Modern Energy Services Research Articles

Decentralized renewable energy and the climate change mitigation-adaptation nexus

This paper explores the role of decentralized renewable energy (DRE) projects play as a simultaneously mitigative and adaptive response to climate change. We develop a general conceptual framework that illustrates how introducing modern energy services through decentralized renewable energy can stabilize the ecological and social determinants of climate change vulnerability, while performing a critical climate change mitigation function. This framework is developed through a high-level overview of the key implications of rural energy deprivation: deforestation and ecosystem degradation (with significant greenhouse gas emissions implications), chronic rural poverty, and high vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate change. We then explore global sustainable development pathways and the integral role that decentralized renewable energy can play in stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at levels that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. We then describe how mitigation and adaptation synergies provide avenues for integrating sustainable development with climate policy, contextualized with respect to key relationships between the Millennium Development Goals and access to energy. We then turn to the related issue of poverty and climate change in the context of how climate stresses exacerbate poverty by impairing the ecosystem services upon which the poor rely heavily. The conceptual framework concludes with a full description of the role DREs play in rural agroecosystems, particularly how DREs can enhance the flow of regulatory and provisioning ecosystem services, and expand livelihood opportunities—all of which builds adaptive capacity for climate change. The paper concludes with some comments and recommendations for enhancing the constructive role for DRE in overcoming the perceived divide between climate change mitigation and adaptation policy.

Renewable Energy Technology and Implementation Mechanisms for Ethiopia

The importance of providing modern energy services to rural areas cannot be overemphasized if the country is in a position to meet its Millennium Development Goals. This paper argues that the country has missed scores of opportunities in the past decades to grapple with its current energy predicament as it squandered resources on urban biased development program. The vision of linking highly dispersed rural communities to the grid has all but failed and the realization has now set in that the country needs to embark on new and imaginative policies that take seriously the centrality of energy to poverty reduction. This includes taking a closer look of what energy resources and technological options are available that would deliver increased access to modern energy services. Renewable energy technologies are central to this equation. This paper reviews the potential for expanding renewable energy use by exploring the country's resource base and the potential strategic options that are available to policy makers.

Indoor air pollution: 4000 deaths a day must no longer be ignored

The United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development may not appear, at first sight, be a major playing field for public health. Nevertheless, when environment, energy and development ministers from around the world assembled in New York on 1-12 May 2006 for the Commission's 14th session, health concerns in relation energy production and consumption emerged as a prominent argument in discussions on energy for sustainable development. In his opening speech, Secretary General Kofi Annan called attention the fact that indoor air pollution from solid fuel use is one of the world's ten major causes of mortality and morbidity. (1) More than half the world's population--3.2 billion people--still burn coal and biomass fuels such as wood, dung and crop residues meet their basic energy needs. (2) Indoor air pollution from burning these solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves comprises a variety of health-damaging pollutants including particles, carbon monoxide and different carcinogens (3) and is the cause of a public health tragedy. Every year, 1.5 million people die from inhaling indoor pollutants that often exceed accepted guideline limits for outdoor air: in the case of fine particles, the limit is exceeded by 100 times or more. (4, 5) Children and women are disproportionately affected, with nearly 800 000 deaths attributable indoor air pollution occurring among children under five years of age and more than 500 000 such deaths occurring among women. (5) Preventing deaths caused by polluted indoor air must no longer be delayed. In the short term, stoves that burn more cleanly and use fuel more efficiently, ventilation that is improved through smoke hoods or enlarged spaces in the eaves, and changes in housing design can substantially reduce pollutant levels. In the longer term, the use of cleaner fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas, biogas or other modern biofuels, can eliminate the current indoor air pollution epidemic. Improving access modern energy services--including electricity and modern cooking fuels and appliances--is essential if the world is achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The United Nations Millennium Project recommends an additional MDG target to halve, by 2015, the number of people without effective access modern cooking fuels, and make improved cooking stoves widely available. (6) The challenge in working towards this target is enormous: every day for the next 10 years, 485 000 people will need gain access cleaner fuels or improved stoves. Even if the target is realized, 1.5 billion people will still be left on the sidelines of development in 2015. (5) Effective solutions exist and the economic case for taking practical solutions scale is just as strong as the humanitarian case, emphasized the late Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of WHO. …

Placing Access to Energy Services within a Human Rights Framework

The relevance of energy to resolving environmental degradation and poverty has only recently been recognized by the world community. While energy is a multifaceted issue, the issue that has attracted the most attention has been the need to provide universal access to modern energy services. Without access to energy services, people are destined to live in poverty. The provision of such services is a key ingredient to providing a sustainable way of living for all the world's population. This article first outlines the significance of access to energy services in the poverty debate. Secondly, this article considers what strategies have so far been adopted by states to confront this issue and the difficulties that such initiatives have encountered. Against this background, the final section makes the case for access to energy services as a human right and commences the task of providing a content for such a right.

PRODUCTIVE USES OF ENERGY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

▪ Abstract This review utilizes the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) working definition of “productive uses of energy,” which states “in the context of providing modern energy services in rural areas, a productive use of energy is one that involves the application of energy derived mainly from renewable resources to create goods and/or services either directly or indirectly for the production of income or value.” The definition reflects the shift toward the aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Traditionally, the productive uses of energy have been rather narrowly defined. The focus has been on the direct impact of energy use on gross domestic product (GDP) and the importance of motive power for agriculture. This conventional view has some utility in understanding the nature of development at the national and regional level; however, in order to respond to international development goals while maintaining pace with an ever-evolving understanding of what development is, it is important to consider how this traditional thinking may be augmented. The earlier thinking about the productive uses of energy needs to be updated with an enhanced understanding of the tremendous impact that energy services have on education, health, and gender equality. Indeed, a refined understanding of energy use has important public policy implications because scarce resources may be guided into investments that may achieve the desired national or international development goals.

Sustainable energy development: performance and prospects

Concerns about sustainability, and the harsh realities of environmental catastrophe, can be traced back at least 4000 years. This paper points out how human pressures on the surrounding environment have had severe consequences over this period, coal burning has had adverse consequences traceable over the past 750 years, and the adverse environmental impacts of using other fossil fuels have aroused attention more recently. Heightened awareness of the need for sustainable development is a modern development, evident in international and national debates since the early 1970s. With the Brundtland Commission report published in 1987 came a framework for sustainable energy development. However, performance under the four elements of that framework have been almost uniformly disappointing. Fossil fuel use has continued to rise; renewable energy use has made insufficient inroads; waste and inefficiency in energy usage continues to be far too high; too many people remain without modern energy services or are exposed to severe pollution in the home and local atmosphere; there are mounting concerns about the conventional oil resource base—and future supplies and prices of oil and natural gas; greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and evidence of human-induced climate change continues to mount. Indices of national environmental performance suggest no country is performing adequately; population, housing and transportation pressures result in greater pollution, loss of natural habitats, and species reduction; and poor governance is frequently cited as a major cause of poor environmental performance. The prospects for sustainable energy are bleak on current trends.

Rapid Access to Modern Energy Services Using Lp Gas

Modern energy is not universally available. An estimated two billion people in the world do not yet have access to modern fuels and around one quarter of all energy consumed in developing countries is derived from the burning of wood, charcoal, crop residues and animal dung. Yet a modern energy carrier exists that can meet the thermal energy needs of many of these people from both developing and developed countries. This energy carrier is available now, at low marginal cost. It can rapidly provide a critical step up on the energy ladder from traditional fuels to modern fuels whilst accelerating the socio-economic development of urban and rural regions in a sustainable manner. This modern energy carrier is LP Gas. LP Gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is a by-product of natural gas production and / or crude oil refining. With an annual demand of approximately 250 million tonnes of oil equivalent, LP Gas consumption is now equivalent to approximately 10% of global natural gas consumption. Due to its versatile characteristics, LP Gas has found uses in many applications from being a thermal fuel in domestic applications to being essential in industrial and agricultural uses. LP Gas is now also the world's most popular alternative automotive fuel. Energy demand generally increases with population growth but in many developing countries, the rate of population growth far exceeds the rate of modern energy provision with a result that energy poverty in developing countries is extremely high. Lack of modern energy prevents the socio-economic development necessary to allow communities to move up the energy ladder from traditional fuels to fuels that can support and stimulate a greater level of economic activities. LP Gas is the ideal transition fuel to modern energy carriers such as natural gas. Access can be achieved at relatively low marginal cost through a well-developed global LP Gas industry. Barriers to LP Gas use can often be overcome through effective government policies. The case for government support to the LP Gas sector is based on the positive contribution the fuel can make to sustainable development. Experience from several countries shows that active government support can catalyse the development of the LP Gas market and lead to a virtuous circle of growing market potential, increased investment and expanded availability. LP Gas is available now. There is nothing exotic to invent or improve. The transportation system that moves it is in place and the tanks that store it are available today.

Scaling up biomass gasifier use: an application-specific approach

Biomass energy accounts for about 11% of the global primary energy supply, and it is estimated that about 2 billion people worldwide depend on biomass for their energy needs. Yet, most of the use of biomass is in a primitive and inefficient manner, primarily in developing countries, leading to a host of adverse implications on human health, environment, workplace conditions, and social well being. Therefore, the utilization of biomass in a clean and efficient manner to deliver modern energy services to the world's poor remains an imperative for the development community. One possible approach to do this is through the use of biomass gasifiers. Although significant efforts have been directed towards developing and deploying biomass gasifiers in many countries, scaling up their dissemination remains an elusive goal. Based on an examination of biomass gasifier development, demonstration, and deployment efforts in India—a country with more than two decades of experiences in biomass gasifier development and dissemination, this article identifies a number of barriers that have hindered widespread deployment of biomass gasifier-based energy systems. It also suggests a possible approach for moving forward, which involves a focus on specific application areas that satisfy a set of criteria that are critical to deployment of biomass gasifiers, and then tailoring the scaling up strategy to the characteristics of the user groups for that application. Our technical, financial, economic and institutional analysis suggests an initial focus on four categories of applications—small and medium enterprises, the informal sector, biomass-processing industries, and some rural areas—may be particularly feasible and fruitful.

Electricity access for the poor: a study of South Africa and Zimbabwe

Electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa is only 17 %, the lowest worldwide, but is even worse for the rural areas that house most of its poor, where it is estimated at around 5 %. This paper looks at this issue for two countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe and South Africa. South Africa and Zimbabwe present two different cases of how government policy intervention can help to improve access to modern energy services. The energy policies in South Africa and Zimbabwe evolved under different sets of national circumstances. South Africa is a highly industrialised country in Africa endowed with a wide variety of natural resources. The country is currently going through major changes in many spheres of its economy, including energy, following the democratic elections in 1994, with emphasis placed on redirecting key aspects of government policy to address the enormous disparities in income levels and living conditions between the different racial groups, a result of apartheid. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, is a landlocked country with an economy that relies heavily on agriculture, with higher levels of poverty that are closely related to the country's history of governance by the minority white government. After independence in 1980, the Government of Zimbabwe embarked on policies aimed at redressing the economic imbalances of the past, including reforms in the power sector. These included increasing electricity access to previously disadvantaged people through grid electricity expansion and off-grid electrification. The paper examines the impact of power sector reforms on the poor, with specific reference to the electrification programmes in the two countries.

An assessment of a Biomass Gasification based Power Plant in the Sunderbans

A continued thrust towards wider use of renewable energy devices at domestic, commercial and industrial levels not only resulted in greater awareness but also significant installed capacities. The energy requirement in India is steadily increasing and this requirement is met both by commercial and renewable energy sources. India being a tropical country, renewable energy is seen as an effective option for ensuring access to modern energy services. So the objective of the present study is to evaluate the socio economic and environmental impact of the Biomass Gasification based Power Plant (BGBPP) in Chottomollakhali islands of Sunderbans set up by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Authority (WBREDA). Four villages of Chottomollakhali Island are benefited with electricity from the power plant, which serves 225 consumers comprising household, commercial and industrial sectors. A simple cost benefit analysis has been used to estimate the impact of BGBPP. The findings of the study indicate that BGBPP has made a very positive impact on the life of the villagers of Chottomollakhali Island. This has led to increased economic activities and more profitable turnover for the commercial consumers and improves quality of life for the household sector. All of them have showed willingness to pay a higher price to get 24h of power supply. From the cost benefit analysis it has been found that the benefit cost ratio, internal rate of return and pay back period of the project are 1.68, 19% and 7 years, respectively. But environmental awareness is very poor among the villagers.

Alleviating energy poverty for the world's poor

Improving energy services for poor households in developing countries remains one of the most pressing challenges facing the development community. The dependence of these households on traditional forms of energy leads to significant health impacts as well as other major disbenefits, yet there has been little progress in meeting this challenge. This viewpoint argues for an ‘energy-poverty alleviation’ fund to help provide modern energy services to these households. It also proposes an approach through which to create such a fund, namely by introducing an incremental levy on petroleum. Notably, this scheme does not need a global agreement since a levy could be introduced by major oil-exporting countries. The implementation of this mechanism would result in a climate-friendly outcome (even before taking into account the elimination of products of incomplete combustion resulting from the traditional household use of biomass-based fuels) while providing immense socio-economic benefits to the world's poor. Such an approach would allow significant progress on the sustainable development front while reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore is very much consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Improving modern energy services for Africa's urban poor : Karekezi, S. and Majoro, L. Energy Policy, 2002, 30, (11–12), 1015–1028

Improving modern energy services for Africa's urban poor : Karekezi, S. and Majoro, L. Energy Policy, 2002, 30, (11–12), 1015–1028

Sustainable energy development: a challenge for Asia and the Pacific region in the 21st century

The main challenge to energy policy makers in the 21st century is how to develop and manage adequate, affordable and reliable energy services on a sustainable manner to fuel social and economic development. About 60 per cent of the world's two billion population, who do not have access to modern energy services, live in Asia and the Pacific region. The demand for energy is expected to continue growing at a high rate well into the century, often at a greater rate than economic growth. Latest assessment of conventional energy resources shows that their availability is not going to be an immediate threat to the security of supply but the question is can the region afford to allow current patterns of production and consumption of energy to continue in a rapidly deteriorating health of the environment? Changing these unsustainable patterns is the main challenge for the developed and developing countries alike. The paper dwells upon what are the major issues facing the region in promoting sustainable energy development and what are some of the policy options and possible strategies that the countries could consider to attain the objective of sustainable energy development. In this respect, the paper also dwells upon the need for strategic planning and management of energy resources.

Improving modern energy services for Africa's urban poor

The urban population of most sub-Saharan African countries is growing rapidly. It is estimated that urban growth rates are almost double the national population growth rates. As expected, urban energy consumption is growing rapidly, driven by the fast growth of urban centres. Although urban poor households in most cities of the region constitute over 50% of the total households, the provision of modern energy services to these households does not seem to be receiving the requisite attention from policy makers. This article provides a brief overview of the urban energy sector in Africa, with special emphasis on energy services for the urban poor. The energy-consumption patterns among the urban poor households and small and micro-enterprises are assessed and options for improving the provision of modern energy services to the urban poor are proposed. The article is based on field survey studies of energy services for the urban poor undertaken in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Supporting data and information from other sub-Saharan African countries is used to validate key conclusions and recommendations.

The energy sector in Eritrea—institutional and policy options for improving rural energy services

The energy consumption patterns and in particular, those of the rural household and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Eritrea are assessed. Eritrea's total final energy consumption in 1998 was estimated to be around 619,580 toe, of which 68% was consumed by the household sector, 16% by the commercial/public sector, 13% by transport and 3% by industry. The sources of energy were 66.3% biomass based (fuelwood, dung, charcoal, agri-residue), 31% oil products and 2% electricity. It is also noted that 98% of the rural population and 20% of the urban residents do not have access to electricity. Over 80% of the energy needs of rural enterprises is met by biomass or animate/human labour. To analyse the root problems hindering the wider dissemination of modern energy services to rural areas, two key hypotheses related to policy and institutional framework were selected and tested. The findings indicate that Eritrea has general energy policies pertaining to the development of electricity, oil and renewable energy sub-sectors for the benefit of the public and the economy. The absence of sharply focussed, pro-rural energy policy and/or their policy instruments has been observed. The key problem is, however, the weakness in implementation of rural energy projects and programmes. This is mainly due to inappropriate institutional structure and/or gaps in the structure, in addition to lack of corporate culture; poor incentives for workers; and, poor linkages among the various stakeholders concerned in energy for rural development.

Poverty and energy in Africa—A brief review

The objective of this paper is to provide a summary overview of the African energy sector and briefly examine the nexus of poverty and energy in the region. While the paper uses continent-wide data, the emphasis is placed on sub-Saharan Africa—the region where the need to improve modern energy services for the poor is particularly acute. For readers who are unfamiliar with Africa, the paper starts with a succinct review of the continent's key demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The paper then, presents important elements of the continent's energy consumption and supply sub-sectors. It ends with the identification of key drivers that are likely to decide the future direction of the sub-Saharan Africa's energy sector. The paper stresses that these key drivers will, to a significant extent, determine the latitude that the region's decision makers will have in tackling the enormous challenge of meeting the modern energy needs of sub-Saharan Africa's poor.

Reaching the poor: Designing energy subsidies to benefit those that need it

Many developing countries have subsidized provision or consumption of energy in an effort to reduce costs to un-served households. But many of these efforts have had the opposite effect—preventing business from promoting access to rural electricity by the poor. Businesses go after the subsidies rather than concentrating on the development of financially sound, rural energy service businesses. In this article, Douglas F. Barnes and Jonathan Halpern, of the UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) examine public policies for creating an enabling environment for promoting sustainable provision of decentralized modern energy services in rural areas.