RENEWABLE

ENERGYFORREMOTE

COMMUNITIESA

guidebookfor

off-gridprojects?

IRENA

2023Unless

otherwise

stated,

material

in

this

publication

may

be

freely

used,

shared,

copied,

reproduced,

printed

and/orstored,

provided

that

appropriate

acknowledgement

is

given

of

IRENA

as

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source

and

copyright

holder.

Materialinthispublicationthatisattributedto

thirdpartiesmaybesubjectto

separatetermsof

useandrestrictions,andappropriate

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parties

may

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be

secured

before

any

use

of

such

material.ISBN:

978-92-9260-565-0CITATION:

IRENA

(2023),

Renewable

energy

for

remote

communities:

A

guidebook

for

off-grid

projects,International

Renewable

Energy

Agency,

Abu

Dhabi.For

further

information

or

to

provide

feedback:

publications@This

report

is

available

for

download:

/publicationsAbout

the

partnersIRENAThe

International

Renewable

Energy

Agency

(IRENA)

is

an

intergovernmental

organisation

that

supports

countriesin

their

transition

to

a

sustainable

energy

future,

and

serves

as

the

principal

platform

for

international

co-operation,a

centre

of

excellence,

and

a

repository

of

policy,

technology,

resource

and

?nancial

knowledge

on

renewableenergy.

IRENA

promotes

the

widespread

adoption

and

sustainable

use

of

all

forms

of

renewable

energy,

includingbioenergy,

geothermal,

hydropower,

ocean,

solar

and

wind

energy,

in

the

pursuit

of

sustainable

development,energy

access,

energy

security

and

low-carbon

economic

growth

and

prosperity.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis

guidebook

was

developed

by

the

International

Renewable

Energy

Agency

(IRENA)

in

consultation

withthe

Alliance

for

Rural

Electri?cation

(ARE).

Input,

feedback

and

supportwere

received

from

Natural

ResourcesCanada

(NRCan).The

guidebook

was

prepared

under

the

overall

guidance

of

Gurbuz

Gonul

(Director,

Country

Engagement

andPartnerships,

IRENA)

and

Amjad

Abdulla.

It

was

authored

by

Chitra

Narayanswamy

and

Kamran

Siddiqui

(IRENA)with

valuable

inputs

and

support

provided

by

NRCan

colleagues:

Michael

Paunescu,

Abou

Baker

Kaddour,

MarianneAudette-Chapdelaine,

Jay

Storfer,

and

IRENA

colleagues

Simon

Benmarraze,

Paula

Nardone,

Divyam

Nagpal,Kathleen

Daniel,

Paul

Komor,

Wilson

Matekenya

and

Loisina

Ambeyi.The

report

was

edited

byStefanie

Durbin;

layout

and

design

were

provided

byPhoenix

Design

Aid.The

guidebook

was

developed

as

part

of

the

Global

Initiative

for

Transitioning

Remote

Communities

toRenewable

Energy,

funded

bythe

Government

of

Canada,

represented

byNatural

Resources

Canada

(NRCan).DisclaimerThis

publication

and

the

material

herein

are

provided

“asis”.All

reasonable

precautionshavebeen

takenby

IRENAtoverify

the

reliabilityofthe

material

in

thispublication.

However,

neither

IRENA

nor

any

of

its

o?cials,

agents,

data

or

other

third-party

content

providers

provides

a

warranty

of

any

kind,

either

expressed

orimplied,

and

they

accept

no

responsibility

or

liability

for

any

consequence

of

use

of

the

publication

or

material

herein.The

information

contained

herein

does

not

necessarily

represent

the

views

ofall

Members

of

IRENA.

The

mentionof

speci?c

companies

or

certain

projects

orproducts

does

not

imply

that

they

are

endorsed

or

recommendedbyIRENA

in

preferencetoothersofa

similar

nature

that

are

not

mentioned.

The

designationsemployed

and

the

presentation

of

material

herein

do

not

imply

the

expression

of

any

opinion

on

the

part

of

IRENA

concerning

the

legal

status

of

any

region,

country,territory,

city

or

area

or

of

its

authorities,

or

concerning

the

delimitation

of

frontiers

or

boundaries.RENEWABLE

ENERGYFORREMOTE

COMMUNITIESA

guidebookfor

off-gridprojectsTABLE

OF

CONTENTSABBREVIATIONS

...................................................................................................................7INTRODUCTION

....................................................................................................................8Electricity

access

disparities.............................................................................................................

8Rationaleforextendingaccess........................................................................................................

8Grid

extensionvs.

off-grid

solutions..................................................................................................

9Scope

oftheguidebook.................................................................................................................101

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

SCOPE

FOR

EXTENDING

ELECTRICITY

ACCESS.......................12De?ning

remoteness

........................................................................................................................12Remotecommunitiesacrossregions

..............................................................................................122

REACHING

THE

LAST

MILE:

POWERING

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES....................................16Key

principlesofoff-grid

projects....................................................................................................16Community

engagement.................................................................................................................17Meeting

electricity

needs

and

managing

supply

.........................................................................19Building

capacities

in

the

community

...........................................................................................

21Enabling

policies

toimproveelectricity

access

toremotecommunities....................................

28Financingcapitalexpenditureand

shortfalls

in

workingcapital

................................................

30Replicationandscaling-up..............................................................................................................313

DELIVERY

MECHANISMS

FOR

ELECTRICITY

PROVISION

.................................................32Community

centric..........................................................................................................................

32Role

oftheprivateprovider

............................................................................................................

34Governmentprogrammesfortheprovisionofelectricity

toremotecommunities.....................

354

FINANCING

STRATEGIES

TO

REACH

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES.........................................39Currentcontext:grant-based

projects...........................................................................................

39Investingforimpact.........................................................................................................................

39Country-level

efforts.........................................................................................................................

40REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................414

|RENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTSANNEX

I:

CASE

STUDIES.....................................................................................................43Old

Crowcommunity,Canada

......................................................................................................

43Dollo

AdoandBokolmayoWoredas,Somali

region,Ethiopia

.....................................................

44Zanzanregion,C?ted’Ivoire...........................................................................................................

45Totota,Liberia...................................................................................................................................

46Oaxaca,Mexico

..............................................................................................................................

47Okhaldunga,

Nepal.........................................................................................................................

48Isle

ofEigg,

Scotland,UnitedKingdom..........................................................................................

49SarawakState,Malaysia.................................................................................................................

50LoltongVillage,Vanuatu.................................................................................................................

51ANNEX

II:

ADVANTAGES

OF

DIFFERENT

RENEWABLE

ENERGY

TECHNOLOGIESFOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITY

ACCESS...................................................................................52FIGURESFigure

1

Energypovertyinindigenouscommunitiesacrossdevelopedanddeveloping

countries...................................................................................................................................

15Figure

2

Solar

PV

deployment

shows

a

positive

trend,

2017-2021...............................................................26Figure

3

The

Isle

of

Eigg

project:

Monthly

hybrid

power

generation,

March

2012-March

2013..........

26TABLE

STable

1Table

2Table

3Table

4Table

5Table

6List

of

the

case

studies

surveyed

and

analysed

...............................................................................

10Design

principles

for

off-grid

electricity

provision

projects...........................................................17Operating

power

range

of

typical

household

appliances

..............................................................

19Multi-tier

electricity

access

to

household

services

............................................................................

20User

package

plans

with

an

upper

limit

on

electricity

consumed

................................................

20Loadprofilesandoperativeloadsmetthroughrenewableenergysolutionsinthe

nine

case

studies

.................................................................................................................................

22Table

7Table

8Brazil:

Luz

para

Todos

(Light

for

All)

government

programme

..................................................

36Malaysia:SarawakAlternativeRuralElectrificationScheme(SARES)governmentprogramme

....................................................................................................................................................

37Table

9Canada:CleanEnergyforRuralandRemoteCommunities(CERRC)governmentprogramme

...................................................................................................................................................

38RENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTS

|

5BOXE

SBox

1Box

2Energy

consumption

in

the

Hindu

Kush

Himalaya

region

...............................................................

13Choiceofrenewableenergyforextendingelectricityaccessinsmallislanddeveloping

states

.......................................................................................................................................

14Box

3Box

4Box

5Box

6Digital

tools

enabling

community

participation

.................................................................................

19“Homes

of

Energy”:

Mini-grids

O&M

hub.............................................................................................24Technology

evolution

of

solar

home

systems

(SHSs)

.......................................................................

25ProvincialprojectshelpIndigenouscommunitiestapintotheirrenewableenergy

resources..........................................................................................................................................

29Box

7Box

8Enhancing

energy

supply

for

refugee

settlements

with

renewable

energy

options

..............

30Enterprise

innovation

–

Emerging

roles

of

private

providers.........................................................

356

|RENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTSABBREVIATIONSACalternating

currentampere

hourLORESSlocally

owned

renewable

energyprojects

that

are

small

scaleAhMWmegawattCapexCERRCcapital

expenditureMWhNDCO&MPECmegawatt

hourClean

Energy

for

Rural

and

RemoteCommunities

(Canada)nationally

determined

contributionoperations

and

maintenanceCO

eqcarbon

dioxide

equivalentCommunity

Engagement

Toolkitdirect

current2COMETDCPhotovoltaic

Electri?cationCommittee

(Mexico)PPAPPPpower

purchase

agreementpublic-private

partnershippower

usage

e?ectivenessphotovoltaicDGdiesel

generatorDREdecentralised

renewable

energyPUEPVESMAPEnergy

Sector

ManagementAssistance

ProgrammeFGDfocused

group

discussionGlobal

Environment

Fundgeographic

information

systemHindu

Kush

HimalayaRETrenewable

energy

technologyGEF2G-SHSsecond-generation

solar

homesystemGISSARESSarawak

Alternative

RuralElectri?cation

SchemeHKHHOMERHybrid

Optimisation

of

MultipleEnergy

ResourcesSDGSustainable

Development

Goalsolar

home

systemSHSHPNetHRESIDPHydro

Power

NetworkSIDS3G-SHSUNsmall

island

developing

statesthird-generation

solar

home

systemUnited

Nationshybrid

renewable

energy

sourceinternally

displaced

peopleindependent

power

producerIPPUNDPUnited

Nations

DevelopmentProgrammeIRECInternational

Renewable

EnergyCerti?cateUNHCRURAUnited

Nations

High

Commissionerfor

RefugeesIRENAInternational

Renewable

EnergyAgencyUtility

Regulatory

Authority(Vanuatu)KIIkey

informant

interviewkilometrekmUSDVUnited

States

dollarkVAkWhkWpLCOELEDkilovolt

amperevoltkilowatt

hourWwattkilowatt

peakWCMCWorld

Conservation

MonitoringCenterlevelised

cost

of

electricitylight

emitting

diodeWhWpwatt

hourwatt

peakRENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTS

|

7INTRODUCTIONELECTRICITYACCESS

DISPARITIESPeople

living

in

both

urban

and

rural

locations

need

access

to

reliable,

e?cient

and

modern

amenities.However,

groupslivinginruralareas,especiallyinlow-incomeanddevelopingcountries,experiencealargedisparityinaccessto

anessentialamenity–electricity–whencomparedto

thoselivinginurbanareas.The2023

edition

of

the

Tracking

SDG7

report

(IEA

et

al.,

2023)

found

that

electricity

access

was

available

to98%

ofurbanresidentsincontrastto

only85%oftheirruralcounterparts.Thesituationisworseintheleastdeveloped

countries,1

where

in

2021there

was

an

average

access

rate2

of

just

56%.

This

left

about

481millionpeople

without

electricity

out

of

a

global

?gure

of

675

million

as

of

2021.

If

additional

measures

are

not

taken,660-560million

peoplein

sub-Saharan

Africa

and70

million

peoplein

developing

Asiawill

still

lack

accessto

electricity

by

2030,

given

the

trend

of

increasing

population

numbers

in

these

regions

(IEA

et

al.,

2023).RATIONALE

FOR

EXTENDING

ACCESSThe

2030Agenda

forSustainable

Development,

adopted

byall

United

Nations

(UN)

member

states

in2015,is

driven

by

17

sustainable

development

goals

(SDGs).

Ofthese,

SDG7

recognises

energy’s

catalytic

role

indevelopment

and

its

ability

toovercome

deprivation

and

enhance

services.

The

SDG

7

goal

strives

toensureaccess

to

a?ordable,

reliable,

sustainable

and

modern

energy

for

all.To

achieve

universal

energyaccess,electricitymustreach

the

communities

living

onall

areasof

the

planet,including

on

high

mountains

and

remote

islands.

Access

must

be

extended

also

to

those

who

have

only

aremotechance

ofgrid

extension,

such

as

communities

displaced

from

their

homeland

due

tocon?ict

or

civilstrife

andsome

Indigenous

andtribal

groups

that

have

limited

exposure

to

modern

energy

options.

This

isknown

as

last

mile

access.

The

UN’s

High-Level

Dialogue

on

Energy

made

a

high-priority

recommendationin

the

Theme

Report

onEnergyAccess,

emphasising

that

“the

lastmileof

energy

access

mustbecome

the?rst

mileto

be

tackled”(United

Nations,

2021).

To

make

this

happen,electricity

access

rates

mustimprovesigni?cantly

and

reach

the

most

remote,

poorest

and

most

vulnerable

population

segments,

includingdisplacement-a?ected

communities.

In

addition,

the

access

solutionsneedto

becontext-sensitive

to

meetthe

speci?c

needs

and

situations

of

vulnerable

populations

(United

Nations,

2021).Extending

electricity

access

to

these

remote

communities

for

basic

services

(Tier

1+

services;

see

Table

4)alone

is

not

su?cient.

Energy

is

an

enabler

and

can

have

a

direct

impact

on

community

livelihoods.

Throughenergy

access

programmes,electricity

provision

canpower

rural

productive

usesin

addition

to

householdneeds.

Using

electricity

for

production

maximises

its

bene?ts

for

such

communities,

helping

to

alleviatepoverty

and

provide

better

standards

of

living.

In

addition,

improved

community

and

social

services

–

such

aspoweringhealthfacilities,schoolsandtrainingcentres,andwatersupplyandsanitation–highlightshowbyachieving

the

objectives

of

SDG

7,

other

SDG

targets

can

also

be

realised.1The

UN

de?nes

least

developed

countries

as

“l(fā)ow-income

countries

confronting

severe

structural

impediments

to

sustainable

development.

They

arehighly

vulnerable

to

economic

and

environmental

shocks

and

have

low

levels

of

human

assets”

(UNDESA,

n.d.).2Access(to

electricity)rate(or

“electri?cationrate”)refersto

theshareofthepopulationwith

accessto

electricity

outofthetotalpopulation

inthespeci?ed

time

period

or

geographic

area.

Household

access

is

predominantly

based

on

the

multi-tier

framework

where

the

minimum

provision

ofaccess

to

electricity

service

is

the

equivalent

of

Tier

1

and

above

Tier

1

(Bhatia

and

Angelou,

2015).8

|RENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTSPhoto:

Mini-grid

O&M

hub

lit

using

solar

PV

in

Zanzan

villages,

Cote

d’Ivoire

(?

AZIMUT

360

SCCL).GRID

EXTENSION

vs.

OFF-GRID

SOLUTIONSGrid

extension

is

achieved

by

building

new

power

transmission

and

distribution

lines,

transformers,

and

otherinfrastructure

toconnect

remoteand

underserved

users

tothe

main

grid.

In

densely

populated

urban

areas,it

is

?nancially

viable

for

utility

companies

to

extend

grid

lines

because

the

demand

for

electricity

is

high

andthereisvarieduseof

electricalappliancesandalargenumberof

connections.Thescaleandusagereducesthe

cost

of

building

new

infrastructure.Inremote

areasandcommunities

that

have

low

electricitydemand,on

the

other

hand,

the

grid

extension

approach

tends

to

be

expensive

and

unviable.

Furthermore,

investmentcosts

are

unmet

due

to

low

tari?s

set

for

their

electricity

provision.O?-grid

energy

systems

(mini-grid

or

stand-alone),

which

operate

independently

of

the

main

power

grid,o?er

an

opportunity

to

provide

energy

to

remote

and

unserved

communities.

The

systems

typically

usefossil

fuels,

such

as

in

diesel

generators

(DGs);

however,

they

can

also

be

powered

by

renewable

energytechnologies

(RETs)

such

as

solar,

wind,

biomass

or

hybrid.

Such

systems

can

be

customised

and

designed

tomeet

consumers’

speci?c

and

low

electricity

needs.

Choosing

to

adopt

sustainable,

reliable

and

clean

energyusing

RETsmeans

communitiescan

reducetheir

relianceon

the

costlyfossilfuel

optionsthatarecommonlyused

to

meet

their

electricity

needs.Grid

extension

is

the

traditional

approach

that

government

programmes

and

funding

agencies

tend

totake

up

in

extending

electricity

access

to

settlements.Yet,

grid

extension

requires

large

amountsof

capitalinvestments

and

time,

both

of

which

slow

e?orts

and

pace.

The

main

grid

distribution

lines

must

be

extendedover

longdistancesto

reachscatteredsettlementsand,mostoften,to

provideforlowpowerdemands.Forexample,

providing

a

rural

household

connection

through

grid

expansion

costs

USD

1100

(United

Statesdollars)

inVietNamandUSD2

300inTanzania.Thecostsarealmosthalfthisinurbanareas,whereitcostsUSD

570

and

USD

600-USD

1100,

respectively,

in

the

same

countries

(Ehrhardt

et

al.,

2019)Added

to

the

costs

incurred,

upfront

investments

would

needto

beextensively

subsidised,

or

grant

drivengiven

the

low

monthly

tari?sfor

end-consumersliving

in

ruralandremote

areas.Analysis

of

cost-re?ectivetari?s

across

39

utilities

in

Sub-Saharan

Africa

shows

that

25%

of

the

utilities

require

a

cost-re?ective

tari?

ofUSD

0.40

per

kilowatt

hour

(kWh).

For

about

half

the

utilities,

it

is

in

the

range

of

USD

0.20

to

USD

0.40/kWh,with

thebalance,25%,of

theutilitiesrequiringlessthanUSD0.20/kWh.Theimplicationisthat,oftentimes,extending

access

is

cheaper

using

mini-grids

than

by

extending

the

grid

(ESMAP,

2022).RENEWABLE

ENERGY

FOR

REMOTE

COMMUNITIES:

AGUIDEBOOK

FOR

OFF-GRID

PROJECTS

|

9Evidence-based

studies

show

that

o?-grid

renewable-based

solutions

need

lower

investments

comparedto

grid-connected

ones

for

extending

full

electricity

access.

The

forecast

scenario

shows

a

30%

reductionfor

low-demand

estimations

and

5%

reduction

for

high-demand

estimations

in

comparison

to

the

costs

ofextending

the

grid

(Blechinger

et

al.,

2019).

Mini-grids

powered

by

solar,

hydro

and

biogas

technologiesprovided

electricity

access

to

11million

people

as

of

2021.

Solar

mini-grids

serve

about

a

third

of

the

populationthat

is

supplied

by

mini-grids

providing

electricity.

Solar

has

proven

to

be

the

least-cost

option,

in

addition

toits

ease

of

deployment

and

scalability

(IEA

et

al.,

2023).SCOPEOF

THE

GUIDEBOOKThis

guidebook

explores

methods

of

electricity

provision,

through

renewables,

using

stand-alone

systemsandmini-grids.Itdescribesthekey

elementsthathelpdesignandoperateprojectsforelectricityprovision.Its

content

provides

project

providers,

community

leaders,

private

enterprises

and

government

agencies

withan

understanding

of

what

is

required

to

extend

electricity

access

to

the

last

mile.The

?ndings

of

nine

case

studies

in

which

electricity

provision

was

extended

to

remote

communities

andthose

unserved

bythe

grid

are

detailed

(seeAnnex

I).Each

case

study

–

unique

in

its

location

and

approachof

delivery

mechanism

–

illustrates

the

success

factors

that

provide

for

smooth

and

sustained

operations.The

case

study

projects

chosen

for

this

study

meet

a

broad

set

of

criteria:?

They

have

regionalrepresentation.?

They

belongto

the“remote”categoryde?nedinthestudy.?

They

showcasetheuseofdi?erentRETs.?

They

exhibitdeliverymechanismsdesignedforthelocalcontextinelectricitysupply.?

They

showcasesmoothsupplyoperationssinceprojectinception.Theguidingprinciplesbasedonthe?ndingsinthisreporthave

beenfurthervalidatedusingfocusedgroupdiscussions(FGDs)andkey

informantinterviews(KIIs)withprojectprincipals,key

stakeholdersandsubjectexperts.Table

1lists

the

nine

case

studies,

a

brief

description

of

each

study

and

the

reference

project

title

used

in

thisguidebook.Table

1ListofthecasestudiessurveyedandanalysedProject

titleBrief

descriptionReferred

to

asA940

kWsolarphotovoltaic(PV)mini-gridsystemintheremotenortherncommunityofOldCrow,

Yukon,reducesthecommunity’srelianceondieselforelectricitygeneration.Yukon

governmentlegislationandpolicies,aswel