Adequate financing and institutional frameworks are necessary, but not sufficient conditions to remove the main barriers for PV rural electrification. Properly trained human resources to develop and operate programs, and to carry out projects, are equally important. PV systems and their implementation in rural areas are frequently looked upon in a very simplistic manner by […]

Import of PV systems and components seems to be the only way of implementing this option for the foreseeable future in a number of developing countries. In many of them, however, import duties and taxes for electronics and other elements of PV systems are such that the cost of the technology at the user end […]

Governments can act in several capacities along the social route. Financing the purchase of SHS for poor people is perhaps the most critical one, although consumer protection and market regulation are also of importance. Government financing of SHS is seen by some as an unnecessary nuisance that distorts the market and creates dependence in the […]

For those in need of financial assistance, two alternative models are being tested. One focuses on the sale of the PV system (the sales model), the other on the sale of the electricity produced by the system (the service model). Both models have advantages and shortcomings and both involve flows of money beyond the control […]

Consequently, since solar energy, the fuel used by PV systems, is free and systems are, at least the­oretically, low-maintenance and long-lasting, system cost is commonly seen as the main stumbling block for the introduction of photovoltaics. A number of schemes have been tried over the past decade in search of an effective way to remove […]

24.3.4.1 Initial cost It is common knowledge that for a commercial operation to be sustainable in the modern economy, a flow of goods has to be properly matched by a counter-flow of money. Solar rays striking on the roofs of houses are free, but equipment to turn solar energy into electricity, and to transform this […]

PV systems are claimed to be reliable and long-lasting. This is true and proven insofar as the PV module is concerned, but not every component of the system’s balance has the same degree of technological maturity. In both, stand-alone and hybrid systems, batteries are perhaps the weakest links. Batteries are exposed to overcharging and over-discharging, […]

For most urban people around the world, electricity comes into their homes just like magic: it is there, instantly and reliably at the touch of the switch. Few individuals make a conscious connection between their appliances and the electricity pole in the street, so paying their monthly bills is perhaps the closest they get to […]