing the viability of renewable energy in community electrification: The case of remote Western Australian communities

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