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And then what happened? A retrospective appraisal of China’s Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP)

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  • D’Agostino, Anthony L.
  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.
  • Bambawale, Malavika Jain

Abstract

From 2002 to 2007, more than 400,000 photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems (SHS) were sold in northwestern China under the US$316 million World Bank/Global Environment Facility-supported Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP). REDP has been hailed as a best practice example in SHS deployment for its unprecedented scale and the combination of technology improvement and market development support components to strengthen the country’s renewable energy industry. While the World Bank has itself conducted post-project evaluations, our paper presents the first independent review with the intent of determining if anticipated project impacts have been sustained. We adopt a case study format supported by in-depth interviews with the project’s relevant stakeholder groups and find that solar home systems (SHS) provide monetary and non-monetary benefits to users and that their portability complements the lifestyle of the region’s nomadic herders. However, we also find that purchasing decisions are still based on price more than quality, after-sales service networks remain weak, and households in REDP’s coverage area are gradually gaining access to hydropower-based grid electricity.

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  • D’Agostino, Anthony L. & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Bambawale, Malavika Jain, 2011. "And then what happened? A retrospective appraisal of China’s Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 3154-3165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:36:y:2011:i:11:p:3154-3165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2011.03.017
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    3. Popp, David, 2012. "The role of technological change in green growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6239, The World Bank.
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    5. John Foster & Liam Wagner & Liam Byrnes, 2014. "A Review of Distributed Generation for Rural and Remote Area Electrification," Energy Economics and Management Group Working Papers 3-2014, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    6. Zou, Hongyang & Du, Huibin & Ren, Jingzheng & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Zhang, Yongjie & Mao, Guozhu, 2017. "Market dynamics, innovation, and transition in China's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 197-206.
    7. Dutz, Mark A. & Sharma, Siddharth, 2012. "Green growth, technology and innovation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5932, The World Bank.
    8. 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.
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    10. David Popp, 2012. "The Role of Technological Change in Green Growth," NBER Working Papers 18506, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Garlet, Taís Bisognin & Ribeiro, José Luis Duarte & de Souza Savian, Fernando & Mairesse Siluk, Julio Cezar, 2019. "Paths and barriers to the diffusion of distributed generation of photovoltaic energy in southern Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 157-169.
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