The long road to universal electrification: A critical look at present pathways and challenges
Fecha
2020
Tipo
artículo preliminar
Autores
Narayan, Nishant
Vega Garita, Víctor
Qin, Zian
Popovic Gerber, Jelena
Bauer, Pavol
Zeman, Miroslav
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Nearly 840 million people still lack access to electricity, while over a billion more have an unreliable electricity connection. In this article, the three different electrification pathways—grid extension, centralized microgrids, and standalone solar-based solutions, such as pico-solar and solar home systems (SHS)—are critically examined while understanding their relative merits and demerits. Grid extension can provide broad scale access at low levelized costs but requires a certain electricity demand threshold and population density to justify investments. To a lesser extent, centralized (off-grid) microgrids also require a minimum demand threshold and knowledge of the electricity demand. Solar-based solutions are the main focus in terms of off-grid electrification in this article, given the equatorial/tropical latitudes of the un(der-)electrified regions. In recent times, decentralized solar-based off-grid solutions, such as pico-solar and SHS, have shown the highest adoption rates and promising impetus with respect to basic lighting and electricity for powering small appliances. However, the burning question is—from lighting a million to empowering a billion—can solar home systems get us there?The two main roadblocks for SHS are discussed, and the requirements from the ideal electrification pathway are introduced. A bottom-up, interconnected SHS-based electrification pathway is proposed as the missing link among the present electrification pathways.
Descripción
Este artículo fue realizado durante mis estudios de doctorado en la Universidad Tecnológica de Delft. En ese periodo fui becado por la UCR
Palabras clave
SOLAR SYSTEM, ELECTRICITY, RURAL ENERGY, ENERGY RESOURCES