Page - 33 - in Clean Water Using Solar and Wind - Outside the Power Grid

The renewable energy revolution 33 price per unit of useful light is anywhere between 3 and 100 times more expensive for the equivalent light from a kerosene lamp (IRENA, 2016d). The increased energy efficiency of lighting and home appliances can make larger off-grid solar home systems more affordable. According to an interview with Adnan Amin, head of IRENA (Beckman, 2016): I do believe that people are underestimating what is happening in off- grid. When we looked into this recently we discovered there is a lot of investment going into solar home systems, particularly in developing countries. You don’t see this in the energy statistics; that’s why we looked at the trade statistics. There are thousands of these home systems developed by entrepreneurs. They provide very low-cost basic power services for cell phone charging, refrigeration, and that sort of thing … We need to improve the investment framework in developing countries. The aid model doesn’t work. We need to incentivize entrepreneurs to start new businesses. It is worth noting that electrification with renewables in remote areas does not necessarily depend on any national decision but on private initiatives. Of course, financing needs to be encouraged at all levels, including the national leadership. The real driver of the renewable energy revolution is simply the reduction of costs for generating power. It is competitive with traditional fossil fuels and with a promise of even lower future costs. And even more important: the fact of diminishing carbon emissions gives hope for the future climate. There is a huge potential for electrification of rural areas in Africa and developing Asia, as Figure 3.4 illustrates. Even in high-income countries Solar-powered LED lights provide much more useful light than kerosene lamps for the same cost. “People are underestimating what is happening in off-grid.” Adnan Amin, head of IRENA. Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/520710/wio9781780409443.pdf by IWA Publishing user