Wind, sun and water: Complexities of alternative energy development in rural northern Peru

Abstract

Drawing on recent research with NGO-driven projects in rural Cajamarca, Peru, we examine the paradoxes of relying on wind, solar and micro-hydro generation of electricity for rural community development. In spite of cost, vagaries of these energy resources and limited material benefits, especially with wind and solar systems, villagers are eagerly invested in these projects. While still desiring the power of grid electricity, local electricity is valued for how it illuminates shops and dwellings, extends the workday for children’s studies and women, and powers TV/DVD players and cell phones connecting households with the wider world. Electrification with small-scale renewable technologies blurs the urban/rural binary, tied as it is symbolically with ‘progress’, modern consumption styles and the trappings of urban life, even as these technologies paradoxically reinforce rural autonomy with electricity that is locally produced, with local resources.