ABSTRACT
The key to any successful solar energy project is to lay the institutional framework for long-term success. Solar energy systems are commercially available today to meet a wide range of urban and rural applications economically, from small to large scale. However, without proper institutional and market frameworks to operate and maintain renewable energy systems long term, they eventually fail. For larger utility-scale projects, future operation and maintenance are usually planned out ahead of time. In contrast, for smaller scale individual applications, future follow-up and maintenance are often overlooked. In many ways, this is the most important chapter of this book in that it discusses the lessons learned related to key institutional issues that ultimately dene long-term solar energy projects’ successes or failures.
