World Review of Business Research
Vol. 8. No. 1. March 2018 Issue. Pp. 12 – 25
The Implications of Solar Home System Usage for the Rural Communities in Coastal Bangladesh
Tahsina Khan1*, Farheen Hassan2 and Md. Khaled Amin3
This study which is qualitative in nature, aims to assess the opinion of rural households on the socio-economic implications of solar electrification. By following the non-probabilistic purposive sampling method and considering couple of field observations, the study which was conducted between September, 2017 and November 2017, incorporated a total of103 representative samples surveyed through a semi-structured questionnaire from villages such as Char King and Char Ishwar of the coastal district, Hatiya. The survey questionnaire was designed based on the findings of the literature are pertinent to the domain of the study. The study reveals that the users are more concerned about the convenience of household chores and social security that they avail from the solar system usage in comparison to its economic and environmental implications. The findings of this study will enrich the predominant literature on the impact of rural electrification through renewable energy and provide strategic insights for the policy makers for addressing the sustainability of solar energy ventures. This study can further be extended by identifying key influential factors that sway rural consumers’ behavioral intention
to adopt Solar Home System (SHS) in a mediated environment. Key words: Rural Households, solar home system, rural electrification, socio-economic development. Field of Research: Development Studies
1. Introduction
About 80% of the total population in Bangladesh lives in rural areas. Data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey revealed that 44% of the rural population was classified as poor and a vast majority of them remain without connection to the national electricity grid (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2012). The significant number of rural communities without access to electricity is regarded as one of the primary challenges for the sustainable development of the nation (Islam & Khan 2016). Many of the rural villages in Bangladesh have not been connected to the national grid electricity for a long time (Habib & Chungpaibulpatana 2014). In fact, providing rural electrification by establishing conventional grid connectivity in the remote off-grid locations, particularly coastal islands such as Hatiya, and is a major challenge in a developing nation like Bangladesh. This is due to the factors like dispersed geographic location of rural communities, heavy investment requirement in infrastructure development, limited power generation and transmission capacity (Hamid MR 2013).
1Department of Marketing, American International University-Bangladesh, Kuril, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2Department of Management & Human Resource Management, American International University-Bangladesh, Kuril, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh. 3Department of Marketing, American International University-Bangladesh, Kuril, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
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In this context, renewable energy technology (RET) such as Solar Home System (SHS) appears to be one of the potential sources to meet the unmatched energy demand due to the geographic location of the country (Komatsu et al. 2013, Mondal & Denich 2010).It has been studied that, 94% of the land area in Bangladesh has such solar radiation which is adequate for power generation and utilization based on the available technology (Islam et al. 2014). The SHS project was first initiated and implemented by country’s state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) in 1997. IDCOL operates the SHS program with 56 Partner Organizations (PO), mostly NGOs like Grameen Shakti, Rural Services Foundation, Srizony Bangladesh, TMSS, Bengal Solar etc. (IDCOL 2018). To have greater reach in the rural community, the POs use their expertise in micro-finance for making renewable energy applications affordable to the users. Thus, through the private public partnership, in the off-grid rural areas of Bangladesh, more than 4.12 million SHSs have been installed till November 2017. The growing adoption of SHS has been providing electricity to 18 million beneficiaries (12% of the total population of Bangladesh) (IDCOL 2018). Unfortunately, this sector has received less attention by the academic researchers as well as policy makers though it has contributed positively in developing rural community from a wide spectrum including improvements in quality of life, increasing income and employment opportunities (Friebe, Von & Taube 2013, Khan & Khan 2011, Sovakool & Drupady 2011). Through this study we attempted to explore the users’ opinion and attitude towards the usage of solar electrification resulting socio-economic benefits in the coastal areas in Bangladesh. The next sections of the paper are organized as follows: Section two presents the literature review and section three comprises the research methodology. Section four sheds light on the findings and analysis of the research followed by concluding remarks and future research directions stated in section five.
2. Literature Review
It has been documented that proper energy supply is an indispensable prerequisite for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. Access to electricity bears a significant impact on the life situation of rural population by affecting their economic yield, health, education, and gender-related issues (Palit 2013, Laufer & Schafer 2011, Khan T 2017). Realizing this, electricity sector has been prioritized as a major agenda for sustainable development (Khan & Arsalan 2016). However, to address the prevailing shortage of electricity supply in the underprivileged communities of the developing nations in Asia and Africa, solar energy is now being considered as one of most promising renewable energy technologies to provide sustainable power generation (Friebe, Von & Taube 2013). Technology that is widely used to harness solar energy potential is commonly known as photovoltaic (PV). Solar Home Systems are small photovoltaic systems that convert solar energy or sunlight into electricity, which does not require any kind of conventional fuels. The system consists of components like solar panels, batteries, charge controllers, and some electric appliances (e.g., lamps, small fans, mobile phone sets or televisions) which can be operated with minimum training (Rabbani & Ahsan 2012).
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Although the costs of rural electrification with SHS are lower than those of conventional grid expansion, the initial investment for installing SHS are relatively higher for the majority of the rural households in Bangladesh (Komatsu et al. 2013). Under these circumstances, many POs have devised a purchasing option for the potential rural users where the clients of SHS can make an initial down payment and pay the rest of the money in installments under specific micro-finance scheme that suits the users’ financial capacity and usage needs. These initiatives complement the Government’s national vision of universal access to electricity by 2021 (MOPEMR 2006). In this regard, Bangladesh has attained global attention in the field of rural electrification by the disseminating RET like SHS (SREDA 2018). Thus, the solar energy projects initiated by the Government are helping private sector, NGOs, and MFIs expand the solar energy technologies, both in terms of sustainability and commercial viability (Hossain, Hossain & Uddin 2017). A growing body of research in the domain of renewable energy and development studies highlighted the SHS interventions in promoting rural development. In these studies, the authors have discussed the relationship between the improved energy services and socio-economic development. The studies examined the benefits derived from SHS by highlighting the reduction in monthly energy expenditures, better health conditions, access to information, increased business and household productivity (Sovacool & Drupady 2011, Momotaz & Karim 2012, Komatsu et al. 2013, Daisy 2013, Azimoh et al. 2015, Mishra & Behera 2016). By summarizing the research findings from the pertinent literature it can be posited that SHS installation in Bangladesh usually gives favorable outcomes for upgrading the living standard of rural communities. Based on the discussion portrayed above, although the adoption of RET contributes in promoting rural development, SHS does not have broad market acceptance due to the existence of barriers mostly rising from the need for large-scale implementation (Najmul & Kumar 2013, Mondal, Kamp & Pachova 2010). The major difficulty is high upfront costs which have resulted in the lack of affordability for the destitute rural communities (Mishra& Behera 2016, komatsu et al., 2011, Kabir, Dey & Faraby 2010). Moreover, some factors such as the technology adoption, limited awareness and lack of program coordination are the obstacles in the promotion of off-grid rural electrification (Erees Queen et al., 2016, Jordan & Daim 2012, Sovacool & Drupady 2011). Based on the above discussions, it is evident that adequate research attention has been on the prospect of RET interventions for rural development. However, a lack of scholarly studies is evident to address the users’ perspective on the adoption and usage of RET in remote off-grid communities. In this context, this study has been undertaken to gather the opinions of household clients in the coastal district of Hatiya regarding the benefits and constraints they have been experiencing since the inception of the SHS.
3. Research Methodology
To understand the implications of SHS usage in rural households, the study has been designed in an exploratory manner by which qualitative method of research are employed. The sampling framework of the study followed certain criteria set by the
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researcher. The study targeted rural population in the off-grid coastal regions such as Hatiya. In addition, the survey targeted those respondents who have installed the system from the POs of IDCOL for domestic (household) purposes and been using solar electricity for more than one year. Non-probability purposive sampling technique has been utilized to collect data from the sample respondents. Data have been gathered through questionnaire survey and interviews. Study questionnaire comprised two parts. Part one of the questionnaire consisted of seventeen basic questions yielding demographic information while part two of the questionnaire comprised twenty categorical questions. All respondents were approached in person and requested to fill out the survey questionnaire measuring their responses in a seven point Likert-scale ranging from SA (Strongly Agree) to SD (Strongly Disagree). Questionnaire items which were originally in English, were also translated into standard Bangla language for the ease of understanding and to eliminated errors encountered by the respondents during the phase of data collection. However, all items used in study primarily adopted from previous literature related to the impact of rural electrification and adoption. Collected data were encoded into a standard statistical package, namely SPSS. Since the study focuses more on examining users’ perception and awareness, we simply incorporated basic statistics such as percentage, frequencies, and cross tab. The secondary data includes reports issued by Government and Non-government organizations, websites of regulatory institutions and POs, extensive and systematic literature search in peer reviewed international journals and online library conducted at Emerald, Google Scholar, Research Gate, IEEE, JSTOR and Science Direct platforms to gather essential insights for the study.
4. Findings and Analysis
This section of the study highlights the opinions of the household users’ of SHS in the selected two villages of the coastal region, Hatiya. In order to facilitate the understanding of the respondents, the demographic profile of the survey area along with the sample respondents have been developed and portrayed in Table 1 and Table 2.
Table 1: Demographic Profile of the Survey Area District Location Noakhali
Survey location Hatiya, Upazilla (Island)
Upzila Area 2100 Sq. Kilometer
Total population 4,52,463
Villages covered Char King & Char Ishwar
Geographic characteristics of Hatiya Island situated on the River Meghna & Bay of Bengal
Electrification status Not connected to the grid electricity
Average Family size 5.2
Average Monthly Household income 9648 Taka
Average Monthly Household expenditure 9436 Taka
Literacy rate 51.29
No. of Households 51,013
No. of households with SHS 35,207
Dominant mode of SHS installation Microfinance schemes offered by the POs Source: http://www.lged.gov.bd, http://bbs.portal.gov.bd
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Table 2: Demographic Characteristics of the Sample Respondents
Demographic Factors Frequency Percentage
Gender
Male 67 65%
Female 36 35%
Education
Up to class five 44 42.7
Up to class eight 14 13.6
Secondary School Certificate 26 25.2
Higher Secondary Certificate 17 16.5
Graduation 2 2
Occupation
Farming 11 10.7
Homemaker 35 34
Wage earning/service 28 27.2
Self-employed/Business 23 22.3
Others 6 5.8
Household Income
Below 10000 41 39.8
10000 > 15000 28 27.2
15000 > 20000 13 12.6
20000 > 25000 2 1.9
25000 & above 5 4.8
Family size
2 to 4 members 39 37.9
5 to 7 members 64 62.1
Source: Estimated result As shown in Table 1, the study conducted survey in two villages, namely the Char King and Char Ishwar of Hatiya Upzila consisting of 51,013 households. Among them, 35,207 households installed the SHS, indicating around 70% of the local population have been availing the solar electricity. Table 2 shows that 65% of the sample respondents were male and 35% were female. The average household income of the respondents was 9648 taka per month, where majority of the households (62%) have a family size of 5 to 7 members. Most of the respondents (42.7%) have studied up to class 5 and 25% have completed till secondary school certificate exam. All the female respondents were found as homemakers and the male respondents are usually farmers, day laborers and small business owners. From Table 3, it can be summarized that, in the remote rural villages of Hatiya, with absence of national electricity grid, majority of the respondents from different occupational backgrounds (66%) have strongly agreed that the use of solar electricity can facilitate them to use light bulbs at their home and thus their children can avail longer study hours at night. This is also significant in the Chi-Square test where the calculated p value is 0.002(p<0.05). Again, as observed in Table 4, around 91% respondents strongly opined that they are able to save money that they used to spend earlier for purchasing kerosene to meet households’ energy needs (p = 0.008). In this context, Table 5 exhibits that, around 64% of the users of SHS affirmed on having better and healthy in-house environment for adopting RET.
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Table 3: SHS Usage and Convenience in Children’s Study at Night Crosstab
Children get longer study hours at night
Strongly disagree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Slightly agree
Moderately agree
Strongly agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 0 0 3 6 26 35
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 5.8% 25.2% 34.0%
wage earning/service
Count 0 0 0 8 20 28
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 7.8% 19.4% 27.2%
self-employed/Business
Count 1 0 2 9 11 23
% of Total
1.0% 0.0% 1.9% 8.7% 10.7% 22.3%
Farming
Count 0 2 0 1 4 7
% of Total
0.0% 1.9% 0.0% 1.0% 3.9% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 0 1 0 5 6
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 0.0% 4.9% 5.8%
day laborer Count 0 0 0 2 2 4
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.9% 1.9% 3.9%
Total
Count 1 2 6 26 68 103
% of Total
1.0% 1.9% 5.8% 25.2% 66.0% 100.0%
Source: Estimated result
It can be stated that, in the past, when the villagers had to burn kerosene for lighting and cooking purposes, the smoke generated from heating the fuel, caused various health hazards, which has also been addressed by researchers in environmental economics and development studies (Purohit 2009, Chakrabarty & Islam 2011). Thus, the study reveals that, the usage of RET for rural electrification enhances the living condition of the underprivileged communities by providing convenience in their in-house activities.
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Table 4: Savings in Energy Cost Due to SHS Usage Crosstab
saving money that was spent for kerosene Total
Neither agree nor disagree
Slightly agree
Moderately agree
Strongly agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 0 1 3 31 35
% of Total
0.0% 1.0% 2.9% 30.1% 34.0%
wage earning/service
Count 0 0 2 26 28
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 1.9% 25.2% 27.2%
self-employed/Business
Count 0 0 1 22 23
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 21.4% 22.3%
Farming
Count 2 0 0 5 7
% of Total
1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 4.9% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 0 0 6 6
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.8% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 0 0 0 4 4
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9% 3.9%
Total Count 2 1 6 94 103
% of Total
1.9% 1.0% 5.8% 91.3% 100.0%
Source: Estimated result
From the perspective of availability of SHS components, as presented in Table 6, the study reveals that around 67% of the respondents provide their opinions about getting the needed parts and materials for SHS in the nearby local markets or shops (p = 0.000). However, the partner organizations need to pay more attention in promoting the installation of SHS in Hatiya and other underserved populations across the country, by increasing their distribution and supply chain activities. This is because approximately 10.7% of the respondents opined about the lack of availability of the system components in their areas.
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Table 5: Better In-House Environment due to using Renewable Energy Technology feel good at home with no smoke from kerosene Total
Slightly disagree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Slightly agree
Moderately agree
Strongly agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 4 11 11 6 3 35
% of Total
3.9% 10.7% 10.7% 5.8% 2.9% 34.0%
wage earning/service
Count 1 2 2 2 21 28
% of Total
1.0% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% 20.4% 27.2%
self-employed/Business
Count 0 0 3 1 19 23
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 1.0% 18.4% 22.3%
Farming
Count 1 1 0 0 5 7
% of Total
1.0% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.9% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 0 0 2 4 6
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.9% 3.9% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 0 2 1 0 1 4
% of Total
0.0% 1.9% 1.0% 0.0% 1.0% 3.9%
Total
Count 6 16 17 11 53 103
% of Total
5.8% 15.5% 16.5% 10.7% 51.5% 100.0%
Table 6: Availability of SHS Components
SHS components are available in the nearby markets Total
Strongly
disagree
Moderately
disagree
Slightly
disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Slightly
agree
Moderately
agree
Strongly
agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 0 0 7 14 11 3 0 35
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 6.8% 13.6% 10.7% 2.9% 0.0% 34.0
%
wage earning/service
Count 1 0 0 1 8 16 2 28
% of Total
1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 7.8% 15.5% 1.9% 27.2
%
self-employed/Business
Count 0 0 0 1 5 15 2 23
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 4.9% 14.6% 1.9% 22.3
%
Farming
Count 0 0 3 2 0 2 0 7
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 1.9% 0.0% 1.9% 0.0% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 6
% of Total
0.0% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.9% 0.0% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 2.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9%
Total
Count 1 1 11 21 24 41 4 103
% of Total
1.0% 1.0% 10.7% 20.4% 23.3% 39.8% 3.9% 100.0
%
Source: Estimated result
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Conversely, when it comes to the matter of affordability of SHS for the rural households, majority (52.4%) of the respondents gave their opinions indicating the fact that they consider the system is expensive considering their financial situation (p = 0.000). That is why the dominant mode purchasing the SHS in the location of the study is microfinancing the installation (Hossain, Hossain & Uddin 2017, Friebe, Von & Taube 2013). This method of financing the adoption of the system allows the users to make an initial down payment according to their financial condition as well as household energy needs and then later pay the rest of the credit amount in installment based monthly payments scheme as designed by the partner organizations. Thus microfinancing the installation of SHS have been implemented in the region as well in other rural areas of the country to address the lack of affordability of solar electrification
Table 7: Affordability of SHS for the Rural Users Crosstab
the price of SHS is affordable for us Total
Strongly
disagree
Moderately
disagree
Slightly disagre
ed
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Slightly
agree
Moderately
agree
Strongly
agree
occupation of the respondent
homemaker
Count 5 19 8 1 2 0 0 35
% of Total
4.9% 18.4% 7.8% 1.0% 1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 34.0
%
wage earning/services
Count 1 2 4 0 12 6 3 28
% of Total
1.0% 1.9% 3.9% 0.0% 11.7
% 5.8% 2.9%
27.2%
self-employed/Business
Count 1 1 2 5 4 7 3 23
% of Total
1.0% 1.0% 1.9% 4.9% 3.9% 6.8% 2.9% 22.3
%
Farming
Count 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 7
% of Total
1.0% 3.9% 1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 6
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.9% 2.9% 0.0% 1.0% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
% of Total
1.9% 1.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9%
Total 52.4 vs 39.8
Count 10 28 16 8 21 13 7 103
% of Total
9.7% 27.2% 15.5% 7.8% 20.4
% 12.6% 6.8%
100.0%
Source: Estimated result
In order to understand the users’ awareness and capability on the maintenance issues of the system, a greater majority of the respondents shared their views regarding their lack of awareness of the servicing and maintenance of the SHS, as shown in Table 8, 45% of the respondents among the surveyed users opined strongly in this regard(p = 0.008). This reveals the need of customer training and awareness programs to be brought under attention to ensure the sound operations and long term utility of the system for the beneficiaries. This also corresponds to the findings presented in Table 9, highlighting the intention of the rural communities (around 96.1% of the respondents) to use the system in future to avail the development opportunities from adopting this technology (p = 0.002).
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Table 8: Users’ Ability of SHS Maintenance we can maintain the SHS by ourselves Total
Strongly disagree
Moderately
disagree
Slightly
disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Slightly
agree
Moderately
agree
Strongly
agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 8 9 6 7 3 2 0 35
% of Total
7.8% 8.7% 5.8% 6.8% 2.9% 1.9% 0.0% 34.0
%
wage earning/service
Count 19 1 3 2 3 0 0 28
% of Total
18.4% 1.0% 2.9% 1.9% 2.9% 0.0% 0.0% 27.2
%
self-employed/Business
Count 13 2 2 2 3 0 1 23
% of Total
12.6% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% 2.9% 0.0% 1.0% 22.3
%
Farming Count 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 7
% of Total
1.0% 2.9% 2.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 6.8%
Others
Count 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
% of Total
5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4
% of Total
0.0% 2.9% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9%
Total
Count 47 18 15 11 9 2 1 103
% of Total
45.6% 17.5% 14.6% 10.7% 8.7% 1.9% 1.0% 100.0
%
Source: Estimated result
From the findings and analysis of the research, it can be noted that Hatiya, an island in the southern east coastal area of Bangladesh, is an off-grid region where the household population are totally dependent on the RET to get electricity. Referring to the respondents’ perception on the development opportunities derived from the adoption of this technology, the household users asserted strongly on the household convenience resulting from solar electricity. Thereby, these clients are more concerned about the durability and reliability of SHS in term of generating power. In this regard, as found through tables 8 and 9, more awareness programs and technology demonstration activities should be carried out in the remote rural areas to ensure the sustainability of the renewable energy programs and wellbeing of the rural communities. Based on the above discussion, it can be stated that since the identified socio-economic and environmental benefits of SHS usage represent the living standard improvement for the households in the rural areas, it is possible to draw preliminary general conclusions in terms of off-grid rural electrification in Bangladesh that contributes in promoting sustainable development. In a subsequent step, the results of this empirical study could be evaluated via quantitative analyses.
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Table 9: Clients Opinion on Continuing the Usage of SHS in Future we expect to use SHS in future Total
Strongly disagree
Moderately disagree
Slightly agree
Moderately agree
Strongly agree
occupation of the respondent
Homemaker
Count 0 0 1 14 20 35
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 13.6% 19.4% 34.0%
wage earning/service
Count 0 0 0 9 19 28
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.7% 18.4% 27.2%
self-employed/Business
Count 1 0 0 11 11 23
% of Total
1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.7% 10.7% 22.3%
Farming
Count 0 2 0 1 4 7
% of Total
0.0% 1.9% 0.0% 1.0% 3.9% 6.8%
Others
Count 0 0 0 1 5 6
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0% 4.9% 5.8%
day laborer
Count 0 0 0 4 0 4
% of Total
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.9% 0.0% 3.9%
Total
Count 1 2 1 40 59 103
% of Total
1.0% 1.9% 1.0% 38.8% 57.3% 100.0
%
Source: Estimated result
5. Concluding Remarks and Future Research Directions This study was initiated in two remote coastal villages locally known as Char King and Char Ishwar in Hatiya Upazila of Noakhali district. Realizing the gap between urban and rural electrification status, this study highlights that, off-grid power generation systems, like SHS, appear to be the most suitable alternative to provide the electricity services to the isolated and underprivileged rural communities. This has been addressed in this study by assessing the users’ perception regarding the implications of SHS usage which received less attention from the researchers and growing body of literature in the relevant field. The analysis reveals that although installation cost SHS is higher comparing to the average household income of the rural households, yet, the users place more importance on the household convenience and savings in energy costs that they avail by adopting the technology. It should also be noted that, most of the users in the region are unaware of the regular maintenance of the system, however they are inclined to continue the use of solar electricity due to the development opportunities associated with such RET. Findings of the study can be an important outline for the participating organizations and supervisory institutions for developing managerial insights and technical capacities to address the sustainability of the SHS program in rural communities. Additionally, the research outcome would add value in the prevailing literature on rural electrification by RET. The study can further be elaborated to identify the factors influencing the adoption of RET and examine the relationship among those to promote the acceptance of the technology in the target market.
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This research manifests the renewable energy interventions, based on solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, in remote rural communities. Other forms of solar energy like concentrating solar power (CSP) and grid-connected solar PV system are not included in the present study due to the less prevalence of such practice in the country.
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