A new market for electronic appliances is helping boost the
rural economy About a quarter of Mongolia’s 2.8 million people are nomadic
herders of yaks, cattle, sheep, goats and camels who live in gers — as their
traditional tent dwellings are known — on the country’s vast steppes. It is a
simple life that has endured for centuries.

Until recently, it was also a life
without electricity. That has changed for about 100,000 herder families, whose
daily lives have been transformed by off-grid solar home systems which generate
enough power for lights, televisions, radios, mobile phone charging and small
appliances. The herders have gained access to solar power through a program
launched by the Mongolian government with support from the World Bank and the
Government of the Netherlands.

Thanks to the National 100,000 Solar Ger
Electrification Program, over half a million men, women and children, covering
half the rural population of Mongolia and 70 percent of herders, now have
access to modern electricity “We are proud to be part of this effort,
which means 500,000 people, or half the rural population of Mongolia, have
electricity through portable and affordable solar home systems,” said Pamela
Cox, World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific in her first
visit to the country.

“Now, children can study at night, families can watch TV
and recharge cell phones, enabling them to connect to the world while
maintaining their nomadic lifestyles. This is one of many innovative ideas that
we are putting to work on the ground to make growth more inclusive.”

“A
few years ago, country herders managed with candles and lanterns. The change in
life between then and now is like night and day,” said herder Baatar Khandaa.
“I believe that the quality of life in the countryside and the city are now
about the same.” Families can now relax and spend time together at night under
electric lights. Children can learn by reading and from watching television.

Herders often tune in to radio and television weather reports that help them
manage their livestock, and use mobile phones to find out about market prices
for wool and cashmere. The program provided portable solar home systems adapted
to herders’ nomadic way of life. Herders can easily set them up and dismantle
them when they relocate.

The project employed a balanced approach to pricing
the systems, where herders purchased the solar home systems, albeit with a subsidy
that covered about half the costs. It made the systems affordable to herders
while helping to expand sales. It was a particular challenge reaching remote
herders living in the vast rural countryside. In response, the project
established 50 privately-owned solar home system sales and service centers
spread across Mongolia. Their staff were trained to promote and sell certified
solar home systems so that herders could buy with confidence.

They were also
trained to repair and maintain the units – vital to sustaining the benefits of
the program. To extend their reach, the sales and service centers partnered
with an existing network of village administrators located in 342 villages.
This effective public-private partnership helped the project sell solar home systems
in every remote corner of the country. With tens of thousands of customers now
demanding solar home systems, the sales and service centers are seeing an
increase in their sales of radios, televisions, kettles and other small
appliances that newly-electrified households want to buy as well.

“The key
was to build on the government’s existing efforts”, said Migara Jayawardena,
Senior Energy Specialist at the World Bank. “Good practices and lessons from
other successful renewable energy and rural electrification projects from
countries such as China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were customized to meet
Mongolia’s unique circumstances.”

Mongolia has found off-grid electrification
with solar power to be a viable approach to serving a nomadic rural population
that is scattered across a vast territory of over 1.5 million square km. The
program has supplied 100,146 solar home systems, while also developing a
sustainable supply chain of local businesses that will help achieve the
government’s goal of universal rural electrification by 2020.

“Solar home
systems have become commonplace,” said D. Zorigt, Mongolia’s Minister of
Mineral Resources and Energy during the period from 2008 to 2012 when the
project was under implementation. The project, entitled Renewable Energy and
Rural Electricity Access (REAP) was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the
International Development Association (IDA) – the Bank’s Fund for the Poorest –
a $3.5 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and a $6
million grant from the Government of the Netherlands, with implementation
support provided by the Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE)
– a multi-donor trust fund program administered by the World Bank.

Source: The World Bank