Optimal deployment of energy services for economic upliftment of low-income communities: A South African case study.

Low-income communities face a causality dilemma: A lack of energy services hampers income growth and insufficient income hampers energy service provision. Interventions delivering cost-effective energy services can address this dilemma, triggering a virtuous cycle of economic upliftment. While several studies have investigated cost-effective energy supply to low-income communities, a gap exists regarding holistic optimization of energy service deployment at different levels of economic development. Hence, a novel energy system model of a South African village is presented to optimize deployment and hourly dispatch of energy supply and energy services to recover time lost to poverty-related activities (e.g., gathering wood and water). Results showed that an optimized technology rollout can save each person over 1500 productive hours per year at an average cost below 0.2 $/hour. The model also identified the optimal order of technology deployment for driving economic development. Interestingly, an electrical grid connection was of minor importance because local mini-grids could economically supply the modest power demands of lighting, refrigeration, water pumping, and cleaning, while energy-intensive cooking and water heating can be economically performed using fuels and solar heaters. Detailed studies of individual low-income communities are recommended to outline optimal technology deployment strategies and reveal the low costs involved. • Modern energy services are essential for the upliftment of low-income communities. • Optimal energy service deployment saves >1500 h/person/year for <0.2 $/hour. • Mini-grid electricity, cooking fuels, and solar water heaters drive >90 % of savings. • A grid connection only makes a significant positive impact on the last 10 %. • About 40 % of time savings are indirect (health, productivity, crime reduction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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