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Inside Tata Power and Rockefeller Foundation’s Plan to Light Up 5 Million Households in India
This is a defining moment for bending the energy access curve. In the words of Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the Indian government’s think tank Niti Ayog, “This partnership is essential for the people of India and its rural communities, giving a thrust to a massive multiplier effect [energy can have] on India’s economy and move social indices forward in some of its most difficult terrains.”
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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Shell and Sumitomo Buy 15 Percent Stake in Minigrid Firm PowerGen
Shell and Sumitomo have taken a minority stake in African minigrid firm PowerGen. The pair will have a combined ownership of 15 percent after leading the most recent funding round alongside six other investors. Shell will get a seat on the board, with Sumitomo taking an observer seat. Financial details of the Series B round were not revealed.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- off-grid energy
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What Nigeria Can Teach the U.S. About a Green New Deal
Tackling a host of huge challenges – from climate change to economic inequality – the Green New Deal has provoked passion and resistance in equal measure. But as Damilola Ogunbiyi at Sustainable Energy for All asks, what if the solution is not to think big, but to think small? Instead of a vast new energy grid, what if the U.S. created efficient, resilient and job-creating decentralized grids – along the lines of what's currently happening in countries like Nigeria?
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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From Early Adopters to Tech Laggards: Understanding Off-Grid Energy Customers
The team at 60 Decibels recently set out to understand the motivations of customers served by off-grid energy firms in Africa. Researchers quizzed customers in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia about their attitudes and behaviours toward new products to find out who were the early innovators, early adopters or tech laggards. Kat Harrison and Hassan Nasser of 60 Decibels explain the research and how firms can convert ambivalent customers into product ambassadors.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment, Technology
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Press Release: VentureBuilder Launches Innovative Approach to Support Indigenous Off-Grid Solar Companies in Africa
Mandated with expanding energy access to underserved populations in Africa, VentureBuilder’s launch will enable it to pioneer a new investment model that provides ‘patient’ early-stage capital to its local partners across Africa, combined with a specialized suite of technical expertise that will accelerate each partner’s path to scale.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Exit Strategy: How Cashing Out Can Move Us Closer to Universal Energy Access
You might think that a lack of investment is the biggest problem facing off-grid energy companies. But as Leslie Labruto and Sarah Bieber at Acumen point out, in an industry that's seen over $1.4 billion invested since 2012, with only $50 million returned to investors, the lack of exits is an equally serious challenge. They discuss a new Acumen report that demonstrates how the shortage of exits is holding the sector back, and what can be done to address it.
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France, Netherlands, Uk Commit US$350m to Emerging Solar and Storage
A handful of European states have moved to bankroll various World Bank clean energy initiatives, with US$100 million of French and Dutch money set to back PV in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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The Next Big Thing for Energy Access in India? Service-Based Models for Productive-Use Appliances in Agriculture
The global off-grid solar industry has grown exponentially, driven largely by sales or leasing of small appliances enabled by the pay-as-you-go business model. But according to Lanvin Concessao at Oorja Development Solutions, the market is now shifting towards larger income-generating appliances used in small businesses and farms. He explores the impact these appliances can have in India, and how they can drive the irrigation and cold storage sectors' transition to solar energy.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy