Grid and off-grid electrification: An integrated model with applications to India

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• 作者：Johannes Urpelainen ; ^{ju2178@columbia.edu" class="auth_mail}
• 关键词：Energy access ; Rural electrification ; India ; Off-grid electricity generation
• 刊名：Energy for Sustainable Development
• 出版年：April, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：19
• 期：Complete
• 页码：66-71
• 全文大小：222 K

文摘

In many developing countries, the national electricity grid fails to provide rural communities with a reliable supply of electricity. Given the high socio-economic cost of this policy failure, both scholars and policymakers have recently become interested in off-grid electrification programs. However, the relationship between national grid expansion and off-grid electrification remains unclear. Are these two approaches independent of each other, or perhaps even competitors? This article develops a taxonomy that allows grid expansion and off-grid electrification to complement each other. Explicit policy integration is necessary to encourage investment in off-grid electrification and avoid duplication of effort. Otherwise, there is a danger that the poorest and geographically most remote segments of the rural population could be left outside electrification efforts. As an illustration, the article offers a case study of India.