Access to electricity has a positive impact on a wide range of factors influencing rural communities, from improved health, to access to communication and information, to better educational facilities, economic prosperity and improved standard of living. However, finding ways to expand energy services to marginalizeed households in developing countries is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today.

The village energy centre model, developed by the Solar Transitions project, targets provision of affordable and accessible basic lighting and electricity services for off-grid communities through an approach where all services are housed in one centre approximate to the community. The system design attempts to minimize the number of centralized batteries required to reduce future battery replacement costs. To achieve sustainability and enable expansion, the centre is designed to be operated by local residents on financial principles.