Illuminating the Potential for a Rural Energy Service Company – Meeting the Rural Off-grid Electrification Challenge in Mozambique.

Start date: 17 April, 2012 End date: 22 May, 2012 Project type: Master's Thesis (prior to 2018) Project code: A16948 Countries: Mozambique Institutions: Roskilde University (RUC), Denmark Grant recipient: Thomas Young Hwan Westring Jensen and Morten Lyndrup Total grant: 30,000 DKK

Description

Abstract
The access to modern energy services are deeply embedded in most aspects of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of human development. In Mozambique, just a small fraction of the rural population has access to electricity, as the electrification process so far has relied on a least-cost approach, only inciting the development and extension of the national grid. As the population of rural off-grid communities are often highly dispersed, having low purchasing power, low technical skill etc., keeping current unilateral electrification approach, will mean that the many isolated communities will be left in the dark in the many years to come. This therefore calls forward the need to apprehend other approaches to make electricity accessible in the rural off-grid areas of Mozambique. In present thesis the opportunities and constraints of providing electricity to rural off-grid areas are assessed. Meeting the potential of the rural off-grid challenge, which Mozambique currently faces, takes outset in the establishment of community-based electrification pilot projects.

Outputs