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Sustainability, inclusiveness and governance of mini-grids in Africa (SIGMA)
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
With approximately one billion people lacking access to electricity in the world, nothing short of a socio-technical transformation is required to reach the objectives of universal electrification by 2030. Sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 600 million lacking access to electricity, requires a special attention. Although off-grid and decentralised solutions are expected to play a significant role and mini-grids are assumed to be a game changer for a rapid, cost-effective, pro-poor, universal electrification globally, the green mini-grid sector has not grown rapidly. Progress has been patchy between and within countries, across rural areas and informal urban settlements and between high and low-income communities. Among the barriers to scaling up mini-grids in Africa are lack of mini-grid specific regulatory framework, unproven business models, demand uncertainty, limited access to finance and lack of capacity. The main aim of this proposal is to improve our understanding of sustainability, inclusiveness and governance of mini-grids in general and those in sub-Saharan Africa in particular, by developing an improved evidence base and a multi-dimensional appreciation of issues and challenges that can support better decision-making for universal electrification globally. The project has been conceptualised through a collaborative process involving a team of UK-based researchers and research teams from four sub-Saharan Africa countries (namely Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania). We have identified four main research questions. 1) Which business models have succeeded to deliver financially and technically viable mini-grids in SSA? 2) Who and what have been the key beneficiaries of mini-grids in the case study countries and in what way? 3) Who drives or hinders the proliferation and the speed of adoption of mini-grids in East and West Africa? 4) What governance, regulatory and policy frameworks for decentralised systems of electricity provision exist in each case study country, how successful have they been and how do they differ? Our analytical approach sits at the intersection of human geography, development studies, engineering and sustainability transitions. The research is necessarily inter-disciplinary in order to understand complex interactions between financial, technological, political, socio-economic and cultural factors. We plan to develop a political economy framework and a sustainability framework to analyse electricity access in developing countries, with a particular focus on mini-grids. Our case studies (two from West Africa, Nigeria and Senegal and two from East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania) present fascinating grounds for comparison and have been selected on the basis of their diversity of governance models and differing levels of decentralised electricity provisions within their specific national and sub-national contexts. The work is organised in seven work packages and will be delivered over a period of 36 months. We would undertake an extensive review of literature on mini-grids, sustainability, governance, political economy and inclusiveness covering (WP1). We plan to develop our analytical frameworks at the end of this task. In WP2, we would focus on building the evidence base by collecting relevant information on mini-grids and developing a mini-grids database for four countries of our study. The database will then be used to analyse the status of mini-grids in each case study country. WP 3, 4 and 5 are devoted to analysis of sustainability, inclusiveness and governance of mini-grids. This will be done at the level of each country and also at cross-country comparative level. WP6 is devoted to communication, dissemination and impact generation activities while WP7 is devoted to project management. The novelty of the proposal lies in its evidence-based approach to uncover challenges of mini-grids and to develop strategies for successful businesses that are sustainable and inclusive. COVID-19
Climate Smart Development for Nepal
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
This will help Nepal to cope with impacts of climate change (CC) and promote clean development. It will provide strategic support to the Govt of Nepal to design and implement CC policies, to integrate resilience throughout government planning. This will:Improve resilience of 700,000 poor & vulnerable people (especially women) to floods, landslides, droughts in most remote districts;Improve resilience of businesses in 5 growing urban centres & 3 river basins through investments in urban planning, large scale irrigation systems & flood management;Facilitate connection of over 25,000 households to new micro-hydro power installations; connect over 70,000 homes to solar power & install RET in more than 200 schools/health clinics;Develop industry standard for ‘clean’ brick production and enable over half of the brick kilns (at least 400) to adopt more efficient technologies;Improve design of future CC programming & beyond through generation of world class evidence
TEA - Transforming Energy Access
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
TEA is the flagship FCDO research and innovation platform supporting early-stage testing and scale-up of innovative technologies and business models that accelerate access to affordable, clean, and modern energy in developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, enabling sustainable and inclusive growth. TEA seeks to improve clean energy access for 25 million people, create 170,000 green jobs, and leverage £1.3 billion of additional investment into clean energy technology research, innovation and scale-up. It contributes to International Climate Finance (ICF) objectives and it is the main FCDO platform for delivery of the £1 billion UK Ayrton Fund for clean energy innovation between 2021 and 2026. TEA is delivered by four lead FCDO partners - Carbon Trust, Innovate UK, Shell Foundation, and ESMAP – and a network to date of more than 750 downstream partners delivering research and innovation activities in more than 60 countries.
Supporting Economic Empowerment and Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (SEED OPTs)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
This programme will focus DFID economic development assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in the areas of water, electricity, access & movement and trade, and fiscal losses and customs. Programme activities will support institutional capacity building and infrastructure development, working closely with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel. The overarching goal is to support economic growth and job creation in the OPTs.
Increasing renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Eastern Caribbean
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To increase the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures and to improve energy security in the Eastern Caribbean
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