been expected, what is surprising is that technical design and standards didn’t play a
significant role and, contrary to expectation, the centralized nature of the infrastructure did have an impact through the respective governance structures. That is,
decentralized infrastructure projects tend to have weak communal governance
structures that aren’t conducive to good adaptation strategies, while the opposite
proved to be true. This fact highlights the important correlation between infrastructure centralization and robust governance structures, which was not originally
hypothesized.
11.6 Renewable Energy and Climate Mitigation
Community scale DRE projects have encountered difficulties with the CDM despite
them meeting emissions reductions goals. Besides the well documented barriers of
a lengthy process not understood at the community level, and the high transactions
costs, it is very difficult to calculate the net amount of emission reductions because
of deficiencies in baseline emissions calculations. This is particularly true in projects where a subset of the beneficiaries enjoyed some kind of modern energy
source, whether it was grid electricity or a diesel or gas generator. One project in
Nicaragua exemplifies this as the baseline is calculated with the emissions factor of
the country’s energy mix, even when 18 of the 20 beneficiary communities used
traditional energy sources, in which their emissions are considerably lower. Other
projects highlight the finding that DRE projects can increase emissions: as electricity demand increases through the use of new appliances, use of fossil fuels tends
to increase when the DRE system can not supply electricity for those new appliances. The most common cases seen were in stores that relied on refrigerators,
whether through a PV system or a hydroelectric plant. In one community, their own
DRE system no longer has sufficient capacity to meet the community’s demand and
they are now thinking of a grid connection. These results are similar to those found
in India (Reddy et al. 2006), which also highlight both the needs for involvement of
local communities and of vulnerability and sustainability analysis of local resource
management. The latter were missing from most of the case studies analysed in this
research.
Table 11.6. describes the changes in supply, infrastructure, and demand that
occurred with each project. The changes in demand reflect the changes the systems
were designed for.
11.7 Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development
DRE projects were found to have a positive impact on livelihoods assets by
improving its five capitals: financial, physical, human, social, and environmental.
Financial capital was enhanced by energy cost savings, productive use and alternate
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D. Ley
significant role and, contrary to expectation, the centralized nature of the infrastructure did have an impact through the respective governance structures. That is,
decentralized infrastructure projects tend to have weak communal governance
structures that aren’t conducive to good adaptation strategies, while the opposite
proved to be true. This fact highlights the important correlation between infrastructure centralization and robust governance structures, which was not originally
hypothesized.
11.6 Renewable Energy and Climate Mitigation
Community scale DRE projects have encountered difficulties with the CDM despite
them meeting emissions reductions goals. Besides the well documented barriers of
a lengthy process not understood at the community level, and the high transactions
costs, it is very difficult to calculate the net amount of emission reductions because
of deficiencies in baseline emissions calculations. This is particularly true in projects where a subset of the beneficiaries enjoyed some kind of modern energy
source, whether it was grid electricity or a diesel or gas generator. One project in
Nicaragua exemplifies this as the baseline is calculated with the emissions factor of
the country’s energy mix, even when 18 of the 20 beneficiary communities used
traditional energy sources, in which their emissions are considerably lower. Other
projects highlight the finding that DRE projects can increase emissions: as electricity demand increases through the use of new appliances, use of fossil fuels tends
to increase when the DRE system can not supply electricity for those new appliances. The most common cases seen were in stores that relied on refrigerators,
whether through a PV system or a hydroelectric plant. In one community, their own
DRE system no longer has sufficient capacity to meet the community’s demand and
they are now thinking of a grid connection. These results are similar to those found
in India (Reddy et al. 2006), which also highlight both the needs for involvement of
local communities and of vulnerability and sustainability analysis of local resource
management. The latter were missing from most of the case studies analysed in this
research.
Table 11.6. describes the changes in supply, infrastructure, and demand that
occurred with each project. The changes in demand reflect the changes the systems
were designed for.
11.7 Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development
DRE projects were found to have a positive impact on livelihoods assets by
improving its five capitals: financial, physical, human, social, and environmental.
Financial capital was enhanced by energy cost savings, productive use and alternate
204
D. Ley