Feasibility Study for Poverty Alleviation by Energy Production with Photovoltaic Panels in Underprivileged Areas of Iran

The purpose of this research was to alleviate deprivation in underprivileged rural areas of Iran by energy production through photovoltaic panels. First, the poverty map of the country has been analyzed along with the sunlight gain potential map of Iran. 79 villages with extremely high and high deprivation conditions were identified. In order to analyze these areas and prioritize them for decision-making in energy sector policy, the areas were categorized into four clusters by the K-means machine learning algorithm. According to the clustering results, the priorities for deprivation elimination through energy production have been identified. Also, the income of each village from two sources was calculated according to the existing tariffs: First, a 5 kW photovoltaic panel for each household and second, a one megawatt power plant located in the barren lands around the villages. The results indicate that Sistan and Baloochestan Province is the top priority in application of photovoltaic panels for energy production. For instance, Bampasht village with a deprivation index of 0.540 and energy production of 9.37 MW per year from a solar power plant, has obtained the highest rank among the villages for deprivation alleviation by energy production through photovoltaic panels.