Success factors for the effective implementation of renewable energy options for rural electrification in India-Potentials of the CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM

Abstract

SUMMARYDeveloping countries as well as international development assistance have for a long time aspired to combat energy poverty in rural areas of developing countries. However, until now a major part of national and international public and private attempts to provide affordable and stable energy supply have failed due to various economic, political, social and institutional obstacles. This situation is reflected in case of India where in comparison with other South Asian states the status of rural electrification and of energy supply are in a dismal state despite the promotion of renewable energy and rural electrification as early as from the 1960s. Embedded in the global context of the international climate change regime, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol has now emerged as a new option to facilitate investment in climate change mitigating projects. In this respect, promoting the deployment of renewable energy through this project-based mechanism opens new avenues for rural electrification.The main objective of this paper is, hence, to examine the context conditions and factors determining the effective application of renewable energy options for rural electrification in a developing country context, namely India. Understanding contextual requirements for renewable energy investment has proved imminently important in order to appreciate the potentials provided by new market-based mechanisms such as the CDM for rural poverty alleviation. Comparative political science case study research methods are applied to the analysis of CDM biomass projects in the context of the four Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. This allows for the conclusion that socio-political and historic framework conditions matter for the implementation of new renewable energy options.

A new integral management model and evaluation method to enhance sustainability of renewable energy projects for energy and sanitation services

“…Concerning access to electricity, off-grid RE systems were used, as they have proven suitable for rural contexts (for example, Pasternak, 2000;Chaurey et al, 2004;Nguyen, 2007;Borges et al, 2007;Benecke, 2008;Lhendup, 2008;Breyer et al, 2009;Love and Garwood, 2011;Terrapon-Pfaff et al, 2014a, 2014b. A combination of a microhydro power minigrid and individual photovoltaic systems were selected.…”

The user-value of rural electrification: An analysis and adoption of existing models and theories

“…competition, and marketing) [6,[12][13][14][15] Technical: Low technical skill levels and access to quality materials/products [12,[14][15][16] Social: Local ownership and acceptance [8,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Table 2 Summary of factors influencing local ownership responsibilities of rural electrification projects.…”

“…This is highlighted by the following statements: "…ownership of development initiatives as a means to sustainable community development" [19]; "true participation […] ensures people take ownership" [20]; and "infrastructure is maintained and repaired locally, based on a sense of local ownership" [21]. This is further emphasised in research by [8,[22][23][24][25]. According to these authors, factors that influence responsible ownership include community involvement, user training, and contributions in kind (material or labour).…”

Assessing management models for off-grid renewable energy electrification projects using the Human Development approach: Case study in Peru

“…In such contexts, small stand-alone systems for energy generation, especially renewable energy (RE) based systems, represent a suitable alternative for providing electricity to the rural population (Nguyen, 2007;Breyer et al, 2009;Benecke, 2008;Chaurey, 2004;Lhendup, 2008). Studies show that the following are some of the advantages of decentralised models: the use of local resources and the avoidance of costly and inefficient transmission losses (Benecke, 2008), suitability for lowload factor projects (Kaundinya et al, 2009), independence from fuel supply and respect for the environment (Nguyen, 2007), and the provision of energy independence for users (Hiremath et al, 2009;Akorede, 2010).…”

“…Studies show that the following are some of the advantages of decentralised models: the use of local resources and the avoidance of costly and inefficient transmission losses (Benecke, 2008), suitability for lowload factor projects (Kaundinya et al, 2009), independence from fuel supply and respect for the environment (Nguyen, 2007), and the provision of energy independence for users (Hiremath et al, 2009;Akorede, 2010). In addition, these systems can be managed locally, enabling the generation of local jobs and the participation of local people in decision making (Sánchez, 2006).…”