Systems Solutions for Enabling Off-Grid Rural Communities to Have Access to Water and Energy: Implications for Sustainability and Policy Reforms

Abstract

AbstractAccess to clean energy and water can make substantial contributions towards promoting rural development, particularly in poor off-grid communities in developing countries. To gain a better understanding of the relationship between clean energy access and sustainable development in rural communities, this chapter employs a systems thinking/dynamics approach toward the achievement of selected sustainable development goals (SDGs) through co-created solutions in an off-grid rural village in Northern Limpopo Province, South Africa. A systems model is constructed to evaluate the contribution that access to clean energy and water will make to rural livelihoods. Presented is a model for the development and implementation of renewable energy solutions in order to provide access to clean energy and water as enablers for the other SDGs. Photo Voltaic solutions are utilised to facilitate subsistence and small-scale commercial farming, provide energy to households for lighting and entertainment, and power a bakery to provide employment and income for the local community. Results highlight how poor, marginalised and off-grid communities could attain socio-economic, human and physical development by making sustainable use of locally available natural resources through solar energy and related technologies. The findings in this article have implications for the sustainability of and future energy policies and strategies for off-grid rural communities in South Africa and across Africa.KeywordsDynamic systems modellingEnergy solutionsSustainable development goalsSystems thinkingWater security