Abstract
Capitalizing on adequate and local resources, Small Island Developing States are prioritizing the renewable energy (RE) resources in their energy generation mix; introducing ambitious RE targets in national strategies. Yet, these islands are lagging behind in implementing SDG 7, ensuring sustainable energy access to all. Widely scattered and isolated areas in small islands are unattainable and expanding energy access remains a concern. Without an overall improved energy access, or unsuitable technological choices, these areas experience a lower capacity to grid connection. This chapter thus explores and discusses the disparity in energy distribution in remote and non-remote areas, It can be observed that despite being geographically dispersed, similar factors have been identified as barriers to the successful electrification access; primarily in the areas of (i) institutional framework, (ii) technological suitability, (iii) financial mechanisms, (iv) technological and technical expertise, (v) development assistance, (vi) complex investment landscape, and lastly (vii) social. In order to tackle the complexities, it is essential to adopt a holistic approach to understand how sustainable energy distribution interact with rural socio-economic factors within a circular fashion. That is, there is a need to review and address the process of rural electrification from planning phase up to post implementation phase to ensure feasibility and sustainability of the action plans. Thus, we provide in this chapter, a plausible roadmap which identifying the various areas of focus (from planning to post-implementation), which will potentially facilitate increasing energy access within the rural space of SIDS.
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Surroop, D., Jaggeshar, D. (2022). Equitable Distribution of Sustainable Energy in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Doni, F., Salvia, A.L. (eds) Handbook of Sustainability Science in the Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68074-9_46-1
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