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Renewable Energy for Poverty Alleviation

by Dr Engr. M Anwar Hossain
**Education turns out to be the most important component of social services to combat poverty. It allows the poor to participate in modern sectors at better wages increasing productivity and incomes. It empowers the poor to get their share of economic growth.
POVERTY is rampant in Bangladesh having a population of about 124 million In an area of about 1.44.000 sq km As due attention Is not given to the villages where about 80 per cent of the people live. It is the rural people who are hard it. The rural poor are mainly landless labourers, small and marginal farmers, rural artisans, destitute women and unemployed vouth.
Poverty has been defined tn quantitative as well as qualitative ways and both combined. The quantitative approach typically defines poverty in terms of income or consumption. Sometimes consumption is preferred to income because consumption is more accurately recorded for households that may have diverse sources of income and as consumption also includes non-income consumption items like consumption of own produce and the use of social services. Qualitative approach. on the other hand, is entirely different. It is based on vulnerability, powerlessness, isolation, survival, personal dignity, basic needs, ownership of assets, etc.
The poverty line is a key concept in the quantitative approach and is relevant to low income countries like Bangladesh. A person is considered "poor", if consumption falls below a predetermined level. Considering Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) standard of 2112 calories intake per person per day and average 1991-92 village-level prices of Bangladesh, if is estimated (Khandaker and Chowdhury) that the level of consumption that qualified as moderate poverty was Tk 5270/- (USS 132) per person per year, while the level of consumption that determined extreme poverty was Tk 3,330/-(US$ 84). In their estimates of poverty line expenses, nonfood expenses were Included as 30 per cent of food expenses and extreme poverty line food expenses were based on food requirements like rice, wheat, pulse, potato and vegetables only.
Another study (Rahman et
al) defines poverty line on the basis of per capita income. In the year 1994. rural per capita income in Bangladesh was Tk 8.803 (USS 220). while poverty line income was estimated as Tk 6.287/- (USS 158) and ex treme poverty as Tk 3.757/-(US$ 94) The rate of change in the poverty line income was 4 4 per cent during 1987-89 and 7 per cent during 1989-94. Based on these income measures it was stated that the proportion of people living in poverty fell from 57.5 per cent in 1987 to 51.7 per cent in 1994 Moderate poverty declined from 31.7 per cent In 1987 to 29.2 per cent in 1994. while extreme poverty declined from 25.8 per cent to 22.5 per cent in the same period. These declines have however been attributed primarily to the drastic reduction in the growth of rural population due to rural-urban migration and reduction in natural growth of population.
Though rural poverty in Bangladesh has shown modest improvement, a great deal still remains to be done. It is heartening that the present Government attaches highest priority to alleviation of poverty. The Draft Fifth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) shows that the concept of poverty alleviation has come In the mainstream in the macro planning in Bangladesh emphasizing the importance of social mobilization with a view to preparing pro-poor plan. It is Indeed a good start.
Why Poverty?
The extent of poverty in a country is primarily increased by two factors : decUne in overall income and a more unequal distribution of income and in Bangladesh the latter perhaps contributes more. To combat poverty, therefore, actions are necessary on both the fronts.
It was believed that the effects of national economic growth would trickle down to the poor in the society, but unfortunately this did not happen that effectively perhaps because of some invisible net in between. Though the economy has been growing at a fairly comfortable rate for the past decade and a half, with an overall
growth in GDP of 4.6 per cent from 1975 to 1991, the structural shift that would have absorbed surplus agricultural labour into the productive sector did not take place. To overcome this, extensive targeted actions have been initiated by both Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) in the form of micro-credits to the poor without any collateral for both agricultural and non-fanp activities so that the poor can reap their due share through modernizing agriculture, increasing rural non-farm employment and finally the social transformation of the rural people.
Yet another study (Hossain) shows that the targeted credit programmes help alleviate poverty by temporarily increasing the income of the poor. These contain poverty, but cannot alleviate it on a sustainable basis. What is needed is perhaps to create an environment in which participating households can move from poverty to a cycle of growth.
Access to quality social services has a direct impact on reducing poverty. Provision of targeted social services is an effective and necessary complement to an economic growth strategy and to social integration.
Education turns out to be the most important component of social services to combat poverty. It allows the poor to participate in modern sectors at better wages increasing productivity and incomes. It empowers the poor to get their share of economic growth. Besides educated women generally choose lower fertility rates which in turn lower population growth. Good health care is another important component which reduces morbidity and thus increases productivity, incomes and the capacity to learn. Safe drinking water and good sanitation retain the productive po-
tential of the adult and increase the ability to absorb nutrients of the food by reducing water borne diseases.
One study (Geyndt) observes that a country with a high number of absolute poor usually has social services that are less well developed, but a lower level of income does not necessarily mean that a country has a higher incidence of absolute poverty. This suggests that for low income countries one of the strategies to alleviate poverty may be delivery of quality social services to the people.
Energy and Development
Energy, whatever type may be — commercial, renewable or muscle, is the basic input for all development activities. There is a strong correlation between per capita energy consumption and economic development of a country. Again one study (Frisch) the observed that, for developing countries the per capita energy consumption needed at subsistence level is about 0.2 ton of oil equivalent (TOE), while it is 0.8 TOE at the development threshold. In Bangladesh, per capita total energy consumption rose from 0.09 TOE in 1971 to 0.12 TOE in 1993 which is well below development threshold value of 0.8 TOE. Again out of this total, the share of traditional fuels like fuel wood, cowdung. Jute stick, rice and wheat straw, rice husk, bagasse, leaves, twigs, etc. was very high. In 1993, these fuels contributed about 46 per cent while gas. 35 per cent ofi. 15 per cent, coal, 3 per cent and hydro, 1 per cent. Traditional fuels are primarily used in rural areas and these are sometimes referred to as "fuels of the poor". The contribution of biomass fuels to the total energy supply was about 66 per cent in 1980. The rural poor have little access to commercial sources of energy ’ like oil. gas. coal, electricity, etc. They are primarily depen-
deni on traditional fuels which are renewable nature.
Renewable Energy and Poverty Alleviation The energy needed by the rural poor in Bangladesh is. firstly, for cooking food, secondly, for lighting in the night and thirdly, for some agricultural and non-farm activities to generate Income.
Biomass and Biogas: Tree biomass, agricultural residues and animal waste and the primary sources of energy for domestic cooking in the rural areas. In the past the supply of these traditional fuels was sufficient to meet the demand. But with the growth of population the total demand is consistently increasing. At the same time, the clearance of land for agriculture and felling of trees for brick fields and domestic cooking are adversely affecting the supply source of tree biomass.
On the whole, demand is insistently outpacing the supply, resulting in higher costs whether measured in terms of money or labour or both. A situation has arisen where the rural poor, particularly the women and children of poorer households, are the hardest hit. In some regions it may so happen that they are to go longer distance for collection or to use Start of their meagre earnings or buying cooking fuel which previously they used to get free. This means that they will have to have less food than what little they used to have before unless their incomes are somehow augmented.
Cooking fuel is a necessity. The distribution of indigenous natural gas and LPG to all villages in near future is a remote possibility. The supply of kerosene is not also very encouraging. Besides, the cost of these fuels may not allow the
people of moderate and extreme poverty to have an access to these. Under the circumstances, it is believed that tree and other biomass fuels will remain the major cooking fuels for the rural poor for many years to come.
The traditional rural cooking stove (chula) using biomass has energy conversion efficiency of about 10 per cent. Improved chulas have been designed with an efficiency of about 20 per cent. This means that cooking fuel cost will be reduced by a factor of 2. if improved chulas are used. A pilot project conducted by the author as Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Institution of Engineers. Bangladesh (IEB) in a restaurant and an orphanage in the Gazipur area confirms the observation. Besides. a chimney with the improved chula keeps the kitchen free of some and this ensures better working conditions leading to higher labour productivity. The cost of such chulas is not high. All possible steps for dissemination and popularization of such chulas may be taken to create a social movement Just the way it has been successfully done for tree plantation to enhance tree biomass production. Arrangements may be made for easy credits to buy materials for making such chulas. .
Briquetting of biomass, particularly of agricultural residues. is sometimes suggested to reduce the volume and to improve the burning quality. This proposition should be carefully examined before implementation. Once biomass is briquetted into smaller volume, this may find an access to the urban market depriving the rural poor.
Attempts are now being made to popularise biogas plants generally based on cowdung. The cattle population in Bangladesh has decreased and
poor people do not generally own land and cattle. In fact, the prospect of getting cowdung free from the field by the poor for cooking purposes, is expected to decrease with the increase in the number of biogas plants. To overcome this, perhaps production of biogas on cooperative basis may be considered and some sort of interventions by Government and NGOs may be required to ensure a share of this gas to the poor.
Solar : Solar water heaters using simple and low cost flat-Elate solar collectors may also e considered to preheat any water (easily up to 60uC) used for cooking and boiling purposes in the chulas. This will cut down the consumption of biomass further. Flat-plate solar collectors of proper design may also be considered for drying the agricultural products including paddy, tobacco leaves, vegetables, fruits, etc. to reduce loss and improve quality. Simple flat-plate solar devices have good prospects in Bangladesh as solar radiation regime is quite favourable here. Measurements show that the total solar radiation incident on Bangladesh per year is about 17 billion TOE. What we need is pa-tronlzation and policy planning including easy access to
Turning to the lighting requirement in the night, it may be observed that rural people in Bangladesh are active for less number of hours because of rpnavallability of light in the night. Kerosene lantern Is gen erally used for lighting purposes. Besides cost and low quality light, it pollutes the surrounding environment and thus creates health hazards as well as fire hazards if open lamps (kuptttase uaetLTo make the rural poor more active, light must be provided. They also need electrical power for nonfarm and agricultural activities to generate income. It is highly unlikely that the national electric grid line will be extended to all villages in near future. Under the circumstances, solar ph-tovoltaics (PV) may be considered as an attractive alternative. It converts solar energy directly into electricity which can be used in a decentralised way. Small PV units of appropriate capacity may be spread all over the country.
PV systems designed for home use can offer lighting and other services to large number of households that are poorly served by existing energy sources or have no service at all. PV systems are an effective complement to grid-based power, which is often too costly for sparsely settled and remote areas. For such rural conditions. fuel independent, modular solar PV home systems can offer the most economical means to provide lighting and power for small appliances like water pumps, sewing machines, radio. TV. refrigerator etc. PV systems are safer and more convenient than kerosene lanterns. As a renewable energy source, PV systems are also environmentally friendly. Despite these appealing features, solar PV systems face significant barriers for wide spread diffusion because of high initial purchase price. Adequate financing arrangements like credits, grants and subsidies, tax and duty structures, etc. will be required to enable PV system to play a significant role in rural electrification. The high ‘ first cost of PV systems may however be lowered if dependence on import is reduced and local inputs are increased. Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) has already installed a PV pilot plant of 62 kw capacity in an isolated island in a river (Char called Karimpur) far away from Narsingdi to generate data for future recommendations and applications. Private sector Initiatives are also now visible to market home PV systems.
Other Renewable Sources of Energy : The prospect of tidal energy is very bright in Bangladesh. Calculations show that tidal energy available per year is about 36 billion TOE. There is also some possibility of wind energy in coastal areas. No serious study has been made regarding ocean wave, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). geothermal, micro hydro. etc. The contributions of these renewable sources of energy to poverty alleviation need thorough investigation.
Conclusion and
Recommendation
It appears that some forms of renewable energy can play a very Important role to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh. It is also dear that a reasonably high investment Is required in some cases, while only initiative and motivation in other cases. Like education, renewable energy may also be considered as one of the most Important services and for low Income countries like ours, ways and means are to be explored to deliver this important service to the poor.
Credit alone perhaps will not be able to eradicate poverty from the society on a sustain -able basis. The poor are intrinsically efficient and they have the right to all types of resources (no only financial) and information. Apart from quality social services, appropriate technology inputs are also required. Some may contest, but it is felt that the poor, the disadvantaged and the deprived should not be left entirely on their own in this highly competitive and complex technological world. All sorts of help and support should be extenaed to them.
Traditional fuels which are renewable contribute almost 50 per cent to the total energy demand of Bangladesh. These fuels can also contribute significantly to poverty alleviation. Attention should therefore be focused on how to develop these further and how to use them in efficient and effective ways with a view to alleviate poverty. To effect this, the following recommendations are made:
1) Renewable energy con-. tribution targets should
be fixed; say. solar PV should contribute at least 0.5 per cent of the total energy requirement in the year 2002
li) Appropriate steps should be taken for wide distribution of PV systems to the remote rural area?.
iii) . Tq. reduce the first cost of , .-j—,the..relatedita technology should be transferred systematically. First step: Import silicon cells and fabricate modules of interconnected cells with appropriate encapsulant. Second step : Import silicon wafers, dope them and then provide electrodes and antireflection coating followed by step one. Third step: Purify raw materials, grow crystals and saw the resulting ingot into slices followed by step two and step one.
iv) Industries should be set up for fabrication of flat-Elate type solar water eaters.
v) Extensive extension services should be developed for wide dissemination of improved chulas among the rural poor and extensive R&D tor the improvement of these chulas should be carried out.
vi) The social movement for tree plantation already started should be further accelerated to enhance biomass production.
vii) Applied research on other renewable sources of energy should be carried out. particularly from the point of view of poverty alleviation.
viii) Financial support In the form of credits, grants, subsidies, exemption from taxes and duties, etc. should be provided to the rural poor for renewable energy devices also.
ix) To provide institutional support to this very important traditional fuel sector which contributes the highest percentage (about 50 per cent) to the total energy supply of the country, a commission like Bangladesh Renewable Energy Commission may be established as has’ been done in the case of nuclear energy viz. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
x) The last SAARC Summit Meeting (May 1997) declared 1997 as the Year of Participatory Governance. In the true spirit of the declaration, self-governing autonomous local government institutions should be organised not only for the preparation of participatory bottom-up plans at the grass roots but also for the participation of the poor both productively and effectively in administrative and political processes to ensure appropriate steps for sustainable poverty alleviation.
The writer, former president. Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh Is Professor, Islamic Institute of Technology, Dhaka