IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v38y2014icp811-820.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can solar panels leapfrog power grids? The World Bank experience 1992–2009

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Fan

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic systems promise both rural access to electricity and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. During 1992–2009, the World Bank contributed US$790 million to promote the uptake of off-grid solar home systems in 34 developing countries. This paper reviews the experience of the World Bank involvement in the rural solar photovoltaic market and draws lessons learned. The review finds that World Bank efforts, using quality-contingent producer subsidies and relying on microfinance for consumers, have been effective in stimulating the diffusion of the solar technology although the impact on greenhouse gas reductions is rather limited because of limited energy consumption of off-grid households.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Fan, 2014. "Can solar panels leapfrog power grids? The World Bank experience 1992–2009," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 811-820.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:811-820
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114004997
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.047?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martinot, E. & Cabraal, A. & Mathur, S., 2001. "World Bank/GEF solar home system projects: experiences and lessons learned 1993-2000," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 39-57, March.
    2. Bhattacharyya, Subhes C., 2013. "Financing energy access and off-grid electrification: A review of status, options and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 462-472.
    3. Branker, K. & Pathak, M.J.M. & Pearce, J.M., 2011. "A review of solar photovoltaic levelized cost of electricity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 4470-4482.
    4. Deshmukh, Ranjit & Bharvirkar, Ranjit & Gambhir, Ashwin & Phadke, Amol, 2012. "Changing Sunshine: Analyzing the dynamics of solar electricity policies in the global context," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 5188-5198.
    5. Akikur, R.K. & Saidur, R. & Ping, H.W. & Ullah, K.R., 2013. "Comparative study of stand-alone and hybrid solar energy systems suitable for off-grid rural electrification: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 738-752.
    6. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard & Thilo Hanemann & Lutz Weischer & Matt Miller, 2010. "Toward a Sunny Future? Global Integration in the Solar PV Industry," Working Paper Series WP10-6, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    7. Parida, Bhubaneswari & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2011. "A review of solar photovoltaic technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1625-1636, April.
    8. Chaurey, Akanksha & Kandpal, Tara Chandra, 2010. "Assessment and evaluation of PV based decentralized rural electrification: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(8), pages 2266-2278, October.
    9. Pode, Ramchandra, 2013. "Financing LED solar home systems in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 596-629.
    10. Bhuiyan, M.M.H & Asgar, M.Ali & Mazumder, R.K & Hussain, M, 2000. "Economic evaluation of a stand-alone residential photovoltaic power system in Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 403-410.
    11. Ubertini, Stefano & Desideri, Umberto, 2003. "Performance estimation and experimental measurements of a photovoltaic roof," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 1833-1850.
    12. Kivaisi, R.T, 2000. "Installation and use of a 3 kWp PV plant at Umbuji village in Zanzibar," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 457-472.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Najafi, G. & Ghobadian, B. & Mamat, R. & Yusaf, T. & Azmi, W.H., 2015. "Solar energy in Iran: Current state and outlook," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 931-942.
    2. Ugwoke, B. & Sulemanu, S. & Corgnati, S.P. & Leone, P. & Pearce, J.M., 2021. "Demonstration of the integrated rural energy planning framework for sustainable energy development in low-income countries: Case studies of rural communities in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Bensch, Gunther & Grimm, Michael & Huppertz, Maximilian & Langbein, Jörg & Peters, Jörg, 2018. "Are promotion programs needed to establish off-grid solar energy markets? Evidence from rural Burkina Faso," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1060-1068.
    4. Girardeau, Hannah & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K., 2018. "Household Solar Adoption in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review," EfD Discussion Paper 18-10, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Goel, Sonali & Sharma, Renu, 2017. "Performance evaluation of stand alone, grid connected and hybrid renewable energy systems for rural application: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1378-1389.
    2. Punia Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2016. "Recognition and prioritization of challenges in growth of solar energy using analytical hierarchy process: Indian outlook," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 332-348.
    3. Terrapon-Pfaff, Julia & Dienst, Carmen & König, Julian & Ortiz, Willington, 2014. "A cross-sectional review: Impacts and sustainability of small-scale renewable energy projects in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-10.
    4. Pandey, A.K. & Tyagi, V.V. & Selvaraj, Jeyraj A/L & Rahim, N.A. & Tyagi, S.K., 2016. "Recent advances in solar photovoltaic systems for emerging trends and advanced applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 859-884.
    5. Victoria Kihlström & Jörgen Elbe, 2021. "Constructing Markets for Solar Energy—A Review of Literature about Market Barriers and Government Responses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Ebers Broughel, Anna, 2019. "On the ground in sunny Mexico: A case study of consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for solar-powered devices," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Jing Zhang & Roger Raufer & Lingxuan Liu, 2020. "Solar Home Systems for Clean Cooking: A Cost–Health Benefit Analysis of Lower-Middle-Income Countries in Southeast Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Abhi Chatterjee & Daniel Burmester & Alan Brent & Ramesh Rayudu, 2019. "Research Insights and Knowledge Headways for Developing Remote, Off-Grid Microgrids in Developing Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Brunet, Carole & Savadogo, Oumarou & Baptiste, Pierre & Bouchard, Michel A., 2018. "Shedding some light on photovoltaic solar energy in Africa – A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 325-342.
    10. Miguel H. Fernandez-Fuentes & Andrea A. Eras-Almeida & Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera, 2021. "Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    11. Parida, Bhubaneswari & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2011. "A review of solar photovoltaic technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1625-1636, April.
    12. Mandelli, Stefano & Barbieri, Jacopo & Mereu, Riccardo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2016. "Off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries: Definitions, classification and a comprehensive literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1621-1646.
    13. 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.
    14. Komatsu, Satoru & Kaneko, Shinji & Ghosh, Partha Pratim & Morinaga, Akane, 2013. "Determinants of user satisfaction with solar home systems in rural Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 52-58.
    15. Branker, K. & Pathak, M.J.M. & Pearce, J.M., 2011. "A review of solar photovoltaic levelized cost of electricity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 4470-4482.
    16. Suberu, Mohammed Yekini & Mustafa, Mohd Wazir & Bashir, Nouruddeen & Muhamad, Nor Asiah & Mokhtar, Ahmad Safawi, 2013. "Power sector renewable energy integration for expanding access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 630-642.
    17. Bianchini, Augusto & Gambuti, Michele & Pellegrini, Marco & Saccani, Cesare, 2016. "Performance analysis and economic assessment of different photovoltaic technologies based on experimental measurements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-11.
    18. Tyagi, V.V. & Rahim, Nurul A.A. & Rahim, N.A. & Selvaraj, Jeyraj A./L., 2013. "Progress in solar PV technology: Research and achievement," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 443-461.
    19. Carrasco, L.M. & Narvarte, L. & Martínez-Moreno, F. & Moretón, R., 2014. "In-field assessment of batteries and PV modules in a large photovoltaic rural electrification programme," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 281-288.
    20. Yiqing Dai & Yan Yin & Yundi Lu, 2021. "Strategies to Facilitate Photovoltaic Applications in Road Structures for Energy Harvesting," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-14, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:811-820. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.