The Anchor-Business-Community Model for Rural Energy Development: Is it a Viable Option?
Abstract
The Anchor Business Community (ABC) Model is a proposed method of rural energy development
in which energy companies leverage anchor customers to reduce the risk of business
in areas of uncertain demand, thereby incentivizing electrification of all customer
types in a community. However, practitioners observe a lower implementation rate than
expected of the model. This study examines possible barriers by using HOMER, an economic
analysis modeling tool, to compare the levelized costs of rural electricity among
eight scenarios. In most cases, the ABC model produces electricity at a lower cost
than electrification absent the model, but cost distribution burdens individual customer
groups and creates an economic disincentive to engage. Therefore, the ABC model requires
public intervention (cross-subsidization, spatial analysis and planning, and forums
for customer engagement) to be a viable option.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11940Citation
Givens, Rebekah (2016). The Anchor-Business-Community Model for Rural Energy Development: Is it a Viable Option?.
Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11940.Collections
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