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A new source of clean energy? Urine luck!
Robial, a new spinout company from the University of West England, is planning to commercialise a technology that converts urine and wastewater into electricity, powering lighting, mobile phones and other devices. But just how far can you get on pee power?
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- renewable energy
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Electricity is Just the Beginning: Why Off-Grid Solar Opens the Door to Value-Added Services
Lack of energy access is a much-discussed issue in rural households and businesses across the developing world. But according to Mansoor Hamayun, CEO of BBOXX, electricity is just the beginning: Solar home systems could lay the foundation for a host of related services that could transform the quality of life in off-grid communities. Hamayun discusses “Tomorrow’s Rural Home,” BBOXX’s vision for the off-grid home of the future, which shows how solar energy access could create new markets and power economic growth in Africa and beyond.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Yellow Door Energy Raises $65M for C&I Solar in the Middle East and Africa
The funding injects capital into commercial-scale solar, which has languished in the region as massive auction-based projects boom.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- renewable energy
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Press release: The Renewable Power of the Mine
As renewable power integration in the mining sector gathers pace, a Columbia University study identifies financing and conflicting interests among different stakeholders as the remaining biggest roadblocks to wide-spread uptake.
- Categories
- Energy
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Stupid Stoves: Why Rebranding Won’t Solve the Clean Cooking Alliance’s Problems
In her recent interview with NextBillion, Clean Cooking Alliance CEO Dymphna van der Lans described the organization's ambitious new vision. But her words didn't sit well with Warm Heart Worldwide founder Michael Shafer, who raises a pointed question: After nearly 10 years of massive investment, hype and exposure, he asks, "Where is the Clean Cooking Alliance now? Getting rebranded and starting over!" Shafer argues that the Alliance's current efforts fail to address the major issues that have hampered it from the start – and proposes a different way forward – in this provocative post.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Why a PG&E Bankruptcy Could Change Climate Calculus
Ever since the 2017 wildfires in northern California’s wine country, the company has repeatedly warned that climate change is raising the risk of catastrophic fires in the state, as frequent drought and invasive, warm-weather pests decimate the state’s forests.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- climate change
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Sustainable Connectivity: How Biofuels Can Boost Mobile Access, Support Small Farmers – And Fight Climate Change
Mobile connectivity is sweeping through rural Africa and Asia – but it has a major drawback. It’s dependent on cellular towers that often rely either on diesel power, which has economic and ecological costs and limited availability, or solar panels, which require clear, sunny skies. Fortunately, another solution is emerging: bioenergy. John Garrity, Dennis Garrity and James Daniel at the Evergreening Global Alliance explore its positive impact on food security, grid infrastructure and global climate change.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology, Telecommunications
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Press release: BBOXX lands USD 31 million deal with Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers
The deal with AIIM – Africa’s largest and most experienced infrastructure-focused private equity fund manager and a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments with USD 2.1 billion AUM – will allow BBOXX to install two million solar systems by 2022, bringing electricity to 10 million people in these African countries.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa