| RAEL Home | Mission | About RAEL | Lab Members | Projects |
| |
| Publications | RAEL News | Public Outreach | Support RAEL | Contact Us |
Energy and Resources Group
University of California, Berkeley
Objectives/Hypotheses: To understand the dynamics between
institutional arrangements and technical characteristics in the
success and failure of community-scale renewable energy projects.
Rationale: Scientists who study global warming call
for a massive
transition to carbon-free power, particularly in developing nations.
Village scale renewable energy projects using microhydro, wind, or
solar electricity provide technically promising opportunities to
address sustainable rural development goals with little local or
global environmental impact. While there are millions of households
worldwide currently served by these village scale systems, and while
village power projects remain an electrification option frequently
chosen by NGOs, state rural electrification utilities, and
entrepreneurs, to date there has been little systematic research
to understand under what conditions these systems work or fail.
Anecdotal accounts from a variety of projects, however, indicate that
these projects frequently encounter a variety of technical and
socio-economic challenges for sustainable operation. My research is
an effort to provide a theoretical basis for an improved understanding
of the fate of these projects. This, in turn, will supply policy
makers and rural development practitioners with new approaches for
improving the viability of these and future sustainable development
investments.
Approach: My research draws on common pool resource
theories and an investigation of institutional arrangements to
understand the dynamics in village-scale microhydro projects in
rural Thailand. Microhydro is a particularly robust and inexpensive
technology relative to other village-scale renewable energy options,
and Thailand presents a useful case with over 70 projects installed
by government, parastatal utilities, and NGO groups under a range of
institutional arrangements. I employ three complementary academic
perspectives. First, an engineering analysis seeks to interpret
technical histories of the systems, and to explain and evaluate
the engineering basis of the design, installation, and operations
and maintenance choices made. Second, a common property analysis
considers the relationship between the village power system and
patterns of community consumption and collective investments in the
system. Finally, an institutional analysis considers the agendas of
various actors to understand the political and economic incentives
that shape the project from its earliest origins through long-term
operations and maintenance arrangements. My methods include
interviews, surveys, and analysis of project documents.
See Photos from Microhydro Installation
This work is taking place in Khun Huay Sai, a small Lahu village in the Chiang Mai province of Thailand. The objective is to install a PV and battery system at the village's school and meeting hall and to facilitate local training about the system's operation. The PV system totalled 500 Watts, which will be used for lighting and battery charging at the village. This work was done in cooperation with a local NGO, the Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association.
See Photos from PV Installation
This first issue focuses on renewable energy news in the region. The Mekong has seen considerable changes in renewable energy in the recent past. This exciting energy frontier is driven by increasing concern over the local and global impacts of conventional electricity generation, and shaped by rapid technological advances and developments in institutional arrangements for renewable energy dissemination. Significant contributions are made by small NGOs (the Vietnam Women's Union), and small entrepreneurs (Ford Thai in Cambodia), academic institutions, as well much larger entities such government agencies or the World Bank's Asia Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE).
Download the first issue of NEDO News: Renewable Energy (PDF).
Last updated 10/14/2002