Remote generation is the way forward…toward sustainable electricity systems for developing countries?

One of the claims in the last Channel’s 4 climate change documentary was that forcing developing countries to use renewables it’s causing them not to develop and, to prove this argument, they have shown a very badly designed and installed PV solar system as a (biased) evidence of how renewable technologies can only do harm. I’d like to comment a bit on this.

Firstly, for many developing countries, where the electricity grid is largely confined to the main urban areas, and where a substantial proportion of the rural population does not have access to most basic energy services, PV is widely regarded today as the best - and least expensive - means of providing many of the services that are lacking. Many are the possible applications such as pumping systems to supply water to villages, for land irrigation or livestock watering; refrigeration systems, particularly to preserve vaccines, blood and other consumables vital to healthcare programs; lighting for homes and community buildings such as schools and health centres to enable education and income generation activities to continue after dark; battery charging stations to recharge batteries, which are used to power appliances ranging from torches and radios to televisions and lights; solar home systems to provide power for domestic lighting and other DC appliances such as TVs, radios, sewing machines, etc.

Therefore, it’s probably fair to say that, in such situations, PV could help development rather than hinder it. Here some examples of recent projects/programmes for rural electrification (by the way, promoted not only by NGOs and World Bank, but by target countries governments as well) (link, link, link, link ) Having said that, here a couple of news about the Moroccan utility Office National d’Electicite (ONE) and rural electrification in Africa.

In December 2006, ONE was about to set up the country’s first grid-connected PV installation, apparently with the main purpose to show visibility on an international level. In fact, it seems that “Solar home systems (SHS), formerly considered to be a suitable solution for off-grid power supply in rural households (over 116,000 systems were tendered by ONE over the last seven years), are becoming less important as traditional grid-extension programs result in increasing connection of the once remote areas of the country.” Therefore, diversifying business toward grid-connected applications seems to be a good potential strategy for ONE.

In the same month, ONE managed to beat out EdF and other Senegalese consortia winning the bid for electricity concession in Senegal’s northern departments, awarded by Senegal’s Rural Electrification Agency (ASER). ONE’s aggressive strategy in regional electricity markets is one reason, but also “The Moroccan utility‘s experience with its own large domestic rural electrification program (launched in 1995 and containing a PV component of 116,000 SHS) was certainly a further trump card that convinced ASER to opt for the regional player.” In fact, “ While common grid extension will be the largest part of the business, an important PV package for remote households is foreseen as well.”

So, can remote generation be seen as a first step, followed by electricity grid extension in African countries (instead of just an unfair alternative)? Which are the possible synergies between remote generation and electricity grid extension? Any interaction and synergies between the relative industries, which might lead to the development of a sustainable electricity system for developing countries? OK, I am probably going too far with this.. anyway, it will be interesting to see how things develop over there.