Photovoltaics for Rural Electrification in Developing Countries

Tania Urmee has been directly involved in renewable energy research and development from 1996 to the present. She started her career working for Grameen Shakti (GS), a non profit organization in Bangladesh that was established to promote the take up of solar home systems in rural areas of Bangladesh using a micro-credit financing mechanism. She also worked as research associates at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand in the projects funded by Global Network for Energy and Sustainable Development (GNESD) and the Swedish SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and the Thailand Energy and Environment Network (TENET). During this time she worked on the policy analysis of institutional reforms of energy markets in developing countries, successfully analysed the policies of Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam. She also served as assistant editor for the international Energy Journal published by the "Regional Energy Resources Information Centre (RERIC)". Tania Urmee completed her Ph. D. from Murdoch University of Western Australia (MU) in 2009. She used her experience in this area, to supervise research students and to publish the results to disseminate the information to the international community. Tania Urmee has a deep passion for renewable energy and energy efficiency and has a strong desire to share this knowledge and experience with the research communities (related and interdisciplinary) in the world. She is also internationally known for her contributions to the social, economical and environmental issues with rural electrification using renewable energy. She has developed a holistic approach to rural electrification using RE in developing countries. David Harries is an executive director of four companies, EMC Ltd, EMC Construction, EMC Technology Australia and Solar Farm Carnarvon, all of which are part of a group of solar energy companies based in West Perth. He is an Adjunct Professor with the University of Western Australia's School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering. He is a board member of the WA branch of the Australian Solar Energy Council and Vice President (and former President) of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, and president of the Compassionate Friends of Western Australia. His previous work and roles have included establishing and heading up the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE) at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, which was an accredited testing facility for renewable energy equipment and systems such as PV inverters and which incorporated the national small wind turbine testing centre. David also set up the Centre for Research into Sustainable Transport (CREST), a joint Murdoch University and Curtin University initiative, was the Executive Director of the Western Australian government's Sustainable Energy Development Office and the Assistant Director of the Office of Energy Planning and Conservation in Tasmania. His work in the energy field over three decades has included major projects on natural gas, electricity, renewable energy and energy efficiency. David has represented governments on several high level energy policy committees and advisory panels, has presented papers at a number of international energy conferences and has published a number of peer reviewed journal papers. In his academic career he has supervised numerous Master and Ph.D. research projects and several of these have focused on renewable energy opportunities, policies and programs in developing countries, including wind, biomass and on solar home system projects.

Introduction.- Solar Home Systems - A Description of the Technology and its Applications.- Overview of financing mechanisms for Solar PV Home Systems in developing countries.- Success and Sustainability Criteria and Issues for SHS Programmes.- Programme Evaluation.- Framework for Successful Implementation of SHS Programme.- Choosing the Right Path.