ABSTRACT
This chapter concludes the book by discussing the contextual conditions at different societal levels that influence the chances for engaged actors to implement, sustain, and replicate solar and hybrid mini-grids. The chapter provides reflections of the future role of mini-grids in the efforts to provide electricity access for all and discusses the specific issue found to be one of the most critical for this kind of electricity provision to succeed: tariff setting and licensing. Policy recommendations on these and other factors are provided, and the usefulness of the research approach is discussed. In theoretical terms, the chapter suggests that solar mini-grids represent a separate niche (or sub-niche) of decentralized solar PV because they challenge the established energy system structures (regimes) more directly than solar home systems/individually owned systems, at the same time as they are more dependent on relating to these structures.
