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• The work done in this paper provides the solutions for power access to rural and remote areas in developing nations. • The proposed affordable solution offers many advantages over the traditional central inverters. It provides more output power as compared to traditional central inverters under shading and dusting conditions. The results are validated through experimental investigation with regard to Indian weather conditions. • The proposed solution presents an optimal sizing strategy for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for the low power rural household application. In literature, this kind of solution is yet not reported which makes this work novel. • This work presents the customized design of solar microinverter based PV System for different power provisioning levels for rural EWS houses. The proposed solution has an added advantage of addition of load in future without change in existing infrastructure. Reliable power supply is the key requirement for developing nations. Most of these nations are trying to modernize the rural lives by electrification in remote areas. Access to electricity is a bare requirement in future ages. This paper discusses the challenges faced by the utility companies in ensuring sustained electricity access to the new consumers followed by the various solutions. The techno – economic aspects of the proposed solution is validated by the experimental study. Based on the results, an optimal low-cost design is proposed in order for everyone to fulfil the minimum power needs. The paper presents an optimal size strategy for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for the low power rural household application. The solar microinverter based PV System has been designed based on the daily load needs for one of the proposed layout plans of the (Gramin) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna adopted by Government of India. The proposed designs are also applicable for other developing nations. The proposed micro-inverter has been tested under different operating conditions and experimental validation proves its superiority over other inverter types, particularly for a low power application, as is the case for a typical low-income rural household. Economic considerations such as payback period has also been evaluated in this study. In addition, the proposed microinverter technology has also been tested in terms of power quality parameters under various operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever‐increasing demand for electricity, the need to generate electricity from potential sources is high. A promising idea to generate electricity from highways is proposed, designed and tested. A low cost Savonius wind turbine (SWT) was fabricated at a cost of around $110 and was tested by placing in highways at varying wind speed and traffic conditions to generate electricity. This generated electricity is utilized to satisfy the electricity needs of the rural houses nearby highways with rural electrification schemes to operate lighting. From the experimental data, the estimated average electricity generation from a SWT was found around 0.4 kWh/day. The life cycle analysis (LCA) of the proposed system is conducted by considering the real‐time economic parameters. Also, the economic study conducted showed the levelized cost of electricity was around $0.07/kWh LCA is studied by considering as a SWT farm installed with 250 SWTs connected in 1 km stretch with estimated power output around 100 kWh/day. With this, the demand for energy for atleast 6 h/day in rural households is fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America presents the need of more accessible housing in the rural areas of the region; however, problems that this populations have to face are cost, accessibility and seismic events that leave structural damages in the buildings of the population, raising the need of resisting permanent housing or temporary shelter. Moreover, the conventional steel materials are not always affordable, which makes us consider the utilization of alternative sustainable materials that are easier to reach and with a seismic resistance. In this sense, the conditions of an earthquake are simulated, specialized software selects and recreates candidate materials and multicriteria decision methods make the final selection of the best material to be evaluated in a simulation. In this way, it has been found that a beam must resist an effort of 5.96 MPa, candidate materials are composites and naturals, and considering mechanical, environmental and price aspects, the decision methods chose the bamboo as the best material. Lastly, another simulation validates the selection, allowing us to conclude that the multicriteria decision methods used succeeded to find the best alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of providing electricity to rural sectors in developing countries has been approached by using a variety of strategies, with varying degrees of success. Governments with determination and resources have implemented a utility-led model to pursue or achieve rural electrification. In countries with fewer resources, Governments have opted for the concession-led model, in which rural areas are divided into zones or concession areas and offered to private companies for the provision of electricity. In developing countries, the concession-led model for the electrification of rural areas faces the serious hurdles of the abject poverty of farmers in many rural communities and the large number of small sized villages or highly dispersed settlements. This is the case of Senegal, which adopted the concession-led model, resulting in a rural electrification rate still under 40%. The current study first provides a detailed analysis of the challenges and achievements of the rural electrification program in Senegal. Secondly, we present our model for the creation of universal access to electricity, using the example of a pilot project in Coure Matar, a small village in Senegal. Our model is suitable for small villages, demonstrating the potential generation of job opportunities for small sized companies and the opportunity to achieve 100% rural electrification at a fraction (less than 16%) of the cost of the Senegalese Government's initial estimates to provide just 50% of rural electrification. In this study, the pilot project puts forth a model that could make the realization of universal access to basic electric services in rural areas, even in the poorest countries of the world, a reality. • We present the rural electrification models in developing countries. • We analyze different factors that can impact rural electrification policies. • We present the agency-led policy in Senegal and its structural limits. • We compare policies in Morocco, Senegal, and ECOWAS. • We present a model for universal access to electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for energy in rural and remote areas is increasing, and it is exacerbated in developing countries. The wellbeing of communities and citizens depends on access to clean electricity to improve quality of life. An uninterrupted supply of electricity is one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that has highlighted the needs and challenges in remote areas. The complexity of designing strategies and solutions is further augmented for villages located in protected areas, national parks, and wildlife refuges, the conservation of which is fundamental to achieving climate, environmental, and ecologic objectives. Fossil fuel-based electricity generation and large-scale transmission networks pose a potential threat to the achievement of SDGs in such areas. This research investigated the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology as a renewable energy source (RES) that can cover energy needs of rural areas in a continuous, secure, and sustainable manner. In this study, the feasibility of using solar energy to electrify remote settlements located in protected areas of Iran (Khorasan-e-Razavi) was evaluated using a multi-criteria, GIS-based methodology. A set of criteria was selected to evaluate the suitability of solar PV, including solar irradiance and duration, aspect, temperature, precipitation, and humidity as well as proximity to faults, roads, and rivers. Using the best worth method (BWM), the relative weight of the selected criteria was calculated. The results showed that almost 2% of the region's area is very highly suitable and another 23.5% is highly suitable. This 25% represents an area of 1500 km2 and includes 63 villages. Evaluation of census data showed that available building areas can cover the villages' residential demand using rooftop PV systems. Nonetheless, local and national government support is necessary to develop an effective strategy that results in successful implementation. • A fuzzy approach was used to evaluate influential factors of solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment. • The Best-Worth Method (BWM) was employed to calculate the relative weights of selected factors. • Build-up areas can cover villages' residential demand using rooftop PV systems. • Integrating GIS and BWM proved to be an effective technique to create suitability maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigerian governments at all levels have been making concerted effort to extend electricity supply to the rural areas. Among the several efforts by various governments are formulation of rural electrification policies, creation of agencies for the administration of rural electrification projects, installation of diesel power generators, and development of public-private partnership strategies in solving rural power supply problems. While significant progress has been made, several rural communities are yet to have access to electricity supply. Rugged terrain and limited financial resources are among the constraints to extension off-grid to the rural areas. However, electricity supply, being one of the drivers of economic development and social wellbeing, is a problem that has to be tackled head-on. The current climate change concern and many other environmental issues of our time necessitate finding a sustainable solution to the problem. Consequently the goal of this study was to examine the potentials of community solar power option as a sustainable rural electrification approach in Nigeria. Other goals included identifying potential hick-ups and solutions to lifecycle management of community solar. Moreover, the study was to determine the suitable configuration for efficient and sustainable community solar power management in Nigeria. The study methodology involved intensive literature survey, historical data collection and case studies on rural electrification in Nigeria as well as examples of community solar projects in Nigeria. Preliminary results revealed that community solar power would be a sustainable approach to rural electrification in Nigeria if a number of conditions are satisfied. Some of the conditions to be satisfied include devolving the management of a community solar system to a participative committee of stakeholders representatives, and incorporating community capacity building in the plan. Other conditions are government, corporate and municipalities' collaboration in funding such projects from scratch till after one or two years of operation, and incorporation of monitoring and intervention strategies for continuous power supply and further improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) are proving a promising solution for rural electrification in India, where grid power availability is limited. This paper aims to identify the optimal design and pre‐feasibility techno‐economic analysis of the hybrid grid‐independent renewable system for rural electrification. The proposed hybrid system integrates the various renewable energy system configurations to provide continuous power for the electric load demands of Kanakadri palle village, Andhra Pradesh, India. HOMER software is utilized to design the proposed hybrid system, perform optimization, techno‐economic analysis, and simulation. Here, six different hybrid system configurations were taken into account to perform a comparative economic analysis. The results obtained shows that one of the hybrid systems, PV/DG/converter/battery system (120 kW‐PV modules, 54 kW‐DG, 200 number of batteries with 260 Ah ratings, and 50 kW‐power converters), is the least economical optimal system based on least net present cost and Levelized cost of energy (COE), highest renewable fraction, and zero unmet electric loads percentage (NPC: $341 280, COE: $0.217, highest renewable fraction: 96.6% and unmet electric loads: 0%). For the site considered, this optimal hybrid system can provide a reliable power supply to the total energy requirements of 332.97 kWh/d and achieve 75.68% carbon emission reduction compared to a diesel generator. Moreover, the comparison of different system configurations was carried out based on economic analysis. This analysis shows that proposed hybrid system can be an appropriate model to provide reliable power at a low generation cost for the village considered in this study and can be recommended for future electrification projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores a new path of urbanization to enhance the conventional economy-led urban development practice by conducting an urban quality of life (Uqol) survey. It analyzes the Uqol evaluation gap caused by demographic attributes between developing countries, developed countries, and post-industrial town. We adopted a mixed-methods research design, including a literature review and an Uqol survey, to suggest the transit-oriented-development (TOD) and information-communication-technology (ICT) based urban-rural development concept. The finding indicates a disparity of Uqol mean score rankings among the developing countries, developed countries, and the marginalized post-industrial town. It highlights the health, transportation, socio-economic, and technological development in the developing countries strongly desired. Furthermore, Kruskal-Wallis H-test and Mann-Whitney U-test results show significant differences in economy, technology-ICT, smart living, and lifestyle within education, profession, age, and country groups. It clarifies that the well-being gap is shaped by demography and exhibited geographically, which implies TOD-ICT advancement can break down geographical barriers for achieving sustainable growth in remote areas. Supported by the planetary urbanization theory, the human-technology-driven urban development process would facilitate the maturity and implementation of the proposed TOD-ICT-based urban-ruralism (UxR) concept for enhancing the future global urbanization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of the mobile phone network in rural areas where there is little other infrastructure has opened up the prospect of automatically monitoring rural water systems, something previously possible only in person and perhaps only on foot. The technology to monitor these systems continues to develop: basic systems are now leaving research and being implemented in operational WASH programs; machine learning is making pump failure prediction possible. With the move from the previous infrastructure‐focused community management paradigm, to a service‐delivery approach to rural water, remote monitoring has salience with its potential to inform professional maintenance services. This is not without cost. To justify its use in rural water service delivery remote monitoring must generate benefits for service providers: (1) it must be integrated into management systems, and help redesign them; (2) it must contribute to increases in performance that produce real improvement in outcomes for water users; (3) it must open up new transparent sources of funding previously unavailable to the rural water sector. If remote monitoring can do these three things it has a role to play in achieving SDG 6.1; if not it will join the list of development techno‐fixes that failed to make an impact despite the best of intentions. This article is categorized under:Human Water > Human Water [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 84% of the population in Niger live in rural areas and only about 8% of them have access to electricity. For rural population, renewable energy use is an expensive option. This paper seeks to answer the question: Can collaborative consumption and community ownership increase the willingness to pay for the electricity generated through solar photovoltaics (PV) systems among the villagers of a rural area in Niger? Surveys were conducted in a rural village in Niger to assess the WTP for electricity services. These results were compared to the costs of off-grid electrification systems considering collaborative consumption and community ownership approaches. This was done by assessing the willingness to pay through household surveys and comparing the results to different electrification systems under the mentioned concepts. A reduction of about 80% monthly expenses could be achieved by using both collaborative consumption and community ownership. This translates to a possible increase in the WTP from 17% to 81% of the villagers for solar PV based electrification systems. Collaborative consumption, provided its acceptance and equipped with the proper policies and regulations, can thus contribute to a wider access to electricity in the rural areas of the country. • For a case study site in Niger, a field research combined with survey was carried out. • Novel approach of collaborative consumption and ownership model was applied. • A possible reduction of about 80% of the monthly energy costs can be achieved. • The WTP in collaborative consumption operational model increased from 17% to 81%. • Through demand side management, off grid renewables can be accommodated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural electrification-based literature reports a limited modelling knowledge concerning the long-term dynamics of the nexus between electricity access and local development in rural areas of developing countries. This can hinder the achievement of the Agenda 2030 goals related to sustainable access to electricity for all. In order to overcome this literature gap and support the implementation of sustainable long-term rural electrification programmes, this paper builds upon the research on a system dynamics model on the local dimension of the electricity-development nexus developed by the authors by testing it and deriving useful guidelines for supporting future electrification actions in sub-Saharan Africa. All the steps are based on a real case-study as reference, i.e. a hydroelectric-based electrification programme implemented in the rural community of Ikondo, Tanzania, in 2005 by the Italian NGO named CEFA Onlus. The results of the model testing lead to a novel quantitative assessment of the most relevant dynamics affecting the local electricity-development nexus, and it provides a novel discussion on model results when its inputs take on different values, until the extreme ones, and as if the model were tested for different contexts than Ikondo. Policy testing is also performed for exploring model behaviour when subjected to different polices and exogenous decision-making processes. It provides a list of complementary activities to couple with electrification programmes for enhancing their positive impact on rural communities. These results can support the definition of useful guidelines and best practices for rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa, and they advocate an updating of the traditional monitoring and evaluation frameworks commonly used for assessing energy access projects. • A system-dynamics model on the electricity-development nexus is tested. • A novel assessment of the dynamics affecting the rural electricity-development nexus is provided. • Useful lessons learnt for supporting future electrification actions in sub-Saharan Africa are reported. • Complementary activities to couple with electrification programmes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environmental discourse, sustainability and sustainable development are buzzwords. In practice, these goals are widely advocated by international agencies, governments, and local non-governmental organizations. While the global discourse of sustainability and sustainable development operates as a powerful source of influence worldwide, we have access to few studies that specifically examine how development practitioners in the Global South interpret and apply these concepts. To fill this gap in environmental-communication research, the case study reported in this article investigates how a local NGO in rural Cambodia interprets and applies the terms "sustainability" and "sustainable development." Examining local NGO interpretations promotes nuanced insights about a range of development issues, reduces buzzword vagueness, and illuminates gaps in the global discourse. The critical discourse analysis applied reveals the value of conducting additional local investigations in various development contexts that will further inform dialogue about sustainability and sustainable development by incorporating a wider range of local perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of any country depends on the electrification of rural regions as most of the population is residing in rural areas. Development is counted in terms of per capita energy consumption as well as even distribution of electricity. This paper presents an investigation of the impact of rural electrification on lighting, studying, energy expenditure, and income. Data has been collected from southern region rural villages. Some villages are connected and some are non-connected with the grid. To estimate the decision probability of getting connected from households, electrified and non-electrified villages are evaluated. These observations are used to determine the impact of electrification of rural areas on resultant indicators. The authors observed a minor positive effect on home study and income, whereas a major effect on lighting usage. Finally, the potential improvements in the socio-economical status of rural people by improved lighting are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of multi energy complementary storage water loop heat pump heating system was designed for rural houses in northern China. The system is composed of low-temperature heat source, water loop pipe network and household water source heat pump. The low-temperature heat source is provided by solar collector and air source heat pump, and is regulated by phase change energy storage device at a constant temperature. The field test shows that system runs stably, and that the EER is as high as 4.7 on sunny days and 3.6 on cloudy days. It solves the problems of mismatch between air source heat pump and building load and operation fluctuation caused by defrosting. The system runs stably and has promotion value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expected electricity demand level of unelectrified communities is one of the variables that guide rural electrification planners and electricity distribution utilities in making the choice of extending electricity grid to such communities and in using appropriate sizes of distribution assets such as transformers. This study presents the result of a survey to determine the level of household electricity demand in two villages in South-West Nigeria. The electricity demand is determined using a bottomup approach which traces the household electricity demand through the purpose of use, the type and number of electrical appliance, and the duration of use. The result shows that most respondents will use bulbs for up to 8 hours per day but those who own refrigerators will power it for over 16 hours per day. The level of electricity consumption in the households sampled range from 0.38-20.56 kWh/day. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the trends of Chinese rural transformation development, and the sustainable development goals for resources and environment, reasonable arranging the potential development space and the ecological space, so as to optimize the distributions of rural settlement would be the key challenge for rural areas in ecologically fragile regions. From the perspective of maintaining regional ecological security, this paper takes Da'an City, a typical ecological fragile region in Jilin Province, as the case area, constructing the comprehensive ecological security pattern (ESP) on basis of landscape ecology, and applying the landscape pattern indexes to quantitative analysis the spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements. Then, different optimization directions and management strategies are put forward for rural settlements in each secure zone under the comprehensive ESP. The experimental results showed that 1) the area of the low security zone, the general security zone, the moderate security zone and the extreme security zone was 1570.18 km2, 1463.36 km2, 1215.80 km2 and 629.77 km2, representing 32.18%, 29.99%, 24.92% and 12.91% of the total area of the target area, respectively. 2) The rural settlements in Da'an City were characterized by a high degree of fragmentation with a large number of small-scale patches. 3) The area of rural settlements in the ecological relocation zone, the in situ remediation zone, the limited development zone and the key development zone was 22.80 km2, 42.31 km2, 36.28 km2 and 19.40 km2, accounting for 18.88%, 35.03%, 30.04% and 16.06% of the total area of rural settlements, respectively. Then, different measures were proposed for settlements in different optimization zones in order to scientifically plan important ecological space, production space and living space in rural areas. This paper aims to provide fundamental support for rural settlements based on redistribution from the perspective of landscape ecology and provide insights for rural planning and rural habitat environmental improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is implementing the strategy of Rural Revitalization. Revitalizing idle and inefficient utilization courtyards is an important measure for rural revitalization. The evaluation of courtyard utilization efficiency is the basis of determining the idle and inefficient utilization courtyards in order to revitalizing it. This study provided a reference for the optimal use of rural courtyard utilization and revitalization through the quantitative comprehensive evaluation of courtyard utilization efficiency and the classification of courtyard utilization types. Taking Shandong Province in Eastern China as study area, we selected eight surveyed villages by stratified sampling method. According to the scale of the villages, full survey and sample survey were used, while middle-aged men who familiar with the courtyards were selected as the respondents. Through a household questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews from 2017 to 2018, 578 questionnaires of rural courtyards in eight villages were obtained. Then based on the functions of rural courtyard and land resource conditions, 16 comprehensive factors were formulated, involving land conditions, construction conditions and economic benefits, to build the comprehensive evaluation index system of rural courtyard utilization efficiency. Next the index weight was determined by analytic hierarchy process, and the linear weighted regression model was used to evaluate the utilization efficiency of rural courtyard. Finally, the K-means clustering analysis was used to classify the utilization efficiency of courtyards. The results showed that among the eight villages, the average utilization efficiency of courtyards was moderate (one village was low, five were moderate, and two were high). The proportions of both idle and inefficiently utilized courtyards were high. There were three vital factors leading to the idle and low efficiency of rural courtyards. They were declining rural industries, limited arable land per capita, and more farmer workers. In this case, the utilization efficiency of courtyards should be improved by transferring rural land, developing secondary and tertiary industries, evaluating the development potential of villages, classifying and optimizing courtyard utilization, so as to make full use of idle and inefficient courtyards, increase the income of farmers and collectives and promote the revitalization of rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) has been scaling up renewable energy technologies through Mini-grid power supply in Nepal's off-grid areas in order to fulfill community electricity demands for both households and electricity-based enterprises. It is likely that, in some of the off-grid renewable energy (RE) mini-grid service areas, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) grid line might reach in near future. The objective of this study is to highlight success stories of solar and solar/wind mini-grids implemented by AEPC and for their longer-term sustainable operation grid integration policy of isolated mini-grid systems will require. Till the date AEPC has successfully electrified more than 20 rural communities through solar and solar/wind hybrid mini-grid systems. Some of these isolated mini-grid projects will seek grid interconnections in near future due to NEA distribution system expansion trend. When the isolated mini-grids will be connected to the national grid power network in future, the mini-grid can feed surplus electricity to the local utility grid line and will receive deficit electricity from the local utility grid system to serve the consumers connected to the local grid network. The methodology applied to this study is assessment of existing solar and solar/wind mini-grid projects, technological intervention required for grid integration, reviewing grid-connection policy of distributed renewable generations in the country and recommendation of relevant policy option for grid connection of rural mini-grids. Grid integration of isolated solar and solar/wind mini-grids will have positive impacts to the sustainability of the present isolated mini-grids, will help in retaining existing mini-grids end users, energy produced by mini-grid systems will be optimally utilized, the existing mini-grid power will contribute to stabilize weak national grid electrical parameters. The outcome of the study will recommend need of policy options as well as technological interventions in order to do grid integration of solar and solar/wind hybrid mini-grid systems in Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, information and communication technology (ICT) has rapidly spread across the globe, along with increased market penetration and easy availability of economical smartphones and cellphones with both wired and nonwired connections to access the Internet; this leapfrogging in the Internet access is true even in the rural areas of the world's developing countries. Indonesia has the largest population of Internet users even though the Internet penetration rate is still under the regional average among Southeast Asian countries. To date, however, scholarly discourse on ICT use in rural communities in developing countries has, for the most part, been limited to the conventional discussion regarding the gap that exists between the "haves" and the "have nots," often referred to as the digital divide. The current study applies a contemporary conceptualization of digital divide to the case of a rural village in Indonesia with a growing young population to arrive at policy recommendations for using ICT to improve this village as a possible model for other rural communities in developing countries. Semistructured interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted targeting digital natives, identifying a gap in Internet use between younger and older residents within the digital natives. The study then applied a model that examined a succession of 4 types of access—motivational access, material access, skills access, and usage access—for respondents who were grouped by age and level of Internet use. This analysis combined with an examination of the Internet paradox revealed the positive effects of Internet use on community participation and networking. Analysis also indicated distinctive challenges for each group at multiple stages of the digital divide, leading to policy recommendations for each group to take advantage of Internet technology for future rural development in the case study village and for possible use as a model for other rural areas of developing countries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to provide "affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all" by 2030 under Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), rural electrification needs significant progress as the majority of people without access to electricity reside in rural areas. Optimization methods can play a critical role in this progress, providing an analytical framework to achieve a variety of economic, social, and environmental objectives subject to budget, resources, local demographics and other constraints. This review paper presents the first overview of optimization-based solution methodologies developed or applied for rural electrification. Based on our review, we first propose four archetype problems for rural electrification, namely (i) optimal system configuration and unit sizing, (ii) optimal power dispatch strategy, (iii) optimal technology choice, and (iv) optimal network design. We discuss each problem type, and provide a systematic classification based on the problem objective, proposed solution methodology, components, scale, region as well as their relationship to the different SDG7 components. We reveal research gaps and open questions for future studies for energy researchers and aim to draw the attention of the optimization community to the challenging and unique problems that need urgent attention in this critical area. • Majority of the people without access to electricity reside in rural areas. • Optimization methods can play a critical role in rural electrification. • We review optimization-based solution methodologies for rural electrification. • We provide a novel and systematic classification of the reviewed papers. • We reveal research gaps and open questions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As it emerges from the literature, electricity access in rural contexts is deeply intertwined with socioeconomic dynamics. However, the advent of a reliable and sufficient source of electricity is not the sole driver that might contribute to local development. Indeed, complementary activities might have a crucial role in sustaining the development of rural communities as well as the electricity access. The current research addresses the lack of counterfactual scenarios in which the impact of complementary activities on electrification projects can be investigated. The authors introduce the case study of Matembwe village, a rural community in the Njombe region of Tanzania. The data collection includes the electricity consumption, number of electricity connections, and number of income-generating activities in a timespan ranging from 1989 to 2015. The analysis is based on system dynamics. The study considers different scenarios representing the dynamics related to the following complementary actions: access to market measures, access to credit measures, and access to usable skills. On the one hand, the study reveals that the effectiveness of the considered complementary actions is limited except from the access to microcredit which fosters an increase in electricity connections by 17%. On the other hand, both access to microcredit and the starting up of a local cooperative by CEFA Onlus that reinvests its profits in the local market impact the socio-economic dimension by 69% and 22%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal access to energy is a global challenge for sustainable development that requires granting last-mile access to energy services to rural and isolated communities. However, achieving access is not sufficient: it must be done affordably, reliably and with an adequate quality. Universal access to energy goes beyond the mere selection of a technical solution or infrastructure; it demands being able to design management models for projects aiming to guarantee that households may access energy services in a sustainable way. This study analyzes the main elements (i.e., governance, technological and business models) of management models in universal access to energy projects and their impact on the different dimensions of sustainability (i.e., social, environmental, and economic). The study then presents three case studies of rural electrification projects having different configurations of the management model, with special focus on the differences in the business model, and it analyzes their outcomes from a sustainability perspective. The analysis of the three case studies suggests that the choice of the business model is key to ensuring sustainability, with fee-for-service models giving the best results. The analysis also highlights the importance of collaboration and involvement of the communities in projects engaging multiple agents with different roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the largest rural province in China, Henan Province, as an example to analyse government policies aimed at ensuring household energy supply and promoting the clean transformation of the rural energy structure. In addition, rural household energy consumption modes and the probability that families will purchase energy-consuming products are investigated. The factors that influence household energy consumption decisions and the energy ladder are examined with a logistic regression. The results show that "gas + electricity" has become the prevailing combined cooking energy pattern in the investigated rural area and that 33% of households use this type of cooking energy. Agricultural income has an obvious positive impact on the rural cooking energy ladder; moreover, increasing households' agricultural income is important for promoting cleaner cooking energy consumption, as the total income level determines whether energy-consuming products are purchased. The process of urbanization could accelerate the upgrading of rural energy consumption because households with more members who work in or near cities have a greater motivation to use modern cooking energy sources. As economic development and income increase, it is important to implement energy transition policies to improve the supply and consumption of clean energy in rural areas. • Agricultural income has a more significant impact on the cooking energy ladder. • Households with higher total income are more likely to purchase household products. • Energy consumption modes of the rural area are influenced by urbanization and living habits. • The increasing shares of modern energy presents a cleaner energy consumption tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A nonconventional coupling generation system that is composed of a collector line and an innovative distribution substation is proposed. • The generation system can provide firm energy in the range of 100 kW. • Rural system protection was based on three spark gaps (SGs) installed at the collector line. • Typical switches such as load trips and faults along both host transmission lines, and rural systems were presented. • The switchings were adequate to properly mitigate the over voltages. This paper introduces a nonconventional rural generation system that extracts energy from high-voltage transmission line surroundings. The system was designed for a 230-kV transmission line and consists of a special 20-km collector line and an innovative substation. The energy is coupled to the collector line and supplied through a resonant circuit. There is no physical contact with the transmission line. A detailed electromagnetic study is described, assuring there is no disturbance at the transmission line and that the rural system delivers high-quality energy. Spark gaps were used to avoid overvoltage along the rural feeder. Transmission line reliability is not compromised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is crucial to rural regions in China. Although previous studies have investigated the carbon emissions and costs of single-family and rural houses, relatively few studies have compared the characteristics of different structural forms and verified the reliability of their results. In light of sustainable development of rural building structures in China, this study assessed process-based and subproject-based emissions, as well as the costs associated with the construction of a rural residential house, with consideration of three common structural forms. Among the schemes designed using a reinforced concrete framed (CF), block masonry (BM), and prefabricated masonry (PM) structure, the BM scheme afforded the lowest emissions and costs, whereas the CF scheme led to the highest emissions and costs. To identify the key processes for measuring embodied emissions and costs, contribution indicators were proposed and an uncertainty analysis was conducted according to variations in emission factors. The results indicate that the comparison and findings are reliable with respect to current technical levels. A further sensitivity analysis revealed that the CF and PM schemes had the potential to be low-carbon alternatives if emissions from steel and cement production can be significantly reduced in a future scenario. This paper proposes relevant suggestions from the perspectives of material selection, structural member design, and structural form decisions and its findings can help improve the sustainability of rural houses. • Comparison on the emissions and costs of different structures for a rural house. • Detailed emission and cost analyses from both process and subproject perspectives. • Contribution analysis finds the key processes for the embodied emissions and costs. • Sensitivity analysis indicates the potential of framed and prefabricated structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] This paper evaluates the cost benefits of combining energy efficiency practices and hybrid photovoltaic-biomass distributed generation systems to design standalone rural housing in Morocco. This integrated analysis approach seeks an enhancement of the economic and environmental sustainability of rural housing units in the Fez region. It utilizes optimization selection procedures to identify both, the energy efficient and renewable energy technologies readily available in the region to reduce the cost and energy use of the housing units. The results of the integrated design indicate that an optimally designed house can reduce life cycle costs by 25% and carbon emissions by 47.13% compared to the current practices. Applying the optimized design to 30-residential houses can result in a decrease of the cost of energy (COE) for the proposed system from 0.155 US$/kW h to 0.125 US$/kW h. However, a sensitivity analysis confirmed that the availability of biomass resource influences greatly the economic viability of the proposed hybrid system. Increasing the daily collected biomass resources from 2.5 to 8.5 tons/day causes a drop in the COE by 46.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the acceleration of the urbanization process, China experienced a corresponding high demand for energy, which led to significant changes in energy metabolic patterns. The application of the MultiScale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach facilitates the study of the factors that determined the impressive transformation of China's residential energy metabolism since 2000. The findings revealed that the year 2009 was a turning point, when the household hours of urban areas exceeded those of rural regions. Before 2009, the residential energy metabolic rate remained relatively stable, the domination of biofuels delayed the increase in the energy metabolic rate (EMR). With the rise in the rapid growth of non-basic living energy demand, the EMR of households has rapidly increased after 2009. A complete decomposition analysis of the EMRs showed that the increase in residential metabolism was dragged down by the urbanization effect from rural households. Moreover, in respect to the energy carriers, the urbanization effect accounted for less than 10% of the total changes in the fuel and electricity EMR, which indicates that energy performance, in regard to the lifestyles in both urban and rural households, will bring about new challenges to China's energy-saving and energy structure refining policies. • MuSIASEM was conducted to study China's energy metabolism. • It illustrated energy performance during the urbanization process. • The energy metabolic rate increased for both urban and rural residents. • The energy end-use matrix depicted the replacement of low-quality energy. • The metabolism effect triggered the increase of the EMRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy and climate policies benefit from modernized construction technology and energy supply source choices. Energy-efficiency improvement and CO2 emission reduction will result from renewable energy (RE) utilization in new and retrofit single-family houses in rural Poland. Several house construction scenarios and heating energy sources comparing building costs and potential emission reduction are based on already existing structures calculated for a 100 m2 dwelling corresponding to the average rural home. With the addition of thermal insulation and RE-generating equipment, construction costs increase, but the energy costs of operating the home dramatically shrink between a conventional and energy-neutral house. The latter scenario includes thermal solar panels and a heat pump as heating energy sources as well as electricity-generating PV panels. Replacing coal with environmentally-friendly RE reduces CO2 emissions by about 90% annually. Additionally, lower dependence on coal lessens other GHG emissions leading to immediate air quality improvement. New house building regulations guide homeowner construction and heating energy choice, but even larger gains could result from retrofitting existing rural houses, expanding environmental benefits and generating energy bill savings to households. However, the varying climate throughout Poland will require the purchase of energy in winter to assure residents' comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of severe air pollution and implementation of energy and climate policy, it remains a challenge to develop effective strategies addressing the problem of solid fuels use in single-family houses (SFH) in rural areas in Poland. This study investigated the correlations between thermal modernization of SFH, the changes of heat sources from coal to clean energy, including heat pumps driven by prosumers' photovoltaic (PV) installation, and the disposable income of households in Polish rural areas. It also provided an analysis of the current support mechanisms promoting energy efficiency and PV development. The application of simulation modelling of energy consumption and costs in the research has proved that comprehensive thermal modernization of rural SFH constructed in the period of 1945–1970 and investments supporting PV/heat pump systems would enable the most cost-effective way of heating to be implemented. Considering that, today, spending on energy for heat puts a burden on the budget of rural households, especially those living in the SFH aged 50 years and more that dominate rural areas in Poland, the changes in energy supply–demand patterns would be an enhancement of their economic, energy and environmental security. The research argued that, in the wider process of energy transformation and solving air pollution problems, the role of rural households should not be neglected in public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrification with micro-grids is receiving increasing attention to electrify rural areas in developing countries. However, determining the best local supply solution is a complex problem that requires considering different generation technologies (i.e. solar PV, wind or diesel) and different system configurations (off-grid or on-grid). Most existing decision aid tools to assess this design only consider economical and technical issues in a single optimization process. However, social and environmental considerations have been proven key issues to ensure long-term sustainability of the projects. In this context, the objective of this work is to develop a multicriteria procedure to allow comparing electrification designs with on-grid or isolated micro-grids and different technologies considering multiple aspects. This multicriteria procedure is integrated in a two-phased methodology to assist the design of the system to electrification promoters in a structured process. First, different electrification alternatives are generated with an open-source techno-economic optimization model; next, these alternatives are evaluated and ranked with the multicriteria procedure, which considers 12 criteria representing economic, technical, socio-institutional and environmental aspects. The whole design methodology is validated with a real case study of 26 population settlements in Plateau State, Nigeria. Experts in rural electrification within the Nigerian context have been consulted to weight the criteria and particularize their evaluation for the specific case study. Results show that solar PV technology based systems are the most suitable electrification designs for communities in Nigeria, while grid connection feasibility depends on the size of the community and the distance to the closest national grid consumption point. • Rural electrification designs are compared with a multicriteria procedure. • Economic, technical, social and environmental aspects are considered. • The procedure is validated with a case study of 26 communities in Nigeria. • Experts in rural electrification have been contacted to weight the criteria. • Final results recommend PV technology-based systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First time that mini-channel panels are combined with vapor injection heat pump. • Both heating and cooling performances throughout the year are estimated. • Technology demonstration with panels of 36 m2 and heat pump of 40 kW has been done. • The payback time of the novel system is about 6.52 years. • The annual carbon emission is reduced by 12.1tons for a rural house in northern China. An efficient low-carbon system is proposed to meet the heating and cooling demands of rural houses in cold regions. Mini-channel solar panels incorporating a novel multiple-throughout-flowing loop are used for heat collection, whilst a vapour injection air source heat pump (VI-ASHP) is innovatively combined with an underfloor heating and cooling system. To demonstrate the system, a multiple-throughout-flowing mini-channel solar thermal panel array of 36 m2 and a VI-ASHP of 40 kW heating capacity have been built and tested. Subsequently, mathematical models of the solar-assisted VI-ASHP system are established and compared with the experimental data. Based on the validated models, the energetic, economic and environmental performance is investigated under the typical weather conditions for a northern Chinese city (Taiyuan). The results indicate that, for a common rural house employing the proposed novel system, the proportion of the annual heat requirement, cooling load and hot water heating energy provided by solar thermal energy, photovoltaic energy and electricity from the power grid is 74.6%, 6.9%, and 18.5% respectively, thus giving a total energy supply proportion of 81.5% from solar energy. In addition, compared with a coal-powered system, our system has a cost payback period of 6.52 years and a life-cycle net cost saving of 56328.4RMB, thus the proposed system provides a greater economic performance. Furthermore, it can save 5tons of anthracite coal and reduce carbon emissions by 12.1tons annually. The proposed solar-assisted VI-ASHP has the potential to fulfil heating and cooling demands whilst reducing carbon emissions in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the impacts of climate disruption becoming more evident there has been an increase in the uptake of climate change adaptation "toolkits" to assist local governments build community resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change. There is increasing attention and call for practitioners to adopt proactive and participatory approaches to help in the adaptive response planning process. One such toolkit is the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCRN) Process (IAP). This is a simple but rigorous toolkit developed to help local governments in Asian cities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. This paper outlines the application of the toolkit to determine its versatility in the rural context and was trialled in the Himalayan rural enclave of Ramgad in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Given the differences between urban and rural environments, the outcomes highlighted the need for further investigation and analysis into the process to ensure that the methodology truly reflects the nature of rural systems and their level of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Overall, the toolkit proved to be a simple but versatile toolkit to assess the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of communities in rural Himalaya. Over 40 resilience intervention strategies were developed for the Ramgad enclave and these were prioritized according to their technical, political, social and economic feasibility. • A city-based climate change adaptation toolkit was applied to a rural jurisdiction. • Over 30 prioritized resilience intervention strategies were developed. • Urban and rural environments differ in terms of their adaptive capacity. • The toolkit could be adapted to a rural context with some modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As developing countries ramp up efforts to secure adequate rural electrification, mini-grids are growing in popularity. However, a key barrier for their widespread deployment remains the inherent uncertainty around revenue and project sustainability. To address these concerns, preliminary energy-use surveys that assess the suitability of a site for mini-grid installation should be utilized. Energy-use surveys account for village demography, current and projected demand and willingness to pay, amongst other parameters. This study presents a preliminary quantitative and qualitative methodology for evaluating the suitability of a rural village for the installation of a mini-grid. The framework may be used by energy service companies and project managers prior to selecting a site for a mini-grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to clean and affordable energy in rural African regions can contribute greatly to social development. Hence, this article proposes the design, simulation, and optimization of a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPV) to provide non-polluting electrical energy based on a renewable source for a rural house located in Tazouta, Morocco. Real monthly electrical demands and hourly climatic conditions were utilized. An initial design process indicated that, with a 1080 Wp total capacity of PV modules and 670 Ah of battery storage, the proposed SAPV system was able to meet a considerable part of the dwelling load with an average solar fraction of about 79.1%. The rest of the energy demand was ensured by a diesel generator (DG). Also, a life cycle analysis of the PV system revealed that the life cycle cost is 10,195.56 USD and the unit electricity cost is 0.57 USD/kWh for an initial investment of 4858.68 USD. Thereafter, an optimum design based on Homer Pro software was carried out indicating that lower PV capacity can decrease the unit energy cost to 0.356 USD/kWh while reducing the solar fraction to 54.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]