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Mrs. Andrea Eras-Almeida
Instituto de Energía Solar

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0 Energy Policy
0 Optimization
0 Quality Assurance
0 Renewable Energy
0 Rural Electrification

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Review
Published: 10 March 2021 in Sustainability
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The electrification of isolated homes in rural areas without access to the electric grid has been achieved in part using solar energy transformed into electricity through Photovoltaic (PV) equipment known as Solar Home Systems (SHSs), which has been widely disseminated throughout the world. The use of SHSs in rural electrification projects has been studied from 1980 to date, they have been incorporating advances and technological innovations successively. Through the review of documents on PV projects, articles, and technical reports, it has been possible to identify the changes in the main components of the SHS and the typical configurations, systematizing them in a discrete timeline. Thereby, this article characterizes three generations of SHSs and highlights their differences. The first generation is fully valid between 1980–1995, the second generation in 1995–2010, and the third generation from 2005 to date, which overlaps the beginning. In any case, the time limits in each period are only referential. The later generation, Third Generation Solar Home Systems (3G-SHSs), is highly efficient, uses LED lamps, lithium batteries, microelectronic control, and plug and play connections. Indeed, this equipment can be self-managed by the user and reflects the technology’s high reliability by a minimum maintenance service in situ. Furthermore, their lower costs make access to electricity more affordable for the last mile population. The present research offers a detailed technological and operational characterization of the 3G-SHSs to show the most relevant aspects of support to project developers, planners, and decision-makers to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.

ACS Style

Miguel Fernandez-Fuentes; Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Egido-Aguilera. Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3032 .

AMA Style

Miguel Fernandez-Fuentes, Andrea Eras-Almeida, Miguel Egido-Aguilera. Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (6):3032.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miguel Fernandez-Fuentes; Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Egido-Aguilera. 2021. "Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems." Sustainability 13, no. 6: 3032.

Journal article
Published: 23 February 2021 in Journal of Refugee Studies
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More than 26 million people are recognized globally as refugees and have been forced to flee from their home countries because of poverty, human rights violations, natural disasters, climate change, and other social and political conflicts. What is more, most host communities are usually poor and face social and economic crises. This is why supporting integration between refugees and host communities is imperative at the global humanitarian context. Thereby, this research presents the NAUTIA (Need Assessment under a Technological Interdisciplinary Approach) methodology, an innovative mixed-method approach designed by the Platform on Refugees of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. The main objective of NAUTIA is to identify the basic needs of refugees and locals to improve their quality of life through interdisciplinary and inclusive intervention proposals based on technology. The methodology was applied in the permanent Shimelba Refugee Camp (Ethiopia), where energy, shelter, and food security solutions have resulted essential to improve the living conditions of both population groups. The results are useful for researchers, stakeholders, and practitioners from the humanitarian sector as they provide a more innovative and comprehensive way to support the unprecedented global human mobility there is nowadays.

ACS Style

Adela Salas-Ruiz; Andrea A Eras-Almeida; Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero; Alberto Sanz-Cobena; Susana Muñoz-Hernández; Juana Canet; Alejandra Rojo-Losada; Belén Gesto-Barroso. A novel methodology for supporting integration between refugees and host communities: NAUTIA (need assessment under a technological interdisciplinary approach). Journal of Refugee Studies 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Adela Salas-Ruiz, Andrea A Eras-Almeida, Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero, Alberto Sanz-Cobena, Susana Muñoz-Hernández, Juana Canet, Alejandra Rojo-Losada, Belén Gesto-Barroso. A novel methodology for supporting integration between refugees and host communities: NAUTIA (need assessment under a technological interdisciplinary approach). Journal of Refugee Studies. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adela Salas-Ruiz; Andrea A Eras-Almeida; Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero; Alberto Sanz-Cobena; Susana Muñoz-Hernández; Juana Canet; Alejandra Rojo-Losada; Belén Gesto-Barroso. 2021. "A novel methodology for supporting integration between refugees and host communities: NAUTIA (need assessment under a technological interdisciplinary approach)." Journal of Refugee Studies , no. : 1.

Review
Published: 02 September 2020 in Sustainability
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The common agreement of the United Nation members pushes the 2030 Agenda ahead to alleviate poverty and ensure wellbeing for all, recognizing energy as a crucial pathway to achieving this goal under three core dimensions: human development, sustainable economic growth, and environmental sustainability. Affordable and clean energy is represented by the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). This great scope represents a multifaceted challenge for all countries, especially for the most disadvantaged environments such as small islands and rural areas from developing countries. Both small islands and rural areas experience a scarcity of goods and services such as energy and are isolated from markets, have lack of human resources, difficulties in deploying economies of scale, and other issues that affect their development. Along the same line, their energy security is limited by their dependence on imported fuels, increasing electricity prices or making it infeasible to access electricity. This research builds the state of the art of off-grid energy systems for both contexts based on an extensive review of literature. The evidence shows that moving sustainable energy systems forward requires getting more people involved, the application of several business models, prevalent technological innovations, and the application of technical quality procedures. This perspective would really help to address the vulnerabilities of fragile locations. Here, auctions, the Energy Service Company, community, and Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) models and renewable energy projects based on mature technology present a great opportunity for a sustainable future, powering a nexus among energy, environment, and society.

ACS Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Egido-Aguilera. What Is Still Necessary for Supporting the SDG7 in the Most Vulnerable Contexts? Sustainability 2020, 12, 7184 .

AMA Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida, Miguel Egido-Aguilera. What Is Still Necessary for Supporting the SDG7 in the Most Vulnerable Contexts? Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):7184.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Egido-Aguilera. 2020. "What Is Still Necessary for Supporting the SDG7 in the Most Vulnerable Contexts?" Sustainability 12, no. 17: 7184.

Journal article
Published: 14 March 2020 in Sustainability
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The fragile ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands is being affected by population growth, intensive tourism, the exploitation of local resources and the high consumption of imported fossil fuels. This unsustainable development model makes the provision of services such as electricity a challenge. This research investigates the hybrid renewable mini-grid Baltra–Santa Cruz, which represents 62% of the electricity generation mix of the archipelago. This study aims to support the Galapagos Zero Fossil Fuel Initiative and the Sustainable Development Goal 7 through the reduction in diesel consumption and electricity generation costs. To do so, HOMER Pro, a specialized hybrid renewable mini-grid planning tool, is used to perform several techno-economic assessments, focusing on different electricity demand scenarios. Therefore, multiple pathways are compared to identify the most reliable alternatives towards the progressive decarbonization of this hybrid system. The results indicate that installing 18.25 MWp of photovoltaic and 20.68 MWh of battery capacity could reduce the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) from 32.06 to 18.95 USc/kWh, increasing the renewable energy (RE) share from 18% to 39%. Additionally, the successful application of energy efficiency measures would even reduce the LCOE to 17.10 USc/kWh. What is more, distributed energy is considered the most attractive way to involve islanders in the energy transition process. Finally, this paper offers a comprehensive business model proposal to achieve a resilient energy supply, based on a combination of auctions and energy community models, which demands high political will, reliable and innovative regulations and social awareness about energy use.

ACS Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera; Philipp Blechinger; Sarah Berendes; Estefanía Caamaño; Enrique García-Alcalde. Decarbonizing the Galapagos Islands: Techno-Economic Perspectives for the Hybrid Renewable Mini-Grid Baltra–Santa Cruz. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2282 .

AMA Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida, Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera, Philipp Blechinger, Sarah Berendes, Estefanía Caamaño, Enrique García-Alcalde. Decarbonizing the Galapagos Islands: Techno-Economic Perspectives for the Hybrid Renewable Mini-Grid Baltra–Santa Cruz. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (6):2282.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea Eras-Almeida; Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera; Philipp Blechinger; Sarah Berendes; Estefanía Caamaño; Enrique García-Alcalde. 2020. "Decarbonizing the Galapagos Islands: Techno-Economic Perspectives for the Hybrid Renewable Mini-Grid Baltra–Santa Cruz." Sustainability 12, no. 6: 2282.

Journal article
Published: 13 December 2019 in Sustainability
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There are 17 million people without access to electricity services in Latin America. This population lives in small isolated and scattered communities with low incomes where it is difficult to achieve 100% access to electricity by the grid extension. Therefore, it is necessary to create market mechanisms and promote off-grid electrification in which photovoltaic (PV) technology plays a fundamental role. This research assesses successful projects developed in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia, where 3rd Generation Solar Home Systems (3G-SHSs) are being introduced to support off-grid initiatives. To do so, we applied a mixed-methods approach including a comparative case study analysis, an extensive literature review, focus group discussions, and field research. Thereby, the lessons learned reveal that confidence, commitment, and flexibility are the main pillars of rural electrification. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the combination of various business models—an energy service company, fee-for-service, pay-as-you-go, and a microfranchising—with 3G-SHSs is powerfully effective in terms of sustainability. Our findings are useful to policy makers, researchers, promoters, and other stakeholders to rethink intervention strategies in rural areas. Access to electricity must be a state policy to facilitate the participation of new actors, especially of the private sector and communities, and the introduction of innovative business models and high-quality technology.

ACS Style

Andrea A. Eras-Almeida; Miguel Fernández; Julio Eisman; José G. Martín; Estefanía Caamaño; Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera. Lessons Learned from Rural Electrification Experiences with Third Generation Solar Home Systems in Latin America: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7139 .

AMA Style

Andrea A. Eras-Almeida, Miguel Fernández, Julio Eisman, José G. Martín, Estefanía Caamaño, Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera. Lessons Learned from Rural Electrification Experiences with Third Generation Solar Home Systems in Latin America: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (24):7139.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrea A. Eras-Almeida; Miguel Fernández; Julio Eisman; José G. Martín; Estefanía Caamaño; Miguel A. Egido-Aguilera. 2019. "Lessons Learned from Rural Electrification Experiences with Third Generation Solar Home Systems in Latin America: Case Studies in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia." Sustainability 11, no. 24: 7139.

Review
Published: 01 October 2019 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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Most small islands, with populations of between 1000 and 100,000 inhabitants, have non-interconnected power generation systems consisting of thermal power plants. This affects their ecological balance and implies a financial dependency on the price of fossil fuels and high electricity generation costs. However, small islands can accelerate their energy transition to become lower-carbon economies thanks to their enormous renewable energy potential. This research presents the current state of the art of hybrid renewable mini-grids (HRMGs) on non-interconnected small islands. To do so, a comparative analysis was applied among islands located in the Atlantic and Arctic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas based on an extensive review of the literature. This study identifies business models applied to support the introduction of renewable energy and the key factors for the implementation of HRMGs on small islands. This review highlights how developed islands are successful in achieving their ambitious renewable energy targets. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the least developed islands from the Pacific and Indian Oceans need to strengthen their weak regulatory frameworks and define suitable business models to promote renewable energy projects, involving private entities. Furthermore, these islands should find alternative funding sources apart from foreign aid. Developing islands should guide international cooperation in favor of effective policies and fostering local capacities. In those regions, thanks to the low prices of renewable technologies, the most attractive mechanisms for the implementation of HRMGs are the Renewable Energy Service Company model, competitive auctions and tax incentives.

ACS Style

A.A. Eras-Almeida; Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera. Hybrid renewable mini-grids on non-interconnected small islands: Review of case studies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2019, 116, 109417 .

AMA Style

A.A. Eras-Almeida, Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera. Hybrid renewable mini-grids on non-interconnected small islands: Review of case studies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2019; 116 ():109417.

Chicago/Turabian Style

A.A. Eras-Almeida; Miguel Angel Egido Aguilera. 2019. "Hybrid renewable mini-grids on non-interconnected small islands: Review of case studies." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 116, no. : 109417.