Choice of Energy Paths: Its Implications for Rural Energy Poverty in Less Developed Countries

Abstract

Rural energy poverty constitutes a global concern, as it infringes on human well-being and the social and economic development prospects of a country. In recent years, renewable energy has gained increasing traction for its potential to alleviate rural energy poverty in less developed countries (LDCs). Yet despite the value of renewable energy in mitigating energy poverty, no cross-national study that assesses the effects of renewable energy on rural energy poverty is known to exist. This study also recasts the relationship between energy regimes and energy poverty, by drawing on perspectives from energetic theory and environmental inequality. The findings reveal that renewable energy does exert a positive effect on rural electrification in the countries studied. In addition, higher gross national income (GNI) per capita and use of conventional fuels are found to relate positively to rural electrification. The results point to the relevance of energy regimes and their role in the development of LDCs.