IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v63y2013icp348-354.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Solar Home System (SHS) in rural Bangladesh: Ornamentation or fact of development?

Author

Listed:
  • Rahman, Syed M.
  • Ahmad, Mokbul M.

Abstract

Energy requirement has been growing every day due to higher population growth, and consequently higher consumption. About one third of rural households of Bangladesh are connected to the grid. To meet the gap, solar energy has been treated as a feasible option for people in rural areas where grid connections are not available. A good number of organizations have been working together to provide Solar Home System (SHS) in rural Bangladesh. There is little evidence that supply of small scale energy supports significant rural development. This paper aims at understanding how increased energy access through SHS in rural Bangladesh contributes towards rural development. Recent published literatures on SHS in Bangladesh have been studied to get insight into the technical, financial, and operational as well as economic and social issues. Later the findings have been critically analyzed with respect to selected indicators of rural development. The study identified that increased access to energy through SHS in rural Bangladesh provides mostly recreational and leisure benefits with the so called ‘social status’; income generation is negligible while support for education is average.

Suggested Citation

  • Rahman, Syed M. & Ahmad, Mokbul M., 2013. "Solar Home System (SHS) in rural Bangladesh: Ornamentation or fact of development?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 348-354.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:348-354
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.041
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513008422
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.041?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chakrabarty, Sayan & Islam, Tawhidul, 2011. "Financial viability and eco-efficiency of the solar home systems (SHS) in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 4821-4827.
    2. Komatsu, Satoru & Kaneko, Shinji & Ghosh, Partha Pratim, 2011. "Are micro-benefits negligible? The implications of the rapid expansion of Solar Home Systems (SHS) in rural Bangladesh for sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4022-4031, July.
    3. Biswas, Wahidul K. & Diesendorf, Mark & Bryce, Paul, 2004. "Can photovoltaic technologies help attain sustainable rural development in Bangladesh?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1199-1207, July.
    4. Friebe, Christian A. & Flotow, Paschen von & Täube, Florian A., 2013. "Exploring the link between products and services in low-income markets—Evidence from solar home systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 760-769.
    5. Gustavo Anríquez & Kostas Stamoulis, 2007. "Rural development and poverty reduction: is agriculture still the key?," The Electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 4(1), pages 5-46.
    6. Miah, Md. Danesh & Kabir, Rashel Rana Mohammad Sirajul & Koike, Masao & Akther, Shalina & Yong Shin, Man, 2010. "Rural household energy consumption pattern in the disregarded villages of Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 997-1003, February.
    7. Lahimer, A.A. & Alghoul, M.A. & Yousif, Fadhil & Razykov, T.M. & Amin, N. & Sopian, K., 2013. "Research and development aspects on decentralized electrification options for rural household," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 314-324.
    8. Alam Hossain Mondal, Md. & Kamp, Linda M. & Pachova, Nevelina I., 2010. "Drivers, barriers, and strategies for implementation of renewable energy technologies in rural areas in Bangladesh--An innovation system analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4626-4634, August.
    9. Barua, Dipal C., 2001. "Strategy for promotions and development of renewable technologies in Bangladesh: experience from Grameen Shakti," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 205-210.
    10. Islam, A.K.M. Sadrul & Islam, Mazharul & Rahman, Tazmilur, 2006. "Effective renewable energy activities in Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 677-688.
    11. Bhattacharyya, Subhes C., 2006. "Renewable energies and the poor: niche or nexus?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 659-663, April.
    12. Shrimali, Gireesh & Rohra, Sunali, 2012. "India’s solar mission: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6317-6332.
    13. Chowdhury, Shahriar A. & Mourshed, Monjur & Kabir, S.M. Raiyan & Islam, Moududul & Morshed, Tanvir & Khan, M. Rezwan & Patwary, Mohammad N., 2011. "Technical appraisal of solar home systems in Bangladesh: A field investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 772-778.
    14. Rahman, Md. Mizanur & Paatero, Jukka V. & Poudyal, Aditya & Lahdelma, Risto, 2013. "Driving and hindering factors for rural electrification in developing countries: Lessons from Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 840-851.
    15. Pode, Ramchandra, 2013. "Financing LED solar home systems in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 596-629.
    16. World Bank, 2013. "World Development Indicators 2013," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13191, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Khan, Tahsina & Khanam, Shamsun Nahar & Rahman, Md Habibur & Rahman, Syed Mahbubur, 2019. "Determinants of microfinance facility for installing solar home system (SHS) in rural Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 299-308.
    2. Alam, Majbaul & Bhattacharyya, Subhes, 2017. "Are the off-grid customers ready to pay for electricity from the decentralized renewable hybrid mini-grids? A study of willingness to pay in rural Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 433-446.
    3. Kirchhoff, Hannes & Strunz, Kai, 2019. "Key drivers for successful development of peer-to-peer microgrids for swarm electrification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C), pages 46-62.
    4. Md Asaduzzaman Shoeb & GM. Shafiullah, 2018. "Renewable Energy Integrated Islanded Microgrid for Sustainable Irrigation—A Bangladesh Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Mandal, Soumya & Ghosh, Subir Kumar, 2020. "Experimental investigation of the performance of a double pass solar water heater with reflector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 631-640.
    6. Xavier Lemaire, 2018. "Solar home systems and solar lanterns in rural areas of the Global South: What impact?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(5), September.
    7. Swati Anindita Sarker & Shouyang Wang & K M Mehedi Adnan & Muhammad Khalid Anser & Zeraibi Ayoub & Thu Hau Ho & Riffat Ara Zannat Tama & Anna Trunina & Md Mahmudul Hoque, 2020. "Economic Viability and Socio-Environmental Impacts of Solar Home Systems for Off-Grid Rural Electrification in Bangladesh," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    8. Azimoh, Chukwuma Leonard & Klintenberg, Patrik & Mbohwa, Charles & Wallin, Fredrik, 2017. "Replicability and scalability of mini-grid solution to rural electrification programs in sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 222-231.
    9. Mugisha, Joshua & Ratemo, Mike Arasa & Bunani Keza, Bienvenu Christian & Kahveci, Hayriye, 2021. "Assessing the opportunities and challenges facing the development of off-grid solar systems in Eastern Africa: The cases of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    10. Islam, Md Shahinur & Akhter, Ruma & Rahman, Mohammad Ashifur, 2018. "A thorough investigation on hybrid application of biomass gasifier and PV resources to meet energy needs for a northern rural off-grid region of Bangladesh: A potential solution to replicate in rural ," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 338-355.
    11. Miguel H. Fernandez-Fuentes & Andrea A. Eras-Almeida & Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera, 2021. "Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    12. Jashim Uddin Ahmed & Niza Talukder & Asma Ahmed, 2020. "Infrastructure Development Company Limited Solar Home System Program: A Sustainable Solution for Energizing Rural Bangladesh," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 9(2), pages 219-236, August.
    13. Olumide Hassan & Stephen Morse & Matthew Leach, 2020. "The Energy Lock-In Effect of Solar Home Systems: A Case Study in Rural Nigeria," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-24, December.
    14. Khan, Imran, 2020. "Impacts of energy decentralization viewed through the lens of the energy cultures framework: Solar home systems in the developing economies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    15. Thomas, P.J.M. & Sandwell, P. & Williamson, S.J. & Harper, P.W., 2021. "A PESTLE analysis of solar home systems in refugee camps in Rwanda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Khan, Tahsina & Khanam, Shamsun Nahar & Rahman, Md Habibur & Rahman, Syed Mahbubur, 2019. "Determinants of microfinance facility for installing solar home system (SHS) in rural Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 299-308.
    2. Mandelli, Stefano & Barbieri, Jacopo & Mereu, Riccardo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2016. "Off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries: Definitions, classification and a comprehensive literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1621-1646.
    3. Thomas, P.J.M. & Sandwell, P. & Williamson, S.J. & Harper, P.W., 2021. "A PESTLE analysis of solar home systems in refugee camps in Rwanda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Komatsu, Satoru & Kaneko, Shinji & Ghosh, Partha Pratim & Morinaga, Akane, 2013. "Determinants of user satisfaction with solar home systems in rural Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 52-58.
    5. Alam, Majbaul & Bhattacharyya, Subhes, 2017. "Are the off-grid customers ready to pay for electricity from the decentralized renewable hybrid mini-grids? A study of willingness to pay in rural Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 433-446.
    6. Hirmer, Stephanie & Cruickshank, Heather, 2014. "The user-value of rural electrification: An analysis and adoption of existing models and theories," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 145-154.
    7. Pode, Ramchandra, 2013. "Financing LED solar home systems in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 596-629.
    8. Joshi, Lalita & Choudhary, Deepak & Kumar, Praveen & Venkateswaran, Jayendran & Solanki, Chetan S., 2019. "Does involvement of local community ensure sustained energy access? A critical review of a solar PV technology intervention in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 272-281.
    9. Ahammed, Faisal & Azeem, Abdullahil, 2013. "Selection of the most appropriate package of Solar Home System using Analytic Hierarchy Process model in rural areas of Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 6-11.
    10. Marion Allet & Marek Hudon, 2015. "Green Microfinance: Characteristics of Microfinance Institutions Involved in Environmental Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 395-414, February.
    11. Xavier Lemaire, 2018. "Solar home systems and solar lanterns in rural areas of the Global South: What impact?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(5), September.
    12. Sarah Feron, 2016. "Sustainability of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-26, December.
    13. Kurata, Masamitsu & Matsui, Noriatsu & Ikemoto, Yukio & Tsuboi, Hiromi, 2018. "Do determinants of adopting solar home systems differ between households and micro-enterprises? Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PA), pages 309-316.
    14. Jashim Uddin Ahmed & Niza Talukder & Asma Ahmed, 2020. "Infrastructure Development Company Limited Solar Home System Program: A Sustainable Solution for Energizing Rural Bangladesh," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 9(2), pages 219-236, August.
    15. Mollik, Sazib & Rashid, M.M. & Hasanuzzaman, M. & Karim, M.E. & Hosenuzzaman, M., 2016. "Prospects, progress, policies, and effects of rural electrification in Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 553-567.
    16. Islam, Aminul & Chan, Eng-Seng & Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin & Mondal, Md. Alam Hossain & Moniruzzaman, M. & Mridha, Moniruzzaman, 2014. "Energy security in Bangladesh perspective—An assessment and implication," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 154-171.
    17. Rahman, Md. Mizanur & Hasan, Mohammad Mahmodul & Paatero, Jukka V. & Lahdelma, Risto, 2014. "Hybrid application of biogas and solar resources to fulfill household energy needs: A potentially viable option in rural areas of developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 35-45.
    18. Ebers Broughel, Anna, 2019. "On the ground in sunny Mexico: A case study of consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for solar-powered devices," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Zalengera, Collen & Blanchard, Richard E. & Eames, Philip C. & Juma, Alnord M. & Chitawo, Maxon L. & Gondwe, Kondwani T., 2014. "Overview of the Malawi energy situation and A PESTLE analysis for sustainable development of renewable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 335-347.
    20. Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Islam, Md Tasbirul & Karim, Mohd Aminul & Karim, Nissar Mohammad, 2014. "Exploitation of renewable energy for sustainable development and overcoming power crisis in Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 223-235.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:348-354. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.