Off-Grid Solar: Looking Beyond Economics
(Room Silk 4)
20 Sep 17
11:00 AM
-
12:30 PM
Tracks:
Track F - Renewable Energy Strategy
Compared to their Western counterparts, much of Asia has arrived late to the party in terms of solar. Yet in many Asia nations, both utility-scale and distributed solar are now proving to be a disruptive force to the entire electricity value chain, affecting the economics of wholesale power generation and how end-users consume power through programs such as Net Energy Metering. This transition has largely been driven by falling solar costs and, in the case of consumers, avoided cost economics. But looking further afield, the improvements seen in solar cost and efficiency, and more recently in battery technologies, have also seen Solar Home Systems reach grid parity and become the least-cost option for ‘last mile’ rural electrification programs in remote communities in Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere. This presentation will critique the role of off-grid solar across Asia; it will review the impact of existing programs and shine a spotlight on the Philippines, where The Lantau Group has been working with the World Bank and the DoE on PV Mainstreaming. Here, the success of off-grid programs spans far beyond simple economics and instead relies on the buy-in of Electric Cooperatives and ‘mainstreaming’ of their end-users to ensure how they use and pay for electricity is no different from conventional grid-supplied customers. The presentation will focus on these practical challenges, lessons learnt from pilot projects, and the design aspects necessary to ensure a competitive tender process for the solar supply chain.