2024/05/23 by Heinemann, Georg, Banzer, F., Dumitrescu, Raluca +3
#300 Sozialwissenschaften::320 Politikwissenschaft::327 Internationale Beziehungen #300 Sozialwissenschaften::330 Wirtschaft::333 Boden- und Energiewirtschaft #300 Sozialwissenschaften::330 Wirtschaft::337 Weltwirtschaft #300 Sozialwissenschaften::330 Wirtschaft::339 Makroökonomie und verwandte Themen #economic costs of backup generators #energy access #levelized cost of electricity #off-grid electrification #renewable energy review Nigeria #social cost of carbon #solar home systems #total cost of ownership
paper · doi:10.14279/depositonce-20594
This paper provides a review of economic, technical and health issues in the process of replacing fossil fuel-based generators with stand-alone solar electricity systems; in addition, we provide case study evidence from a particularly important country in this respect, where solar-based systems are becoming an alternative - Nigeria. There is a large literature of technical-economic analyses of back-up fossil-fuel generators that has become increasingly critical over the last years. On the one hand, diesel- and gasoline-based electricity generators are expensive in the long-run (accounting for fuel, operation, and maintenance) and have severe negative health impacts, in addition to contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, until recently they represented the only option for access to electricity in off-grid and weak-on-grid regions. We show that the changing economics of stand-alone solar home systems, in combination with new payment and business model concepts, are rapidly becoming an alternative to back-up generators. In addition, the paper reviews literature on the negative health effects of generators, and provides own estimates, utilizing the Multi-Tier Framework for measuring energy access, on the socioeconomic cost of replacing generators with solar solutions in Nigeria. We then question if their replacement by solar-based systems is the way forward for Nigeria's energy transformation, by comparing end-user finance models, such as pay-as-you-go and energy-as-a-service. The paper derives some policy conclusions and finishes with an outlook of open research questions.