Decentralized Energy Access and the Millennium Development Goals

Decentralized, off-grid power supplies such as micro-hydropower can be perceived as expensive investments by poor countries like Nepal. Can these investments be justified by the benefits that electricity brings to villages in remote mountainous regions? This book describes research into the development gains brought to such villages, measured in terms of progress towards achieving the millennium development goals. Indicators relating to income, education, gender equality, maternal and child health and environmental impact were measured in villages benefiting from micro-hydropower, compared with neighboring villages without an electricity supply. The cumulative development advantages were found to far outweigh the investment costs of a micro-hydropower system. The household income benefits and cost savings associated with an electricity supply were found to be considerable, and to outweigh the investment costs of micro-hydropower over the lifetime of an installation. Where businesses that exploited the new energy supply had been started, the income gains were even more marked. In addition, there were other significant development benefits in terms of education, gender equality and health. Decentralized Energy Access and the Millennium Development Goalsprovides conclusive evidence of these transformative benefits and recommends that Nepal, and countries like it, scale up investments in its micro-hydropower program.