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Renewable Energy: Scaling Deployment in the United States Chapter j 5 103

FIGURE 5.2 Regression analyses for distributed renewable energy sales against policy
performance.

l Technical regulation through established licensing procedures for minigrid
operators and through adoption of quality standards for products and
services.
These empirical findings strongly corroborate with the experiences of DRE
1
practitioners on the ground. Our research team recently surveyed 23 pico-PV,
solar home system (SHS), and minigrid companies currently operating in one
or more of the five top performing countries. Together these companies pro-
vide energy services (either minigrid connection or lighting products) to over
2.7 million households. Each participant ranked a specific subset of policy
instruments according to how important or beneficial the instrument has been
or would be to their business. The average ranking of each policy instrument
was calculated and compiled into a list of the most important policy
instruments in national energy policy, technical regulation, and financial policy
(Fig. 5.3). Practitioners on the ground had a clear message:

l National Energy Policy: It is important for governments to establish
specific DRE targets and to integrate DRE into national electrification
planning, thereby demonstrating commitment and setting the stage for
market entry.
l Technical Regulation: Internationally recognized product quality standards
are critical for instilling market confidence for the SHS/pico-PV sector,
while streamlined licensing and permitting most significantly reduce
technical/operational barriers to entry for minigrid operators.
l Financial Policy: The single most effective financial measure that
governments can take to catalyze DRE market growth is to remove import
duties and tariffs on DRE products.

1. Research conducted jointly by the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), UC
Berkeley, and Power for All, an international education and advocacy campaign for distributed
renewable energy. Read more on this research in our published report (Preliminary Monthly,
2017).