Developing countries need modern and sustainable forms of energy to satisfy the needs of their growing populations and expanding economic activities. Renewable energy technologies are a potential solution, but until now they have not been given the attention they deserve.

In attempting to provide economically viable energy for all, developing countries have usually modelled their energy strategies after industrialised countries, focusing on electricity produced from conventional energy sources, generated and distributed through centralised grids. This has often failed to meet the needs of poor people in terms of providing them with basic services and opportunities to improve their incomes. A paper from the Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD), based in Denmark, reviews the potential for renewable energy technologies (RETs) to address these issues.

RETs, with their environmental advantages over conventional energy sources, their suitability for use in rural areas and their potential for local development of income-generating activities, seem to present a unique opportunity for developing countries. They have, however, failed to live up to their potential so far, with most projects limited to fragmented, low-priority efforts. However, the continuing instability in oil prices, along with a growing awareness of the unsustainable nature of global patterns of energy production and use, have refocused attention on RETs.

Ten GNESD Developing Country Centres have investigated the contribution RETs could make to poverty reduction. They define ‘niches’ as particular situations for which there seems to be a favourable combination of energy requirements, resources, technologies and capacities with a high potential for poverty reduction. The selected niches are treadle and wind pumps, solar pumps and improved stoves, biodiesel, vegetable oil as a fuel, solar water heaters, wind turbines, biomass gasification, and photo-voltaic (PV) systems. Almost all these technologies are non-electrical or provide off-grid electricity, and cover both simple, local technologies (such as lids for stoves in Tunisia) and national-scale projects (biodiesel in South Africa, for instance).

There are common barriers to the introduction of RETs:

• lack of policy attention and institutional frameworks, for example to promote wind pumps in East Africa
• financial barriers, seen in public reluctance to invest in domestic solar water heaters while cheap electricity from coal is available (such as in South Africa)
• lack of quality and consistency in the RETs made available, from the equipment to installation, operation and maintenance
• missing skills and resources at all levels
• low awareness of the characteristics and advantages of RETs.

Policies to overcome these barriers should be aimed at:

• incentives such as tax breaks, grants and subsidies that make it cheaper to invest in RETs
• developing an adequate institutional framework to support introduction of RETs
• developing skills and resources for designing policy and standards, and for marketing and implementation
• improving awareness, for example by demonstrating to consumers how energy bills can be reduced by the use of RETs
• integrating RETs into development policies and strategies aimed at poor populations.

There are common problems involved, but solutions will vary by country. The regional reports from GNESD provide a wide range of more specific recommendations.

Source(s):
‘Renewable Energy Technologies and Poverty Alleviation: Overcoming Barriers and Unlocking Potentials’, Summary for Policy Makers from the GNESD Secretariat, GNESD: Roskilde, 2007 (PDF) Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 28 February 2008

Further Information:
Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD)
Risoe National Laboratory, Bldg. 142
Frederiksborgvej 399
P.O. Box 49
DK 4000 Roskilde, Denmark

Tel: +45 4677 5189
Fax: +45 4632 1999
Contact the contributor: mette.annelie.rasmussen@risoe.dk

Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD), Denmark

Other related links:
‘Can renewable energy help reduce poverty?’

‘Energy access: a prerequisite to achieving the Millennium Development Goals’

‘Bioenergy: promises and challenges’

‘Improving energy planning in sub-Saharan Africa’