Ramifications of Rural Renewables

                The readings for this week discussed the status, current situation, and future viability of renewable energy in India. Global support for renewable energy is growing as concerns over atmospheric carbon accumulation and climate change become increasingly urgent. Before pouring all of its efforts into renewable energy, however, it seems prudent that India stop to consider its largest developmental obstacles. These are generally accepted to be the poverty consuming over 40 percent of its population, and the poor quality of health and education that accompany that. Are the benefits of clean energy isolated to the long-term environmental realm, or are they immediately relevant to these people trying to improve their quality of life?

                According to a 2010 report by the US Department of Energy, over 400 million people in India, including 47.5% of those living in rural areas, did not have access to electricity. India’s national electricity policy of 2005 recognized electricity as an essential requirement for all facets of life and as a basic human need.  It also states that electricity supply to rural India is essential for India’s overall development[1].

                A 2008 report by the World Bank elaborates on human impacts of electrification. When homes receive electricity, its primary impact is lighting. Effective lighting beyond the natural cycle of the sun generally improves life by allowing for extended hours of productivity. The main benefits are to small businesses which can operate for extended hours and to school children which who have been found to study for longer hours[2].   

                Air quality provides another realm where electricity can make big improvements. Emissions from kerosene lanterns often exceed WHO indoor air quality when burned for multiple consecutive hours[3]. Biomass, which is used as the primary cooking fuel by 90% of the rural homes in India, causes severe respiratory hazards for the women preparing food[4], and often costs women up to 8 hours a week of gathering time[5]. Simple electric appliances could alleviate these widespread health and time burdens.

                The most surprising part of the World Bank report for me was that television constitutes the second biggest use of newly-available rural electricity. Interestingly, TV exposure corresponds to improvements in many aspects of health. Though not on drastic levels, lower fertility and mortality rates have been linked to better nutritional and contraceptive habits that results from information gained from television. Electricity is also used for a variety of other applications, like pumping water for irrigation, powering medical equipment and running refrigerators for food storage.

                The DOE report touts the advantages of renewable for electrification of remote areas with decentralized energy grids. Renewables provide an advantage over traditional fossil fuel sources because, especially in the case of solar power, they exist in discrete production units that can be purchased and utilized on the scale of a single household’s financial resources and electrical demand.   In recent years, the Indian government has initiated multiple programs designed to utilize this advantage for rural electrification, and has since provided free power to more than 12 million people below the poverty line in 90,00 villages[6].  

                Such a welfare approach, however, obviously lacks the financial sustainability required of potential solutions for bringing power to 400 million new consumers. The World Bank report conveys some unfortunate trends in the economically viable rural electrification projects it finances throughout the world. Basically, the majority of electrification benefits do not reach the poor. Even in villages connected for 15-20 years, 25% of households commonly remain unconnected, mostly due to issues for the poor with getting sufficient finances to buy the service. Remote, off grid locations generally imply higher energy costs, which is the reason renewable like solar become competitive there. Although these remote projects often include better financing options for the impoverished, they still don’t approach universal accessibility[7].

                The World Bank also found that lighting and TV generally account for 80% of power use in rural areas. Electrified rural areas rarely utilize the resource for cooking, which misses a large chunk of the possible health benefits. The availability of refrigeration for vaccines apparently has no effect on immunization rates.

                I am genuinely confused by the prevalence of TVs in electricity consumption. Even if the TV is all you can afford, why wouldn’t you buy a clean-heating stove instead? I suspect that maybe gender roles affect this phenomenon. The males may not appreciate the burden of traditional cooking techniques on their wives. If the husbands control all purchasing decisions, maybe they see no value in changing a system that seems to work fine from their perspective. Also, without basic medical education, maybe neither party understands the health benefits associated with many different appliances in the same price range as a television.

                So what should India do? Are renewable energy sources really worthwhile in their contributions to human society? In their current state, I don’t think so. If taxpayers want to foot the bill for rural power, the government’s current course is fine. In economically sustainable schemes, however, electricity still misses large groups of the rural poor. Even the people receiving it, it seems, are missing a lot of its potential benefits. If the structures of implementation were modified to include better information about beneficial applications and maybe partially subsidized prices for the most impoverished, renewable electrification could look a lot better. Until then, though, more basic health and educational approaches seem like riper fields for progress.   

                        

               

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[1] Arora, D. S., Busche, S., Cowlin, S., Engelmeier, T., Jaritz, H., Milbrandt, A., 
     & Wang, S. (2010, October). Indian Renewable Energy Status Report (J. Baur, 
     P. Gilman, & M. Lukkonen, Eds.). Springfield, VA: REN21 Secretariat. 

[2] Hurlburt, W., & Dittbrener, H. (Eds.). (2008). The welfare impact of rural 
     electrification: an assessment of the costs and benefits. Retrieved from 
     The World Bank website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTRURELECT/ 
     Resources/full_doc.pdf

[3] Hurlburt, W., & Dittbrener, H. (Eds.). (2008). The welfare impact of rural 
     electrification: an assessment of the costs and benefits. Retrieved from 
     The World Bank website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTRURELECT/ 
     Resources/full_doc.pdf

[4] Arora, D. S., Busche, S., Cowlin, S., Engelmeier, T., Jaritz, H., Milbrandt, A., 
     & Wang, S. (2010, October). Indian Renewable Energy Status Report (J. Baur, 
     P. Gilman, & M. Lukkonen, Eds.). Springfield, VA: REN21 Secretariat. 

[5] Hurlburt, W., & Dittbrener, H. (Eds.). (2008). The welfare impact of rural 
     electrification: an assessment of the costs and benefits. Retrieved from 
     The World Bank website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTRURELECT/ 
     Resources/full_doc.pdf

[6] Arora, D. S., Busche, S., Cowlin, S., Engelmeier, T., Jaritz, H., Milbrandt, A., 
     & Wang, S. (2010, October). Indian Renewable Energy Status Report (J. Baur, 
     P. Gilman, & M. Lukkonen, Eds.). Springfield, VA: REN21 Secretariat. 

[7] Hurlburt, W., & Dittbrener, H. (Eds.). (2008). The welfare impact of rural 
     electrification: an assessment of the costs and benefits. Retrieved from 
     The World Bank website: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTRURELECT/ 
     Resources/full_doc.pdf