Energy access

H. Harish Hande and Surabhi Rajagopal

Chapter 24 in Handbook of Energy Innovation, 2026, pp 474-492 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Energy access has typically been viewed as the challenge of ensuring household access to electricity and clean cooking facilities to poor and remote populations around the world. This chapter discusses the evolution of the energy access problem over the last three decades to better consider how it catalyses development outcomes, focusing on the question of ‘energy access for whom and for what?’. It explores how decentralised renewable energy-based solutions for electricity, in particular, can play a role in addressing the question at hand. Within this context, the chapter argues for a conducive ecosystem for solutions to be designed, implemented, and utilised sustainably. This involves debunking two critical myths. Firstly, that if electricity is made available, mechanisation, income improvements, and wellbeing will follow automatically. The reality is that this can only happen when technology innovation follows from co-designing solutions with end users, building local maintenance capacity, and ensuring market linkages. Secondly, these solutions are expensive for the poor. This chapter explores how appliance efficiency, delivery models, and affordable financing can better address this myth. Co-innovating with champions and creating supportive ecosystems for energy access can catalyse development outcomes within planetary boundaries.

Keywords: Decentralised Renewable Energy; Ecosystem; Last-mile Communities; Energy Access (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310401
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