Lighting Rural and Peri-Urban Homes of the Gambia Using Solar Photovoltaics (PV)

Abstract

The role of energy in development is crucial. Energy fuels economic growth and is therefore of paramount con- cern for all countries. This was one of the main themes at the world summit on sustainable development (WSSD) held in South Africa in 2002. The Johannesburg plan of implementation highlighted the role of energy service to promote sus- tainable development and to facilitate the achievement of the MDGs. One of the growing concerns is the persistent en- ergy poverty that is seriously impeding socio-economic development, particularly in sub-Saharan African and in countries of South Asia, but also in many other developing countries. Renewable energy is the solution to the growing energy chal- lenges of developing countries like the Gambia. The heavy reliance on imported fossil fuel coupled with the growing de- mand for electricity and declining wood fuel supplies call for alternative sources of energy. Finding ways to expand en- ergy services, while addressing the environmental impacts associated with energy use, represents a critical challenge for humanity. Recent developments in countries like China and India, where energy production has increased significantly, demonstrate how difficult it is. The decentralized approach based on power produced with locally available renewable en- ergy resources is, for various reasons, gradually being recognized as a viable alternative in remote places. This research attempts to initiate, from a broad-based socio-economic and environmental point of view, the feasibility of a decentralized solar photovoltaic (SPV) system as a source of power for rural and peri-urban communities of the Gambia.