Technology diffusion through foreign assistance: Making renewable energy sources available to the world's poor

This paper examines the role of foreign assistance organizations in promoting the diffusion of renewable energy systems to the rural sectors of the world. The first section discusses the background to the current energy problems of much of the developing world - spiraling world prices for fossil fuels, a lack of indigenous reserves of petroleum, and rapidly expanding populations - and the results of these factors.The major portion of the article examines the current approaches of the foreign assistance community to an alternation solution to the energy problem of developing countries - the introduction, adaptation, and diffusion of renewable energy technologies.The final section of the article examines the impacts of the foreign assistance procedures on the acceptance of these new technologies. It argues for the importance of local participation, for technology adaptation to local customs, traditions and needs, and for the sharing of information developed by donor organizations on the performance of renewable energy systems in the field.This paper originally was prepared for the Technology and Public Policy Workshop held in conjunction with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology and Policy Program on February 16–17, 1979. The sponsorship of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Solar Energy Research Institute or its sponsor, the US Department of Energy.