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Energy poverty and perceptions of solar power in marginalized communities: Survey evidence from Uttar Pradesh, India

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  • Urpelainen, Johannes

Abstract

The decreased cost of solar electricity generation has given a boost to rural energy markets, but most off-grid businesses remain small. A larger customer base is a precondition for business expansion and access to finance. This article reports findings from a large survey focused on energy access in unelectrified habitations in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, India. While most villagers are dissatisfied with their kerosene lighting and the median monthly expense for this fuel is 100 rupees (USD ∼ 1.66), the data analysis also indicates that there is little trust in local companies and a large number of villagers prefer government leadership in electricity supply. These findings suggest that solar entrepreneurs must do more to demonstrate the quality of their products and services to villagers to expand their customer base.

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  • Urpelainen, Johannes, 2016. "Energy poverty and perceptions of solar power in marginalized communities: Survey evidence from Uttar Pradesh, India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 534-539.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:85:y:2016:i:c:p:534-539
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2015.07.001
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    9. Joshi, Lalita & Choudhary, Deepak & Kumar, Praveen & Venkateswaran, Jayendran & Solanki, Chetan S., 2019. "Does involvement of local community ensure sustained energy access? A critical review of a solar PV technology intervention in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 272-281.
    10. Setu Pelz & Shonali Pachauri & Sebastian Groh, 2018. "A critical review of modern approaches for multidimensional energy poverty measurement," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(6), November.
    11. Baccianti, Claudio, 2021. "Essays in economic growth and climate policy," Other publications TiSEM e5415454-40c2-4154-991e-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
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    14. Aklin, Michaël & Cheng, Chao-Yo & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2018. "Social acceptance of new energy technology in developing countries: A framing experiment in rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 466-477.
    15. Harrington, Elise & Athavankar, Ameya & Hsu, David, 2020. "Variation in rural household energy transitions for basic lighting in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
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    17. Sadath, Anver C. & Acharya, Rajesh H., 2017. "Assessing the extent and intensity of energy poverty using Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index: Empirical evidence from households in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 540-550.
    18. Alipour, M. & Salim, H. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Sahin, Oz, 2020. "Predictors, taxonomy of predictors, and correlations of predictors with the decision behaviour of residential solar photovoltaics adoption: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    19. Zaman, Shah & Zaman, Qamar uz & Zhang, Leilei & Wang, Zilong & Jehan, Noor, 2022. "Interaction between agricultural production, female employment, renewable energy, and environmental quality: Policy directions in context of developing economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 288-298.
    20. Bisaga, Iwona & Puźniak-Holford, Nathan & Grealish, Ashley & Baker-Brian, Christopher & Parikh, Priti, 2017. "Scalable off-grid energy services enabled by IoT: A case study of BBOXX SMART Solar," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 199-207.
    21. Anver C. Sadath & Rajesh H. Acharya, 2021. "Access to Modern Energy Services and Human Development in India: Has Government Policies Paid off?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 432-442.
    22. Bakkensen, Laura & Schuler, Paul, 2020. "A preference for power: Willingness to pay for energy reliability versus fuel type in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    23. Thomas, P.J.M. & Sandwell, P. & Williamson, S.J. & Harper, P.W., 2021. "A PESTLE analysis of solar home systems in refugee camps in Rwanda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    24. Sachiko Graber & Tara Narayanan & Jose F. Alfaro & Debajit Palit, 2019. "Perceptions towards solar mini‐grid systems in India: A multi‐stakeholder analysis," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(4), pages 253-266, November.

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