ABSTRACT

This chapter presents 12 broader lessons for energy policymakers, development practitioners, scholars, and even students regarding what our case studies teach us about energy poverty and renewable energy. China's Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) saw the incomes and standards of living among its participants, mostly rural nomadic herders, rise significantly through their use of small-scale wind turbines and Solar Home Systems (SHSs). In Mongolia, the REAP enabled herders to receive energy services during the harsh winter months, primarily electricity from portable SHSs for lighting, mobile phones, satellite television, radio, and cooking. The REDP in Nepal and ESD in Sri Lanka relied on simple technologies matched in proper scale to the communities they were intended to serve. Effective programs actively promote community ownership, in-kind contributions of labor, time, and other resources, and participatory decision-making and planning. Successful programs strongly emphasize after-sales service and maintenance, ensuring that technologies are cared for by rural populations or technicians.