Using Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) to Address Energy Poverty in Urban Areas of Developing Countries
Cities and urban centres in developing countries the world over possess vast renewable energy resources. Yet the residents of these cities continue to suffer from the debilitating consequences of energy poverty. My home city of Nairobi was for a long time known by the fond moniker of “the green city under the sun”. Due to a variety of reasons, the greenness is long gone but the sun still remains. Properly harnessed decentralised solar PV systems would undoubtedly ease the prevailing supply and distribution challenges that mean that only a meagre 50% of Nairobi’s households have access to electricity.
The fact that the presence of sufficient sunshine is not unique to Nairobi means that cities like Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Mumbai and many others can also benefit from decentralised solar PV generation to address the shortfalls associated with an inadequate power infrastructure and the ever-growing burden of unplanned urbanisation. Other renewable energy resources including the abundant winds in coastal cities and towns and the rivers and streams that flow through urban areas can be used for the same purpose while mitigating climate change. The mountains of waste that lie uncollected in informal housing settlements posing serious health and environmental hazards can also be used to generate much needed energy.
City authorities and electricity companies may not feel compelled to harness these resources. This is probably due to the reality that those hit hardest by energy poverty live in slums with no security of tenure and providing them with services would be tantamount to legitimising the existence of informal settlements. However, slum households’ willingness to pay for electricity is directly linked to the cost savings they make from not having to pay for more expensive energy sources like kerosene and dry cells. Given the ready availability of the resources, regularised and decentralised RET generation using solar PV, wind energy, micro-hydro or waste to energy represent the most viable way of addressing energy poverty in urban settings, enhancing the beneficiaries’ quality of life through improved lighting and stimulating the economy by spurring income generation activities.
Do RETs in your opinion have the potential to alleviate energy poverty in urban areas? If so why is it that they have mostly been used in rural electrification despite the fact that it can be argued quite reasonably that cities and urban centres with their higher population densities provide even more logical settings for their utilisation?
ALEMFACK EFOZO NELLY-DIANE from Cameroon, 22 June 2012hi Carlos! PV is more developed in Rural areas because most often it is offset from existing grids, and more because of the income of the people it is not easy to pay monthly quitances people do not usually savings. in addition, it makes them self as the expenditure is made only once and after it all comes down to responsible management. the problem in urban area is the confrontation with multinational supply electricity in urban areas, yet I agree with you that we could develop these RET carefree in Saharan Africa because the climate is relatively favorable, and need no payment not a tax for the wind or the sun. I think it could reach the sky while the major solutions to invite States to adopt at the forum. what do you think?
Sebastian Lange (Moderator), 15 July 2012Hi, interestingly there are many countries picking up the idea of developing training packages for both vocational training as well as training for managers, business people and the finance sector (investments)..
Labor for producing, installing and servicing more sophisticated solar PV systems (then the 300W SHS) is still a bottle neck. However, there is a market. Africa is booming economically, at the time being at unprecedented levels. Urbanization takes on. Perhaps every new city home should have a solar PV system and solar water heater made in Africa.. :-)
Professor KK Pandey, 22 July 2012This area is a relatively new area of municipal attention.Many Indian cities are now using solar power for street lighting , water heating and other types of lighting.this needs to be done in a planned manner.There is a separate ministry in the government of India on the subject which needs to have intensive cooperation with city govts and other stakeholders to promote community awareness and cooperation.One effort taken by one NGO to involve schools has yielded positive results.