Abstract
Off-grid renewable energy sources are dramatically altering the energy landscape in countries with low energy access. While techno-economic perspectives are already widely discussed, the political economy is largely ignored, particularly regarding the institutions providing electricity. Two of many ways that the task of electrification can be framed are: (1) as the duty of the government to provide a basic service to its people, or (2) as a goods that can be purchased from private players in a market system. Electrification in our country of focus, Tanzania, has developed a promising off-grid market as an increasing number of private players have recently become active there. While grid extension is still a priority for the government, solar home systems, which are estimated to make up more than half of all new connections by 2030, get surprisingly less attention in terms of coordination, political support, and policy frameworks. This is despite the fact that the population is highly dispersed, making grid extension less suitable and more expensive than off-grid, decentralized systems. After an extensive literature review, our method applies a theory-embedded framework of institutional economics to the use of solar home systems for electrification in Tanzania and examines the realizations of the electricity provided. The framework defines key political economy criteria as drivers for energy access and evaluates their respective relevance. We then apply this framework to evaluate 20 selected projects, which have promoted solar home systems in rural off-grid areas in Tanzania since 2000. As a unique contribution to the literature, this research highlights the underappreciated influence of different institutional arrangements on the political economy landscape and on the electricity provided for rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.
Highlights
The quest for energy access is among the most widely discussed development goals, representing a key driver of growth, development, and climate protection for countries in the Global South
Regarding our country of focus, Tanzania, we study the interconnections between the provision of solar home system as a new form of energy access and the various institutional and socio-political dimensions at play
There is a low relevance of speed for the rollout of solar home systems in Tanzania, and this criterion must be seen in context
Summary
The quest for energy access is among the most widely discussed development goals, representing a key driver of growth, development, and climate protection for countries in the Global South. A variety of techno-economic solutions and research have been proposed and published in recent years. Despite this interest, one of the prevailing challenges, which has received far less attention, is the role of politics. 279) adds “despite the multifaceted social and economic benefits of access to electricity and modern forms of energy, the energy poor typically fall between the cracks of singlehandedly private or public efforts” In the words of Hughes and Lipscy ([2], p. 464) “politics will play a critical role in determining whether these challenges [securing the supply of reliable and affordable energy; and effecting a rapid and just transformation to a lowcarbon, efficient and environmentally benign system of energy supply] will be successfully addressed.” Sovacool ([3], p. 279) adds “despite the multifaceted social and economic benefits of access to electricity and modern forms of energy, the energy poor typically fall between the cracks of singlehandedly private or public efforts”
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