Photovoltaics for Community Service Facilities : Guidance for Sustainability
In many developing countries with large rural populations and low rural electrification rates, most community health and education facilities lack access to electricity. For facilities in remote areas beyond reach of the national grid, photovoltaic...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/837791468332067596/Photovoltaics-for-community-service-facilities-guidance-for-sustainability http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27575 |
| Summary: | In many developing countries with large
rural populations and low rural electrification rates, most
community health and education facilities lack access to
electricity. For facilities in remote areas beyond reach of
the national grid, photovoltaic's (PV) systems may
offer the most practical and least-cost way to access
electricity. A PV system uses predictable solar resources
and has long been cost competitive with diesel generators
and other alternatives. In off-grid rural primary schools
and health dispensaries, for example, PV systems oftentimes
are an appropriate way to run many low-power, high-value
appliances and equipment, from lamps and vaccine
refrigerators to water pumps, television sets, and
computers. Thus, if the electricity grid is not expected to
arrive in the near future or if diesel fuel is unavailable
or too expensive, a PV system may offer the least-cost
technology for providing electricity service. If this rapid
assessment determines that PV is a viable option, it results
in a brief concept for a possible project and the plan for
its preparation. The project concept is discussed with
stakeholders and independent specialists, including off-grid
renewable energy specialists, and is adjusted as
appropriate. The plan for project preparation takes into
account an assessment of available information and
activities to be undertaken during preparation to fill gaps
and generate additional and improved data. The second phase
of project development is the preparation of the PV
implementation plan. This is accomplished with the
assistance of several specialists, including a PV technical
specialist, and involves working closely with lead
organization managers and specialists, broad-based
stakeholder consultations, and multiple iterations. The
third phase of project development, procurements and
contract management, involves securing firm financing
commitments (including those for post-project recurrent
costs), developing tender packages, tendering and
contracting, and contract management. The fourth phase,
long-term operation, is where too many projects fail. In
summary, this toolkit is, at a minimum, a checklist of key
issues to address in developing an institutional PV project.
While it is not a technical manual, nor a substitute for
using professional PV specialists to size, configure, and
specify system and maintenance requirements, it offers
practical operational guidance to assess, develop, and
implement projects with PV systems in ways that enhance cost
effective supply and sustainable post-project operations.
The guidance offered herein demonstrates that the
opportunities for effectively addressing the issues to
establish the basis for sustainability are many. |
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