@article{Guta:207713,
      recid = {207713},
      author = {Guta, Dawit and Jara, Jose and Adhikari, Narayan and Qiu,  Chen and Gaur, Varun and Mirzabaev, Alisher},
      title = {Decentralized energy in Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus  in Developing Countries: Case Studies on Successes and  Failures},
      address = {2015-08},
      number = {1546-2016-132254},
      series = {ZEF Discussion Papers},
      pages = {46},
      year = {2015},
      abstract = {Access to modern energy is vital for sustainable  development. In rural areas, decentralized energy solutions  may play a significant role in reducing poverty, supporting  community institutions and facilitating the generation of  basic services such as communication, water access,  education and health services. However, the majority of  dwellers in off-grid communities in developing countries  have little or no access to modern energy technologies,  although they are endowed with a vast potential of  renewable energy resources. Decentralized energy solutions  could serve as an option to solve this energy access  problem. However, the previous literature indicates that  there are financial, technical, infrastructural, and  institutional constraints to scale up decentralized energy  options. This paper seeks to study the underlying factors  behind the successes and failures of household- and  community-based decentralized energy technologies through  local case studies from different parts of the world,  analyzed through the lenses of the Water-Energy-Food  Security (WEF) nexus. First, the paper reviews the  literature on the main benchmarks used to evaluate the  success and failure of community-based energy. Second, the  conceptual framework relating decentralized energy to the  WEF nexus elements is briefly described. Thirdly, the  methods and data used in the paper are described, followed  by the presentation of the case studies. Lastly, the paper  is concluded by drawing policy lessons and recommendations.  Further empirical studies are recommended to quantitatively  evaluate the impacts of decentralized energy solutions on  the welfare of households and communities within the  framework of the Water-Energy-Food nexus.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/207713},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.207713},
}