Swarm Electrification: From Solar Home Systems to the National Grid and Back Again?

Abstract

Electricity produced through solar home systems (SHS) represents attractive energy supply solutions for the unelectrified population in the Global South, particularly in its remote areas. Together with the respective range of appliances, SHSs represent an unattended and untapped infrastructure. We re-define the different categories of unelectrified and electrified population in the Global South, while describing the applications and usage characteristics of SHSs and the national grid. We introduce the notion of servicing the national grid through swarm electrification, defining the future of utilities through a combination of bottom-up interconnected individual solutions and top-down concentrated energy supply.