Demonstration of Housing Energisation

to Reduce Climate Change

A project sponsored by

US AID and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism

Project Aim and Objectives

The overall goal of the project was to show the extent to which energisation of rural communities can limit the contribution of energy use to climate change whilst offering a means for sustainable development. It aimed to determine whether a user-owner model of energisation was effective in the rural South African context, and whether it could be implemented on a commercial basis. A successful demonstration would provide the evidence necessary for widespread replication.

This project was intended as a first phase towards the ultimate goal, since provision of energy for household use was be the focus at this stage. By energising a community in this way - with the associated benefits of employment creation, health and safety improvements and provision for educative activity - the foundation is laid for the future development of micro-enterprise opportunities and hence more extensive income generation. Thus the first, self-contained phase of this longer-term initiative, had the following objectives:

• Modern energy supplies provided to a small community, with reduced impact on climate change
  
  
• Environmental improvement from reduced greenhouse gas emissions and conservation of carbon sinks
  
  
• Direct contribution to the sustainable economic development of disadvantaged communities
  
  
• Direct and indirect social benefits from job creation and education opportunities
  
  
• Improvement of health and safety from reduced respiratory illness and accidental paraffin ingestion
  
  
• Development of micro-enterprises within the community facilitated
• Local environmental quality enhanced by reduced air pollution and regeneration of vegetation
  
  
• Access to credit by households improved by the development of a positive banking record
  
  
• Demonstration of an effective model for energisation that may be replicated in other communities without the need for direct external financing for the capital costs of equipment