Social and Economic Impact of Solar Electricity at Schuchuli Village: A Status Report

摘要

Schuchuli, a small remote village on the Papago Indian Reservation in southwest Arizona, is 27 kilometers (17 miles) from the nearest available utility power. In some respects, Schuchuli resembles many of the rural villages in other parts of the world. For example, it's relatively small in size (less than 100 residents), composed of a number of extended family groupings, and remotely situated relative to major population centers (190 km, or 120 miles, from Tucson). Its lack of conventional power is due to the prohibitive cost of supplying a small electrical load with a long-distance distribution line. Furthermore, alternate energy sources are expensive and place a burden on the resources of the villagers. On December 16, 1978, as part of a federally funded project, a solar cell power system was put into operation at Schuchuli. The system powers the village water pump, lighting for homes and other village buildings, family refrigerators and a communal washing machine and sewing machine. The project, managed for the US Department of Energy by the NASA Lewis Research Center, provides for two years of technical monitoring as well as a one-year socio-economic study to assess the impact of a relatively small amount of electricity on the basic living environment of the villagers. The project background, implementation details and current status of the technical and socio-economic assessment are presented. (ERA citation 04:049641)