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dam-l Renewable energy report/LS



http://ens.lycos.com/ens/oct99/1999L-10-28-01.html

Renewable Energy Promises to Supply Rural Needs

                           LONDON, England, October 28, 1999 (ENS) - There
is a clear link between energy poverty, hunger and
                           ill-health for nearly one in every three people
on Earth, says a new report by the World Energy Council (WEC) and
                           the United Nations' Food & Agricultural
Organization.

                           "The majority of these two billion people live
in the rural areas of developing countries, so the publication of this
                           report marks an important step for us and sets a
challenging agenda," says WEC secretary general Gerald Doucet.
                           "We cannot alleviate hunger without solving
issues of energy supply and use."

                           The report examines a number of options for the
generation of electricity, including biomass, wind, photovoltaic,
                           solar thermal, micro-hydro, hybrid systems and
energy storage.

                           The key to solving the massive energy problems
of people in the rural areas of developing countries without access
                           to commercial sources of electricity is to
change the mindset of developed nations, the report concludes.

                                                            Prepared by a
steering committee drawn from seven countries and four

international organisations, the report  advises that the people who will
use
                                                                        the
power should play an influential role in the planning process. The

needs of rural residents must be considered when planning and

implementing new power projects, to  ensure that investments are not
squandered.

                           Citing the attention given recently to the
importance of poverty reduction by the International Monetary Fund and
                           the United Nations, chairman of the steering
committee, José Malhães da Silva of Brazil, said, "It is vital for world
                           stability that globalisation not leave the
poorest behind. That risk is particularly acute for the rural poor in
                           developing countries."

                           Rural home in the Brazilian state of
                           Pernambuco supplied with solar power

                           More than half the world's population lives in
rural areas
                           using wood, dung and crop waste for fuel. "This
                           combination barely fulfils the energy
requirements of the
                           basic human needs of nutrition, warmth and light, let
                           alone the possibility to harness energy for
productive uses
                           which might begin to permit escape from the cycle of
                           poverty," the report points out.

                           It is estimated that seven percent of current global
                           electricity generation could meet the basic
human needs of
                           rural people in developing countries "but, in an
age of
                           apparently advanced technological and management
skills,
                           we have failed this relatively modest
challenge," the report says.

                           Most developing nations have rural
electrification programs that promote renewable energy sources or grid
                           extension.
                                                    "In principle,
renewable energies, such as photovoltaics and wind power,
                                                    should find good
application in rural areas, but they play a minor role at
                                                    this time," the report
concludes. The costs of electrification are
                                                    underestimated while
the benefits are overstated, and switching to modern
                                                    energy systems costs
more than rural households can afford.

                                                    The report examines a
number of renewable energy technologies and rural
                                                    electrification,
including solar home systems in Indonesia, leasing of
                                                    solar systems in the
Dominican Republic, financing of solar systems in
                                                    India, and solar rural
electrification in Morocco.

                                                    The London based World
Energy Council is a global multi-energy
                                                    organization with
committees and activities in 100 countries, including
                                                    most of the largest
energy producing and consuming countries in the  world.

                           Initiated in 1923 as the international
association of the electricity industry, the WEC has evolved to cover all
forms
                           of energy from oil, coal and gas, through
uranium to hydro and renewables such as solar power and wind as well as
                           energy efficiency and energy conservation.
Throughout its history, the WEC has been non-governmental and
                           non-commercial.

                           © Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All
Rights Reserved.

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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