TY - JOUR
T1 - The social value of mid-scale energy in Africa
T2 - Redefining value and redesigning energy to reduce poverty
AU - Miller, Clark
AU - Altamirano-Allende, Carlo
AU - Johnson, Nathan
AU - Agyemang, Malena
N1 - Funding Information:
This material is based upon work partially supported by the Engineering Research Center Program of the National Science Foundation and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy under NSF Cooperative Agreement No. EEC-1041895 . Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation or Department of Energy.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/1
Y1 - 2015/1
N2 - This short communication suggests the need to attend carefully to the social value of energy in designing projects to reduce energy poverty. We define the social value of energy in terms of the total value derived by an individual or community from the use of energy, including economic and other forms of value, less any risks or burdens that accompany energy production, transmission, and consumption. This simple definition enables two significant assessments. First, the social value of energy projects can be compared to their costs, to evaluate whether projects are worth investing in, even if they may appear uneconomic in narrower terms. This is especially significant in contexts such as off-grid or renewable energy projects that may have higher energy costs. Second, the socio-technical design of energy projects can be evaluated to determine whether the project will deliver the kinds of energy services, via appropriate strategies, that enhance social value.
AB - This short communication suggests the need to attend carefully to the social value of energy in designing projects to reduce energy poverty. We define the social value of energy in terms of the total value derived by an individual or community from the use of energy, including economic and other forms of value, less any risks or burdens that accompany energy production, transmission, and consumption. This simple definition enables two significant assessments. First, the social value of energy projects can be compared to their costs, to evaluate whether projects are worth investing in, even if they may appear uneconomic in narrower terms. This is especially significant in contexts such as off-grid or renewable energy projects that may have higher energy costs. Second, the socio-technical design of energy projects can be evaluated to determine whether the project will deliver the kinds of energy services, via appropriate strategies, that enhance social value.
KW - Africa
KW - Design
KW - Energy poverty
KW - Energy services
KW - Renewable energy
KW - Social value
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U2 - 10.1016/j.erss.2014.12.013
DO - 10.1016/j.erss.2014.12.013
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85027935202
VL - 5
SP - 67
EP - 69
JO - Energy Research and Social Science
JF - Energy Research and Social Science
SN - 2214-6296
ER -
