Assessing Renewable Technologies In Small Households In Developing Countries: An Essay.

You are required to submit a coherent research proposal on a certain engineering topic chosen by you. The aim of this assignment is to assess your knowledge and understanding related to conducting a research project and skills in writing a research proposal. It includes the delivery of a structured research proposal, which contains the essential elements of a proposal, as discussed below. This assignment contributes in part to your total understanding of the scientific research process, from initial definition of a research problem, generation of research questions and recommendations for undertaking the research. The overall objective of this assignment is for you to give a comprehensive, well structured, and methodical approach, with adequate supporting literature references, on HOW the particular selected research topic needs to be investigated. You are NOT expected to conduct actual research in the selected topic.

You may select ANY research topic that has relevance to the Engineering field.

Renewable Energy

This research proposal is prepared for the assessment of renewable technologies in small households in developing countries. This project has been chosen with the aim of understanding and reviewing the uptake of renewable technologies in low income households in developing economies, and the challenges that may restrict this. Developing economies are the next frontier for global energy needs due to rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. It is vital to ensure that these economies rely on sustainable energy resources in this age of dwindling natural resources, and their indigenous biodiversity and environment protected in this time of increased climate change. The information obtained from this research will be beneficial to the local communities by providing sustainable, renewable green technologies that can cater for their everyday needs.

Renewable energy: Energy that is produced from natural resources and continually replenished such as wind, sunlight, rain, geothermal heat and tides.  

Green technology: A type of technology intended to mitigate the negative effects of human activity on the environment

Small households: A residence with about five to ten individuals that live under the same roof, whose economic status lies under the low income category.

Background knowledge

Continued urbanisation around the globe has led to the increased appetite for energy. Over the last century, the major sources of energy were fossil fuel, natural gas, oil and coal, all of which are non-renewable. Depletion of these natural resources, together with increased global climate change has resulted in further research and innovation in renewable energy [1].

A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in conjunction with the European commission and other international organisations shows that incorporating renewable and efficient energy sources not only cuts down the energy expenses, but also increases the quality of life for its inhabitants [2]. The report indicates that the most viable and practical power sources include solar energy and biomass. The benefits accrued by using these energy sources include improved air quality, energy security and more employment opportunities in the cottage and green energy sector [3].

In the past few decades, there has been major growth witnessed in renewable energy; many countries have set up large hydroelectric powered plants and large solar farms and wind farms [4]. Although the energy produced from these sources contributes a percentage to the entire energy needs, majority of the small scale households in many countries still heavily rely on energy derived from thermal electricity and natural gas [5]. More traditional households in rural communities still rely on bio-energy solutions such as firewood and charcoal.

Green Technology

Even though the developed countries comprise majority of the world’s highest energy consumers, continued urbanisation and industrialisation of the developing countries has put them on the watch list on energy consumption [6]. Numerous efforts have been aimed towards ensuring that these countries will incorporate green and renewable energy sources for most of their energy needs, thus building countries with sustainable economies. However, most of the populations in these countries still rely heavily on traditional energy sources such as thermal electricity, natural gas or bio-energy solutions such as firewood and charcoal.

The main aim of this research proposal is to assess the current state of renewable energy technologies in small households in developing countries, and identify actions that can be taken to improve the current situation.

The following are the specific objectives of this research proposal:

• to identify the typical energy needs of a household in a developing country,
• to identify the current renewable energy technologies designed for small household users,
• to identify and research the reasons for the slow uptake of renewable technologies in households in developing countries,
• to propose actions that will be taken to promote increased uptake and use of renewable technologies in these households

In this day and age where natural resources are quickly dwindling and the future industrialisation and development lies with developing countries, the information obtained by this research proposal is not only beneficial to the affected stakeholders, but also the entire world.

Majority of the upcoming industries and urban towns are being set up in developing countries, especially in Africa, Asia and South America. This upcoming developments will contribute massively to the global energy index in a few decades to come. It is thus vital that these nations rely on sustainable renewable energy resources that will drive their industries and economies other than relying on fossil fuel and other non-renewable resources that are dwindling up fast.

The 21^st Century has been lauded as the environment conscious era, where efforts have been aimed globally at ensuring protection of the environment and natural resources. It is crucial that developing countries be at the forefront of renewable and green energy consumption since they are the next industrial frontiers. In addition, it enables these countries to maintain and protect their natural resources, forests, water bodies and indigenous biodiversity from overexploitation. Overexploitation of natural resources has led to loss of natural environments and biodiversity that caused climate change, and scarce natural gas, oil and mineral resources that has caused major wars in the Middle East and some developing countries in Africa such as Liberia, Nigeria and South Sudan.

This research proposal will also identify the major factors that have led to the slow uptake of renewable and green energy technologies in developing countries and come up with recommendations and suggestions on how to increase uptake of green energy technologies. This information can be referenced by the national and local governments of these nations, through their Ministries of Energy and Natural Resources, in formulating policies that will promote use of renewable energy resources by small households within their locale. This information is also beneficial for private energy companies, researchers and innovators, and energy-related non-governmental agencies (NGOs) working within these developing countries.

Small Households in Developing Countries

The affected communities, the small household residents, will benefit by receiving renewable and green technologies that are custom suited to their needs. This is achieved by incorporating the information obtained by questionnaires and research analysis of their energy needs, uses and concerns over the current renewable technologies presented to them. This approach ensures that these communities are involved in the design of the final products and technologies that they will eventually use in their day to day life.

Developing countries: A poor agricultural country that is advancing economically and socially

Natural resources: substances or materials occurring in nature that can be exploited for economic gain

Low income households: a household whose income is less than twice the national poverty threshold.

For purposes of clarity of the research proposal, descriptions on the methodology, research design and principles on data collections and analysis will be addressed in this section. Advantages and limitations of data collection methods chosen and methodology used will be addressed as well.

The research approach proposed for the assessment of renewable energy technologies in small scale households in developing countries will be a qualitative research. Qualitative research purposes to obtain deep understanding of a particular area of interest other than surface knowledge of a large sample of population. This research will seek to understand the meaning, methods, techniques and challenges encountered with the development of renewable and green technologies for small households in developing countries.

Qualitative research has proven useful in identifying problems with the current renewable energy technologies which will be addressed in this research, their challenges will be addressed and attempted to be resolved by this research and a design solving  the raised issues will be provided by this research [7]. This design will form part of the recommendations that, if implemented, will increase the uptake of renewable energy technologies by small households in developing countries.  

This research aims at collecting in-depth information on the current renewable energy technologies and limitations and challenges encountered in the developing countries market.

Data collection in this report is based on case studies, literature review and questionnaires [8]. The advantages of using this methods of data collection include providing information of trends over a period of time, it is cheap and vital for comparing public perceptions and emerging trends on the area of interest. Disadvantages of using these methods include difficulty to access data, incomplete information and time consuming. The document records referenced for this research were mainly environmental reports, research papers, online sustainability reports, webpage information, manufacturer’s specifications and published books.

The Need for Sustainable Energy Resources

Table 1: Information required for this report

Case studies of areas that have successfully employed renewable energy technologies in small and low income households in developing countries will be examined. The selected cases will be carefully examined, identifying the contributing factors and current challenges experienced by the users. At least three case studies will be examined, each from a developing economy. The information on the case studies will be obtained from journal excerpts, reports, and government records and published websites.

Sample surveys were conducted to find out whether there is awareness among the target local population on renewable energy technologies. The study population for this research was the residents of Kibera slums, Kenya with the study mainly targeting the household that may have one or more renewable technologies in their dwellings. The study aimed at finding out the various forms of renewable energy technologies they may be using, and the reasons provided for not using those technologies by the dwellings that relied on alternative forms of energy. Kibera is the largest urban slum in Africa with a population of approximately 500,000 people majority of whom live in poverty.

The size of the population sample was determined by the formula listed below.

Where: n=sample size, z=preferential value produces the preferred confidence ratings, p=the population proportion estimate; and e=the absolute error size in the determination of p as to the investigator’s specifications

95 percent confidence ratings will be used, while the p-value is assigned 0.05.

The number of respondents chosen for this research was 200 people from the Kibera slums. This number has been evaluated to be satisfactory for the purposes of this particular research as a representation of the entire population. In addition, this number is workable with the time constraints.

The chosen research team will be required to visit different dwellings. The respondents must show willingness to participate in the study and the sample size should be at different economic and social status. In addition, the research team will do an overview study of the area to determine the number of green and renewable technologies per 10000 square metres.

The data obtained from data collection will be used to test the proposed recommendations, approaches and designs for renewable energy technologies for small households. The results of this tests will inform the recommendations on areas to be looked at in further studies on renewable and green energy for developing countries [9]. 

The analysis of any particular set of data will largely depend on the type of data, whether is qualitative or quantitative. Data analysis is mostly carried out for data obtained through primary data collection methods. There are two broad classes of data analysis:

• Quantitative data analysis: This involves critical analysis, interpretation of figures and attempts to find out the underlying trends, patterns and the rationale behind the emergence of the findings. It is important that the quantitative data analysis be compared to published reviews on the same for coherency. This type of data analysis will apply to the data that may be found from case studies, ground studies and questionnaires.
• Qualitative data analysis: This involves us of interviews, focus groups and experiments to identify the underlying trends and patterns so as to achieve a particular research objective. This type of analysis will apply to data that is obtained from literature review, case studies, interviews and questionnaires.

Ultimately, the data obtained from the pilot studies will be evaluated to identify the energy savings and the pollution index of the proposed renewable energy technologies.

The energy savings obtained by using renewable technologies will be calculated by

The modes of dissemination chosen for the information obtained from this research will take into consideration that it is community based knowledge. Public domains such as community journals, newspapers and forums will be favoured. In addition, the information will be presented in community conferences held in the chosen country or community, in collaboration with the local ministry of energy and natural resources and energy-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In addition, informal collaborations with the local leaders of the community will be carried out to ensure there is increased awareness among the local community.

The project is estimated to cover a period of one year. The following is the project timeline:

References

[1]     A. E. Maczulak, Renewable Energy: Sources and Methods, Two ed., New York: Facts on File publishing, 2001.
[2]     B. B. Sørensen, Renewable Energy: Its Physics, Engineering, Use, Environmental Impacts, economy and panning aspects, Third ed., London: Academic Press, 2004.
[3]     B. Sørensen, Renewable Energy Conversion, Transmission, and Storage, One ed., London: Elsevier Publishing, 31 Dec 2007.
[4]     M. Munasinghe and P. Meier, Sustainable Energy in Developing Countries: Policy Analysis and Case Studies, Three ed., New Delhi: Edward Elgar Publishing, Jan 2005, pp. 230-450.
[5]     S. E. Institute, M. Munasinghe, and C. J. Jepma, Climate Change Policy: Facts, Issues and Analyses, Five ed., London: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 100-231.
[6]     R. Swart and M. Munasinghe, Primer on Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Facts, Policy Analysis, and Applications, Two ed., London: Cambridge University Press, March 2005, pp. 208-320.
[7]     J. M. Morse, Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods, 7 ed., London: Sage Publications, 1994.
[8]     S. B. Merriam and E. J. Tisdell, Qualitative Research: A guide to Design and implemenation, Fourth ed., New York: John Wiley and sons, 2015.
[9]     J. A. Maxwell, Qualitative Research Design: An interactive approach, First ed., New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2012.