Causes of Success and Failure of Stand-alone Solar Electric Systems in Rural Guatemala

The causes of success and failure of stand-alone solar electric systems in rural Guatemala may be technical, institutional, cultural or economic. This research examines these causes using a mixed-methods approach that includes interviews with members of poor, rural communities to which stand-alone solar electric systems have been donated, physical inspections of these systems, and conversations with development professionals working in rural electrification. “Success” is a complex concept, here defined as a combination of user perception of success, utility to users, and optimality as a source of energy. Economics are a strong driver of system success: systems generally offer users cost savings, but few income generating opportunities; access to capital when components need replacement is a significant obstacle; and relatively wealthier beneficiaries are better able to maintain donated systems than are their poorer neighbors. The institutions and relationships that surround systems also influence success and failure: local institutions like energy committees can help systems be more successful, while national and regional institutions such as Guatemala’s weak justice system and extensive organized crime networks contribute to failure. Beneficiary sense of “ownership” and monetary contributions to projects by beneficiaries are not contributors to system success, while accountability to donors and ongoing donor involvement are. The quality of the design and installed components of the physical system may have little bearing on system success. Donors must be clear about their own and beneficiaries’ definitions of success, and must be willing to challenge received wisdom about what will lead to more and less successful projects. Defining success as a high rate of operable systems will tend to favor relatively wealthier beneficiaries, leading to questions of social justice and whether energy interventions are most appropriate to those living in extreme poverty. Further, physically interconnected energy systems such as microgrids can lead to stronger social and institutional connections than do the physically independent systems included in this research

Governing energy in Nicaragua: the practices and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies

The global energy trilemma has brought attention to the importance of energy access, in particular to the 1.3 billion people worldwide without access to electricity. Vital for addressing poverty, improving people s quality of lives and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, small scale solar energy technologies are espoused as a solution to household energy needs in off-grid areas of the developing world. This thesis contributes to this critical research area through an investigation of energy governance issues in Nicaragua; specifically it focuses on the practices and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies. The lived realities, voices and aspirations of energy users are largely absent in scholarly accounts of energy poverty, as such this thesis considers the implications of solar energy technologies from the perspective of those ultimately adopting, using, maintaining (and abandoning) them. Contributing to the burgeoning field of geographical and social science studies of energy, this thesis draws on ten months of field research in Nicaragua, which encompassed more than seventy qualitative interviews with stakeholders at multiple spatial scales. This included actors from international development agencies, national government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, civil society, as well as households participating in three solar energy programmes. This was complemented by a large household survey of participants from one solar energy programme. Incorporating perspectives from the micro, meso and macro scales, this study presents a highly nuanced picture of the Nicaraguan energy landscape. The study concludes that interaction between global energy paradigm shifts and the domestic political economic context produced an electricity sector that was until recently - characterised by low distributional equity, deep consumer mistrust and dominated by fossil fuel-based electricity generation. The recent prioritisation of energy as a key developmental concern is demonstrated not only in strong government intervention, but also through growing international interest in solving Nicaragua s energy problem . A raft of programmes to green the electricity generating matrix, strengthen distribution activities and expand electricity access have emerged. Despite these encouraging developments, this research concludes that issues related to transparency, vested interests and the politicisation of electricity access appear to remain unresolved. The study traces the development of the off-grid solar energy market segment, revealing a complex architecture of institutions and actors working to promote and deploy solar energy technologies at scale. While this market initially developed in response to gaps in remote electrification plans, the research finds that recent grid expansion activities mean that the longer-term scope for small scale solar energy technologies is limited. However, solar energy remains an important feature of energy development assistance in Nicaragua, with further evidence in this study highlighting the amenability of solar energy to multiple institutional objectives and mandates whether climate change-related or poverty focused. The thesis concludes that the positions and expectations of key solar actors are often misaligned with the needs, wants and aspirations of off-grid energy users. Engagement with the narratives of people living in remote, off-grid areas reveals that the implications of solar energy programmes are not guaranteed, static, or necessarily captured by all households or indeed, all members of households. Users perceive that small scale solar energy technologies provide important soft benefits including increased levels of comfort, security, wellbeing and connectivity. However, the benefits are only captured for as long as the technology continues to work whether in organisational, financial, technical or social terms. The research concludes that there are numerous challenges facing solar energy interventions in Nicaragua, with some barriers connected to the situation of the user household, for instance, their continued ability to absorb the financial commitments associated with technology use. Other challenges link to the broader political economic context, where the highly complex, fragmented and politicised nature of (solar) electricity access has the potential to undermine interventions. This thesis argues that it is vital to examine solar energy interventions as embedded within broader political economic frameworks, but also to account for the intricacies of inter and intra-household dynamics. The study contributes new insights and empirical findings to debates on global energy governance, energy poverty, and the practices, politics and experiences of off-grid solar energy technologies in the Global South

Climate Change Adaptation Benefits of Decentralised Renewable Energy Technologies in the Nepali Mountains

Nepal is a poor mountainous country with low levels of energy access and high vulnerability to climate change. Difficult geographic terrain, scattered settlements and the lack of physical infrastructure in the Nepali mountains exacerbate challenges in building modern energy infrastructure on the one hand and increase vulnerability on the other. Decentralised Renewable Energy Technologies (DRETs) have the potential to play roles in addressing both the issues of modern energy access and climate change adaptation. However, Nepal’s renewable energy policy is solely guided by the goals of energy access and largely overlooks the climate adaptation potential of renewable energy technologies. In this context, this study examines the climate change adaptation benefits of DRETs in rural mountains of Nepal. The study applies a geographical approach and draws from both social and natural science methodologies to explain local social, technological and environmental interrelationships. The sustainable livelihood approach is integrated with ideas on broadening livelihood resilience to examine the suitability of DRETs as an effective tool for climate change adaptation. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative primary data collected through a questionnaire survey of 331 households, 9 focus group discussions and 20 expert interviews to meet the study objectives. Case studies are drawn from three remote villages in the mountains of Nepal and their application of five commonly used DRETs, namely solar photovoltaics, solar-wind micro-grid, micro-hydro, improved cooking stoves and biogas. The communities in the study sites are experiencing significant climate change. Increasing temperatures, increasing variability in monsoon onset and withdrawal, decline in water availability, increases in insect pests and invasive species, changes in flowering, fruiting and relocation of species, and changes in the frequency of natural hazards were identified as major environmental changes observed in the case study areas. Those environmental changes have a broad range of impacts on local lifestyles, production systems and livelihoods. Local communities are not effectively equipped to deal with such changes, reflecting generally poor adaptive capacities and high levels of vulnerability. DRETs are contributing to reduced climate vulnerability by directly confronting climate risks and by improving socio-economic factors of vulnerability in the case study areas. For example direct adaptation support is offered by solar PV through the operation of early warning system to minimise losses to disasters, by solar-wind micro grid through the powering of electric fans and fridges to manage higher temperatures, and by micro-hydro projects through irrigation to address an increasingly erratic monsoon. DRETs also contribute to improving economic productivity, education and health services, social trust and forest resources in the study areas, which help to strengthen local capacities to adapt to the observed environmental changes. The findings of this study demonstrate that development activities can significantly contribute to climate change adaptation while simultaneously achieving socio-economic improvements. This research advances the concept of sustainable development by highlighting the need to mainstream development with responses to climate change, and demonstrating that DRETs are an effective tool to do so.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 202