Energy resource centres (ERCs) as vehicles for extracting higher benefits from solar power in rural and suburban areas of developing countries (the case of Uganda)
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Date
2019
Journal Title
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Volume Title
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Open Impact Conference
Abstract
The very low access to energy in African countries, where over 70% of the population still live in the
dark, is significantly hindering development (World Bank, 2019).1 While some progress has been made
in recent years to improve access to traditional on-grid and new off-grid systems, the rate of change
is low. The problem is particularly evident in rural and suburban areas where over 80% of the
population are resident.
A major barrier is that the understanding of the use of solar power systems has been left to the startup
companies that offer the systems. In most cases, these companies are located far from the rural
areas. Consequently, they are not well positioned to systematically investigate solar usage patterns of
their customers. The loophole in turn weakens the capability of these firms to develop suitable training
and effective customer care services (Amankwah-Amoah, 2015). It has further hindered the capability
of these firms to develop products and services that are more strongly adapted to local needs. The
potential for value-added use not only in homes, but also for farming, entrepreneurship and broader
income-generating activities, has hence remained largely unexploited. Key economic activity like
farming and rural/suburban entrepreneurship has as a result not benefited from solar power to the
extent that would have been needed to accelerate development.
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Citation
Mbalyohere, Charles; Aguti, Jessica and Nabushawo, Harriet (2019). Energy resource centres (ERCs) as vehicles for extracting higher benefits from solar power in rural and suburban areas of developing countries (the case of Uganda). In: Open Impact Conference, 13-14 Dec 2019, Uganda.