The long road to universal electrification: A critical look at present pathways and challenges

Nearly 840 million people still lack access to electricity, while over a billion more have an unreliable electricity connection. In this article, the three different electrification pathways-grid extension, centralized microgrids, and standalone solar-based solutions, such as pico-solar and solar home systems (SHS)-are critically examined...

Solar home systems for improving electricity access: An off-grid solar perspective towards achieving universal electrification

Almost a billion people globally lack access to electricity. For various reasons, grid extension is not an immediately viable solution for the un(der-) electrified communities. As most of these electricity-starved regions lie in tropical latitudes, the use of off-grid solar-based solutions like solar home systems (SHS) is a logical approach....