A research team assessing the social embeddedness of solar mini-grids in rural Pakistan found that the technology responds to energy poverty while promoting community empowerment. The team concluded that a mini-grid can promote broader societal changes while providing a technological solution.
A research team based in Italy and Pakistan has explored the socio-technical implications of installing solar microgrids in off-grid rural communities in Pakistan.
The study covered three rural communities near Jahanpur in the Punjab province of East-Central Pakistan, each mainly engaged in agricultural activities.
In the village of Bismillah Mor, the researchers conducted a qualitative analysis of a deployed solar mini-grid with battery storage, as well as a qualitative survey of the area, consisting of stakeholder interviews, focus groups and direct field observations to collect data on how the community exercises ownership and daily use of the mini-grid system.
A similar quantitative analysis, consisting of two focus groups and ethnographic observations, was conducted in two additional rural communities in the same area, one in the village of Wal Wala, which is connected to the electricity grid but without a microgrid, and another in Hadden Wala, which is connected to the electricity grid and also supplied with a solar minigrid.
The researchers discovered that in Bismillah Mor, the solar microgrid has provided a “partial, yet significant” answer to energy poverty and contributed to the community stable access to electricity for essential household needs, including lighting and small household appliances. So was the microgrid was found to promote forms of empowerment and emancipation, especially for women, leading the researchers to conclude that the microgrid “is not just a technological solution, but a potential catalyst for broader social change.”
In Wal Wala, the other community with partial land ownership, access to the national electricity grid promoted a cautious approach to energy consumption, deliberately limiting use to avoid higher costs, the researchers found. In contrast, in Hadden Wala, where communities are largely landowners, better economic conditions have facilitated access to the national electricity grid, which in turn has influenced material culture.
Ivano Scotti, the corresponding author of the research paper, told pv magazine The most important insight from the research is that energy innovation only becomes meaningful and sustainable once it is socially embedded. He added that factors such as land ownership and property relations play a decisive role in shaping the way people understand and interact with new technologies.
Scotti also said that the findings show that local actors do not passively adopt technology, but actively reinterpret, adapt and adapt it to their needs, creating new forms of practical and cognitive ownership.
“In this sense, the success of the microgrid depends on a hybrid governance arrangement that combines formal technical control with informal, socially negotiated ownership and knowledge,” Scotti said. “Overall, the study shows that ‘doing ownership’ – that is, acquiring ownership through everyday practices and negotiations – is a key dimension of sustainable energy transitions in rural contexts.”
Scotti added that successful deployment of microgrids – both in Pakistan and other regions of the Global South – depends on recognizing that energy infrastructure interacts with pre-existing property regimes, local hierarchies and cultural values.
“Engineering design must be accompanied by capacity building, social inclusion and governance mechanisms that reflect community structures,” Scotti said. “Strengthening local skills, especially among women and technicians, promotes the autonomy and sustainability of the system in the long term.”
Scotti suggested that policy frameworks recognize the hybrid nature of property rights in rural areas and should enable shared or collective ownership. He also said business models must be context-sensitive and combine affordability with community participation.
“By integrating these social, technical and institutional dimensions, microgrid deployment can evolve from a temporary stopgap solution to a transformative process that increases local capacities and supports a just and sustainable energy transition,” Scotti added.
The group’s findings are presented in the research paper ‘Taking ownership’ in sustainable energy innovation: the social embeddedness of microgrids in rural Pakistanavailable in the magazine Energy research and social sciences.
The research team included social scientists from Italy’s University of Naples Federico II and engineers from Pakistan’s Lahore University of Management Sciences. The two universities are partners in the EU-funded LoCEL-H2 project, a four-year Horizon Europe project creating a scalable microgrid system to support rural communities that lack consistent energy sources.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
