Appropriate Distributed Generation Technology for Electrifying the Village

This paper examines the condition under which distributed generation (DG) technology make a genuine contribution to electrify the remote village. To study the circumstance for DG technology and village electrification, three indicators – affordability, institutional capacity and replicability - are drawn with ‘appropriate technology’. With the role of energy and electricity to make progress for human, the urgency and justification for village electrification with DG technology is highlighted. In the off-grid remote villages, electrification with distributed generation (DG) with renewable energy technology would be viable option. To examine the appropriateness of DG technology in the village context, three village electrification cases are chosen from Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. In each cases, DG with the solar PV, biomass gasifier and hybrid solar & wind technology are studied to find answer those technologies are appropriate in the village context with three indicators. This paper concludes that the appropriate technology in the circumstances is determined by the ability to afford the technology, the work of institution and resources to replicate the technology system, or integrated effect of three indicators. To make DG technology for village electrification more appropriate, the constant monitoring and evaluation is necessary in the flexible circumstances.