Rural development with solar energy

Almost two billion people of the developing countries – one third of the world-wide population - lacks access to the electricity. The main power resources available for a million rural families continue being the agricultural firewood, remainders of the human force and the hunted animals.
It is fundamental to find other power plants, simultaneously economic and innocuous for environment, with the purpose of increasing the agricultural productivity and improving the quality of life of the rural communities. A new publication of the FAO, titled “photovoltaic solar Energy for sustainable agriculture and rural development”, indicates that the photovoltaic systems of solar energy can offer part of the solution.

Finding the right niche

The report explains that the photovoltaic systems continue being relatively expensive and, therefore, they do not constitute “a panacea to solve all the problems of rural poverty”, although they involve many possibilities of providing certain specific applications of extreme importance.
“The systems of solar energy, in addition to the Aeolian energy and other applications of renewable energy, are the only technically viable solution to provide the necessary energy to the isolated rural communities”, affirms Gustavo Best, Main Coordinator of Energy of the FAO. “Small amounts of energy can represent a great difference when improving  rural life, increasing the agricultural productivity and creating  new opportunities to gain income”.

At the moment  solar energy is used more than anything for illumination, radio and television in a domestic scope. When extending itself the schedule in which  light is enjoyed, there is  more time to do productive activities. This means a benefit specially for women and children, who spend more time at home. The increase in the hours of light allows  women to carry out activities like seaming, crafts making, and to the children to continue studying when it is already dark.
But the still there is no taking advantage of the solar energy to increase the agricultural productivity nor for the rural development in general. With promising economic and institutional means, the systems of solar energy could considerably improve the medical attention and the scholar services, the water provision for human consumption, irrigation and drinking troughs, as well as for  veterinary food preparation and its refrigeration, services, communications and tourism. In addition, also non-agriculturists offer possibilities in the scope of the activities (technical and artisan restaurants, cinemas, factories, etc.), when allowing to use electrical tools, kitchen equipment, telephones and other gadgets.

Obstacles to the success

In comparison with the energy that is obtained from fossil fuels, the systems of solar energy are flexible, require little maintenance and are benign for environment, although they have limitations. “Most of the underprivileged farmers of subsistence in general they cannot have access to the Solar System”. There is more, the batteries to store solar electricity can be expensive and problematic, they require a support system for the night and the days with little light, and the disposal of the batteries means a danger for the environment.

The institutional obstacles are still more difficult: the high prepared initial costs to the lack of financing mechanisms are translated in low volumes of sales, and the relatively long chain that goes from the producer of solar panels to the end user, translates in high costs of transaction. These are the most important reasons of the lack of infrastructure and political commitment. This vicious circle has caused a very little interest in the solar energy systems, as much among the rural users as in many investors.

Potential of the applications of the solar energy

There are possibilities of surpassing the economic and institutional obstacles so that the solar energy is successful. In Kenya, in spite of the unfavorable taxes and policies that impel conventional power resources, like the fossil kerosene and other fuels, they have settled of 50 thousands to 70 thousand domestic solar systems. This demonstrates how the private sector can establish a market when arriving at the rural sector when a company of monopolistic light does not serve. And in Indonesia, the Government and institutional bottoms of donors support a prosperous market of solar energy systems.
In order to fully operate the potential of the solar energy diverse institutional changes in the sector of the energy are required:

The rural and agricultural banks must create the conditions to facilitate loans to acquire solar energy systems.