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A Blueprint for Productive Use of Clean Energy: An Accelerator in Nigeria Generates Solutions for Linking Mini-Grids to Agricultural Equipment in Rural Communities
There are over 70 mini-grids operating in Nigeria today, and similar businesses are delivering clean energy in other underserved communities around the world. But as Scarlett Santana at RMI explains, serving these markets presents unique challenges, since if customers lack productive uses for the electricity they sell, mini-grids’ revenue model fails. She explores how mini-grids can address this challenge by partnering with agricultural equipment providers, and discusses an accelerator co-led by RMI that is providing the ecosystem to make these partnerships happen.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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Can Pay-As-You-Go Help Clean Up Clean Cooking?
Since 2015, the global focus on clean cooking has grown substantially, bringing more funding, research and attention from policymakers to the sector. But according to Tash Perros at the University of Liverpool, Iwona Bisaga at Loughborough University and Julia Tomei at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, progress remains slow, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. They examine some of the reasons behind the inertia that is plaguing clean cooking access, and explore whether pay-as-you-go business models could catalyze progress.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology
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Press Release: Universal Energy Facility Provides Grants to Solar Projects Across Nigeria, Helping SMEs While Saving Thousands of Tons of Carbon Emissions per Year
These companies will now begin construction on their proposed solar projects, all of which are designed to connect businesses and services to a clean, affordable, and reliable electricity source.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: World Bank and Ethiopia Sign $40 Million Agreement to Cut Carbon Emissions Through Sustainable Landscape Management
Ethiopia has signed a landmark agreement with the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL).
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Power of Results-Based Funding for Poverty Alleviation: What We Learned from Africa’s First-Ever Development Impact Bond – and What’s Next
Development impact bonds (DIBs) are an innovative, results-based funding model with the potential to reduce poverty and make aid more effective. To assess their impact, a randomized controlled trial was conducted on Africa's first-ever DIB for poverty alleviation, which supported a poverty graduation program implemented by Village Enterprise. Dianne Calvi at Village Enterprise and Brian Boland at the Delta Fund (one of the nine philanthropic investors in the DIB) discuss the results of this study, what they mean for the sector, and how results-based funding can evolve to maximize its impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and Sustainable Energy for All Announce Expanded Partnership to Tackle Energy Poverty Worldwide
$50 million commitment will support the scale-up of the Universal Energy Facility and advancement of countries’ energy access and transition plans.
- Region
- Global
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Beyond Energy Efficiency: Key Trends and Pathways to Scale in the Solar Appliance Market
Solar appliance uptake is a key element of global energy access efforts. But according to Yasemin Erboy Ruff and Lauren Boucher at CLASP, no appliance is close to reaching market saturation, despite considerable gains in recent years. They share highlights from Efficiency for Access' 2021 Solar Appliance Technology Briefs, which characterize the market, trends and pathways to scale for 11 off-grid-appropriate solar appliances and enabling technologies, and explore what these findings mean for the solar appliance market and the customers it serves.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology
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Bringing Cooking Poverty off the SDG Sidelines: A New Study Takes a Fresh Look at the Clean Cooking Challenge
Dirty cooking negatively affects almost four billion people and kills over 4 million each year – more than tuberculosis, malaria and HIV-AIDS combined. As Phil LaRocco at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs argues, the issue is one of the largest unsolved public health and equality crises humanity has ever faced – and failing to address it will put the Sustainable Development Goals out of reach. He explores why previous and ongoing clean cooking efforts have failed, and outlines some potential solutions that could finally turn things around, based on a recent study out of Columbia University.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment
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