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Home Solar + Microfinance: Mitigating Risks and Maximizing Rewards
The social impact of home solar systems in off-grid villages has shown itself to be broader than initially thought. But while social enterprises continue to roll out new forms of solar, financing their purchase can put these innovations out of reach for the low-income households that need them most. Mark Roesink of Oikocredit shares how weaving responsible microlending into the solar industry could generate greater impact for energy access in emerging markets like India and Kenya.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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The Path to 100 Gigawatts: How India Has Emerged as a Global Leader in Solar Energy
India has displaced Japan as the third-largest market for solar power and is poised to bump the U.S. from the No. 2 spot, as it works toward boosting its renewable capacity to 100 gigawatts by the end of 2022. Though it still relies on coal plants and has dangerous air pollution levels, the landscape is changing fast, with 14 new solar parks planned – including one that's set to become the world’s largest. Sahaj Desai outlines the momentum and challenges behind India's renewable energy revolution.
- Categories
- Energy
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Powering the World’s Poorer Economies: A Response to Bill Gates and Jigar Shah
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and SunEdison founder Jigar Shah have clashed in a heated debate over the best way to provide energy access to the world’s poor.
- Categories
- Energy
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TPG Growth’s Rise Fund invests $70 mn in Fourth Partner Energy
Fourth Partner Energy will use the funding to accelerate its growth through the RESCO (renewable energy service company) model
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Renewable energy projects worth $1bn destined for West Africa
With financial backing from the US government, solar developer Gigawatt Global Cooperatief signed a deal with the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), to build $1bn worth of renewable energy projects in the region.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy
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BBOXX secures a deal in DRC to deploy off-grid solar solutions
Next generation utility BBOXX has signed a pioneering deal with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which will bring renewable electricity to 2.5 million citizens in the DRC by 2020.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Mini-Grid Milestone: Can the Industry’s First Trade Association Help Electrify Rural Africa?
In April, the mini-grid industry got its first-ever trade association, as the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA) launched with chapters in Kenya and Tanzania – and ambitious goals for expansion across the continent. Though AMDA's membership currently includes about a dozen companies providing 11,000 connections, it aspires to represent 90 percent of the mini-grid sector by the end of 2021. In a Q&A with Scott Anderson, AMDA co-founder Jessica Stephens discusses its plans to transform the mini-grid industry from a feel-good alternative to a power player in the energy sector.
- Categories
- Energy
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Why One Private Equity Firm Is Betting Big On Impact Investing In Renewable Energy
The concept of impact investing is hardly new and one that is refreshingly simple. It is simply about funneling investment dollars into companies established with the intention of generating a quantifiable, visible and broadly beneficial social impact alongside a financial return.
- Categories
- Investing
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