Impact Assessment of Community Solar Energy Projects on Livelihoods in South African Commuter Towns

Community solar energy projects have emerged as a promising solution to address energy poverty in South Africa's commuter towns, where access to reliable electricity is often limited. A mixed-method approach combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews was employed to gather data from a representative sample of residents involved in community solar projects. Participants reported an average increase of 30% in household income due to the reduction in energy costs associated with using solar power, and over half expressed increased satisfaction with their energy supply reliability. While initial results suggest a positive impact on livelihoods, further longitudinal studies are recommended to substantiate these findings. Communities should be encouraged to adopt community-based solar projects through tailored policy interventions designed to enhance project sustainability and participation. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.