Abstract
Electricity produced through solar home systems (SHS) represents attractive energy supply solutions for the unelectrified population in the Global South, particularly in its remote areas. Together with the respective range of appliances, SHSs represent an unattended and untapped infrastructure. We re-define the different categories of unelectrified and electrified population in the Global South, while describing the applications and usage characteristics of SHSs and the national grid. We introduce the notion of servicing the national grid through swarm electrification, defining the future of utilities through a combination of bottom-up interconnected individual solutions and top-down concentrated energy supply.
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Notes
- 1.
For further information please refer to www.me-solshare.com, a Bangladeshi start-up that in 2015 installed the world’s first solar P2P grid.
- 2.
For more information please refer to https://iixglobal.com/.
- 3.
SOLshare—impact assessment conducted by IIX Global.
- 4.
Based on a weighted average for the countries: India, Indonesia, Philippines, Ghana, Senegal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Myanmar, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 5.
MTF redefines energy access from the traditional binary count to a multi-dimensional definition as “the ability to avail energy that is adequate, available when needed, reliable, of good quality, convenient, affordable, legal, healthy and safe for all required energy services”. That is, having an electricity connection does not necessarily mean having access to electricity under the new definition, which also takes into account other aspects, such as reliability and affordability. Energy access is measured in the tiered spectrum, from Tier 0 (no access) to Tier 5 (the highest level of access), as shown in Fig. 4.
- 6.
As outlined in Chapter “Solar-Powered Cooling for the Remote Tropics” of this book.
- 7.
In 2017, M-KOPA Labs published a note on lessons learnt from their experience with rural electrification in Kenya. According to the note, the population can be segmented relative to the national grid: (i) bad grid segment (access to an unstable power supply); (ii) idle grid segment (population unable to use their grid connections beyond lighting; in need of highly efficient appliances); (iii) under grid segment (households within connection distance of a low voltage transformer but not connected to the grid).
- 8.
According the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 press release, The Norwegian Nobel Committee (https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/); the statement goes on “Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit/microloans are one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.”
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Dumitrescu, R., Groh, S., Philipp, D., von Hirschhausen, C. (2020). Swarm Electrification: From Solar Home Systems to the National Grid and Back Again?. In: Gandhi, O., Srinivasan, D. (eds) Sustainable Energy Solutions for Remote Areas in the Tropics. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41952-3_4
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