ALM UNDP

Summary:

 The main development objective of this project is to improve the life of rural human services providers by making available affordable, environmentally sound, basic electricity services from renewable energy. This will help improve teacher and health worker retention by reducing isolation (through access to radio and other communications) and providing safer and better living conditions (through access to lower-cost, better quality lighting). The main global environmental objective is to create early markets for solar PV household electrification and build the capacity on the part of all market participants (providers, purchasers, lenders, and regulators) needed to rapidly scale up renewable energy applications in PNG. Provision of lighting in rural Papua New Guinea (PNG) is mostly through diesel or kerosene lamps. These have become extremely expensive, due both to rising fuel costs and the cost of transporting fuels by plane or by foot. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) electricity in the form of solar house lighting kits (SHLK) can provide a less-costly, higher-quality and more reliable lighting option than kerosene lighting or dry cell battery lighting. However, there are many barriers that must be overcome before SHLK can make commercial inroads in PNG. A small scale pilot, targeting 2,500 teacher’s households in 5 provinces, should establish sufficient confidence in the technology and SHLK suppliers on the part of users and lenders to allow scaling up, both to the more than 50,000 other government employees (teachers, health workers, police officers) posted to rural locations and eventually to many of the 800,000 total rural households lacking electricity in the country. This medium-sized GEF project has been prepared to address specific barriers identified as preventing the use of solar PV for house lighting and other purposes in remote areas. The pilot, to be followed by rapid replication in other provinces, will yield global environmental benefits in the form of lower carbon emissions from reductions in household use of kerosene and diesel fuels. The selection of teachers (and eventually other rural human services providers) as the target group enhances country driven-ness and makes it possible for the project to contribute to the international Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well.

1. Improve delivery of education and health services in rural PNG through longer retention of teachers (and eventually health workers) posted to remote rural areas;

2. Remove barriers to the wide spread use of solar PV for electricity use in areas not likely to ever be served by centralized or decentralized power grids