Chapter 13 - Innovations Promote Rural and Peri-Urban Electrification in Developing Countries

Abstract

The electrification of rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries is in transition. Electric grids in poor countries grow so slowly that they will not reach many young villagers in their lifetime. But windmills and photovoltaic systems already generate electricity in thousands of remote places—islands and mainland, steppe and farmland. While this course of rural electrification seems predictable to some, a closer look reveals how deeply innovation is changing rural life. New information and communication technologies, new services for finance and insurance, health and education are impacting rural markets. Rural electrification is a rapidly evolving field; spurred by a mixture of innovations that interact and reinforce each other, is offering villagers new opportunities. Significant change lies ahead because innovation encompasses much more than technology and products. It is about applications, business models and new markets—far different from those in the industrialized urban world. The combined force of innovations can speed up rural evolution and helps meet the untapped energy needs of 1.6 billion rural customers. Moreover, they can serve to bridge the gap between rural and urban communities and provide models to stabilize poor areas in megacities. ICT is taking roots in rural areas and enables entirely new applications which will grow as they meet the needs of rural customers. Already, the rural way of life seems to be in transition, influenced by new applications for education, health, farming, trading, financing, and connecting dispersed family members. Rural energy markets offer a unique advantage: renewables must often fight an uphill battle against established power suppliers, lobbies, and subsidies.