Energy for the villages of Africa: recommendations for African governments and outside donors
The subject of village source energy for the villages and farms of Sub-Saharan Africa is examined, and a course of action for African policymakers and outside donors is recommended. Village source energy includes those forms of primary energy found in the villages and farms (sun, wind, flowing water, animal and crop waste, and wood). The first question for Africans to resolve is whether village source energy is a feasible approach--or whether rural Africans must wait the decades that will elapse before a power grid brings them reliable centrally generated electricity. This paper outlines a course of action for developing the information needed for Africans to make two decisions: (1) whether village-source energy warrants use on a wide scale and, if so, (2) what system to use to match energy hardware with village needs and to install it in villages together with a support system that will maintain it, provide repairs and spare parts, and generally keep it operating. The course of action consists of three parts. 1. African governments, perhaps working with outside donors, should conduct certain research called ''software.'' 2. Create or strengthen energy-related institutions. 3. In the field of hardware research, three things are called for: (a) industrialized countries' domestic energy and research programs should devote more attention to small-scale renewable energy; (b) aid programs should strengthen their help to African research on hardware both to apply and adapt energy technologies developed elsewhere and to develop indigenous technologies; and (c) aid programs should provide more help to African institutions to design and build cheap, reliable tools, implements and appliances that can be used by hand or powered by village source energy to perform village tasks. (MCW)
- Research Organization:
- Overseas Development Council, Washington, D.C. (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6799154
- Report Number(s):
- NP-23242
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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AFRICA
AGRICULTURAL WASTES
DECISION MAKING
EDUCATION
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
FOREIGN POLICY
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
MANURES
NUCLEAR POWER
PLANNING
POWER
POWER GENERATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RURAL AREAS
SOLAR ENERGY
SOLID WASTES
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION
WASTES
WIND POWER
WOOD