1. Energizing cities for all
The Role of Distributed RE in Addressing Energy Access for the Under-Served in the Global South
Michael I. Westphal, PhD World Resources institute
This working paper is part of the larger World Resources Report, Towards a More Equitable City

2. OUTLINE
1.) Current state of electricity access, reliability, affordability in the global South
2.) How can distributed renewable energy help the urban under-served?
3.) Prospects going forward - what’s different now?
Photo:

3. Energy is a prerequisite for economic productivity and livelihoods
Energy powers the city
But energy access is an overlooked urban problem
Energy is a prerequisite for economic productivity and livelihoods
Economic transformation not possible without energy
Overlooked issues – when discussed, focus on formal not informal areas
Source: Kennedy et al. 2015

4. Electricity access in the global south
In 2012, about 131 million people in urban areas lacked access to electricity globally.
Access not just number of connections – quality issue
Frequent power outages
Poor urban households often spend as much as 14 to 22% of their incomes on energy
Reliance on ‘dirty’ diesel and kerosene
- Low-income and sub-Saharan countries, average levels of urban energy access were only 58 percent and 72 percent. SSA – 95 M
Many electric utilities are reluctant to service informal areas because of real or perceived costs due to: lack of tenure, illegal tapping of electricity lines, the narrow streets and alleys typical of slums, and challenges in obtaining right-of-way documents to serve largely illegally settled areas
In Kinshasa, DRC, traditional access indicators report 90 percent access to electricity thanks to widespread grid connections in the city. However, extensive limitations in hours of service, unscheduled blackouts, and voltage fluctuations mean that in reality access does not surpass 30 percent. In South Asia outages exceeded 25 per month in 2013.
High connection charges prohibitive. In 2013, connection cost was at least 100 percent of monthly income in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Prohibitive even when they can afford monthly bills.
LCOE of diesel $ $0.60/KWh – higher than RE in most non-OECD countries

5. Countries where urban access to electricity < 90%
Energy is a prerequisite for economic productivity and livelihoods
Economic transformation not possible without energy
Overlooked issues – when discussed, focus on formal not informal areas
The type of energy consumption has profound impacts on health
- Household air pollution from solid fuels accounted for 3.5 million deaths globally in 2010
Source: World Bank 2016

6. Benefits of distributed RE for urban underserved
Other forms of distributed energy, but solar PV most potential
Affordability – Grid connection cost, LCOE of diesel $ $0.60/kWh
Safety – less reliance on dangerous kerosene
Reliability over the intermittent grid and back-up power
Productivity – energy-intensive enterprises
Other distributed energy - biomass heating and cooling, micro-grids (which can be powered by fossil fuel sources or renewable energy), district energy systems, wind turbines. Solar PV has a power density (W/m2) that matches the demand densities of 10 to 30 W/m2 observed in cities
LCOE diesel - higher than RE in most non-OECD countries
Distributed RE must be thought of as complement to traditional grid connection
In Lagos, Nigeria, nearly half of surveyed residents relied solely on their home-based enterprises for their income.
Photo: Helena Wright/Flickr

7. Prospects going forward - what’s different now?
Declining costs
Solar PV panel costs have declined 75% between 2009 and 2014.
Battery costs have declined 20% each year between 2008 and 2014.
The IEA estimates the global technical potential of rooftop solar PV to be 9,100 TWh. Can meet 7 to 30 percent of annual electricity consumption in select cities. (IEA ETP 2016)
Photo: Jiri Rezac/The Climate Group

8. Rooftop solar PV competitive with fossil fuel generation in China and India
Source: Rooftop solar PV (IRENA 2016), China and India natural gas (BNEF 2016)

9. Prospects going forward - what’s different now?
2.) Greater political commitment
Climate action by cities cities, representing almost 500 million people, have committed to the Compact of Mayors
Alignment with SDGs
SDG Goal 7 - of ensuring modern energy access to all.
SDG Goal 11 - creating cities that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Photo: Vistyb/Flickr

10. Prospects going forward - what’s different now?
3.) New finance and business models
Consumer finance – PAYG (rural takeoff)
Net metering – Bangalore
Third-party financing or ownership option
Roof rental - Delhi
Community-shared solar
M-KOPA has connected more than 280,000 homes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to solar power, and is now adding over 500 new homes each day. In less than one year, the number of households using PAYG systems in Sub- Saharan Africa has doubled to 450,000–500,000 households in 2015
Bangalore - By March 2016, over 5.6 MW of grid- connected rooftop solar PV systems on 262 rooftops were connected.
Community-shared solar is a business model that allows multiple individuals, many of whom may lack financial capacity or available on-site resources. There are many different types of community-shared solar, including utility sponsored models, in which the utility owns and operates a project; the special purpose entity model in which an individual investor joins an enterprise or cooperative to develop a community project; and a non-profit “buy a brick model,” in which donors contribute to a community installation owned by a non-profit organization
Photo Source: DFID/Flickr

11. thank you Contact: mwestphal@wri.org
Towards a More Equal City:
Energizing cities for all
Michael I. Westphal, Sarah Martin, Lihuan Zhou, and David Satterthwaite
perspective that looks at energy use across all sectors
Photo: UNDP in Europe and Central Asia / Flickr

12. Many benefits to the overall city – climate change mitigation
Other benefits to city:
reduce pressures on electricity demand, mitigate impact of line losses
climate change resilience and energy security benefits for the city
Roofs sites for wealth creation
Renewable energy generates more jobs per unit of energy delivered than the fossil fuel-based sector, with solar photovoltaics (PV) creating the most jobs per unit of electricity output
Reduced local air pollution