Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/279545 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
Ruhr Economic Papers No. 1049
Publisher: 
RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen
Abstract: 
High hopes are pinned to mini-grids for rural electrification, especially in remote and sparsely populated areas. This note presents new evidence from a large evaluation of a US Millennium Challenge Corporation investment into mini-grids in Indonesia. We find that, a few years after commissioning, many mini-grids in the program do not operate properly, corroborating older concerns about the sustainability of mini-grids and off-grid energy systems that have been voiced for several years. Operational costs are typically high and electricity demand low. Minigrid programs should take these structural challenges into account, and especially abstain from overly optimistic electricity demand projections.
Subjects: 
Energy access
sustainability
infrastructure
mini-grids
JEL: 
H54
O13
O21
Q48
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-3-96973-218-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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