Energy access for sustainable development

It is abundantly clear that adequate, reliable and clean energy services are vital for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In essence, energy access has come to represent one of the intractable challenges in development, and therefore emblematic of the call for poverty eradication, and economic and social transformation. This focus issue on 'Energy Access for Sustainable Development' is initiated to draw broadly from the ideas and emerging experiences with energy activities and solutions that sought to enhance sustainable development through expansion of energy access. The focus issue includes several contributions from authors on some of the knowledge gaps this field, including: (i) the role of off-grid and mini-grid energy systems to meet multiple SDGs; (ii) the impacts of the evolving suite of off-grid and distributed energy services on inequalities across gender, and on minority and disadvantaged communities; (iii) the opportunities that the evolving technology base (both of energy services and information systems) plays in expanding the role of off-grid and mini-grid energy systems; (iv) energy options for cooking; (v) new insights into energy planning as well as the political economy, institutional and decision challenges across the energy system. Drawing from papers in this focus issue and other literature, this paper provides a sketch of the key issues in energy access

Techno-economic and environmental feasibility analysis of rice husks fired energy system for application in a cluster of rice mills

The agro-processing industries can play a critical role in the development of sustainable and clean energy systems. The lack of knowledge about the technical and economic viability of agro-waste to energy is a major barrier to the successful implementation of such energy systems in developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa countries. This paper presents the techno-economic-environmental assessment of a cluster of rice mills located in Abakaliki, Nigeria, as a provider of clean energy. The cluster of rice mills can sustainably fulfil its energy needs through the application of organic Rankine cycle based combined heat and power plant fired by rice husks. Three scenarios of the plant were proposed and investigated for complete information. The rice husk from the cluster can provide daily 20–30 MWh and 4–91 MWh of electrical power and thermal power, respectively, at 14.5–21% efficiency. A tonne of rice husk can provide 0.45–0.65 MWh of electricity; that the unit cost of electricity from the proposed system is between 0.12 and 0.159$/kWh, which is better than 0.947 US$/kWh for the diesel generator currently in use. About 270–483 kg of CO2/MWh can be saved by the proposed combined heat and power system in relation to the current use of Lister diesel generators. The proposed plant has the potentials to support the Nigerian Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. The work also presents an appropriate business model and policy pathway for sustainable cottage rice processing industries

Climate change research and the search for solutions: rethinking interdisciplinarity

Growing political pressure to find solutions to climate change is leading to increasing calls for multiple disciplines, in particular those that are not traditionally part of climate change research, to contribute new knowledge systems that can offer deeper and broader insights to address the problem. Recognition of the complexity of climate change compels researchers to draw on interdisciplinary knowledge that marries natural sciences with social sciences and humanities. Yet most interdisciplinary approaches fail to adequately merge the framings of the disparate disciplines, resulting in reductionist messages that are largely devoid of context, and hence provide incomplete and misleading analysis for decision-making. For different knowledge systems to work better together toward climate solutions, we need to reframe the way questions are asked and research pursued, in order to inform action without slipping into reductionism. We suggest that interdisciplinarity needs to be rethought. This will require accepting a plurality of narratives, embracing multiple disciplinary perspectives, and shifting expectations of public messaging, and above all looking to integrate the appropriate disciplines that can help understand human systems in order to better mediate action

Assessing uncertainty of climate change impacts on long-term hydropower generation using the CMIP5 ensemble—the case of Ecuador

This study presents a method to assess the sensitivity of hydropower generation to uncertain water resource availability driven by future climate change. A hydrology-electricity modelling framework was developed and applied to six rivers where 10 hydropower stations operate, which together represent over 85% of Ecuador’s installed hydropower capacity. The modelling framework was then forced with bias-corrected output from 40 individual global circulation model experiments from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 for the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 scenario. Impacts of changing climate on hydropower resource were quantified for 2071–2100 relative to a baseline period 1971–2000. Results show a wide annual average inflow range from + 277% to − 85% when individual climate experiments are assessed. The analysis also show that hydropower generation in Ecuador is highly uncertain and sensitive to climate change since variations in inflow to hydropower stations would directly result in changes in the expected hydropower potential. Annual hydroelectric power production in Ecuador is found to vary between − 55 and + 39% of the mean historical output when considering future inflow patterns to hydroelectric reservoirs covering one standard deviation of the CMIP5 RCP4.5 climate ensemble

Navigating policy dilemmas in fuel-subsidy reductions: learning from Indonesia’s experiences

Fuel subsidies are policy instruments that have historically been used to assist the poor in affording energy for essential household activities. The subventions have, however, been the subject of considerable criticism that they in practice exacerbate inequalities and enrich fuel producers and well-to-do households that do not require support from fuel subsidies. When efforts to resolve tensions across different stakeholder needs lead to unintended, undesirable, and differential impacts across groups and across different time horizons, a policy dilemma emerges. Actors looking to understand or inform fuel-subsidy reform face an analytical challenge in knowing how to effectively frame important interlinkages and identify strategies for intervention. This policy brief responds to this analytical challenge in understanding interlinkages that frame these policy dilemmas by using John Kingdon’s multiple-policy stream framework to analyze how the Indonesian government navigated its energy subsidy reform policy dilemma during 1998–2016. It shares lessons on how the country has managed this situation and discusses implications for further domestic reforms. The Indonesian experience may provide useful insights and lessons for other developing countries looking to navigate the multiple interlinkages across fuel-subsidy dilemmas

The potential of performance targets (imihigo) as drivers of energy planning and extending access to off‐grid energy in rural Rwanda

Rwanda has one of the lowest electrification rates in Sub‐Saharan Africa and ambitious targets of boosting energy access, with an encouraged private sector involvement. However, barriers such as end‐user awareness and participation in policy and business model design prohibit the pace of rural electrification. A case of Rwanda is analyzed, pointing to the potential of the imihigo (performance contracts) framework. Given the adoption of household‐level performance contracts, which can include energy access, it is proposed they could drive local participation among off‐grid communities. Results of a survey with 218 users of Solar Home Systems in North‐Western Rwanda and from five focus groups show that village‐level energy targets impact on the prioritization of energy target setting among households. Including off‐grid energy options in the imihigo booklets distributed to households could influence awareness raising and allow private sector providers to act in a more targeted way, prioritizing areas with most prevalent energy targets. Additionally, community meetings (umuganda) tied to imihigo offer participatory spaces for information and feedback sharing. These will assist in the design of energy planning and business models, which best fit local needs and respond to the challenges faced by the energy poor

Counting the cost: Coping with tariff increases amidst power supply shortfalls in urban households in Ethiopia

Although affordability is important, people do not need to be money poor to experience energy deprivation. This paper examines how an electricity tariff increase affects household energy consumption by situating the price change within the broader context of energy service provision in Ethiopia. We place households’ lived experience in interaction with the institutional and infrastructural dynamics that constitute the energy sector in Addis Ababa to observe how the price increase intersects with service provision. Since the tariff increase was implemented, households have changed their daily routines to control cost. Our findings show that energy consumption behaviour is also shaped by service-related inadequacies (unreliable supply and frequent power outages). However, families coping capacity (to the tariff increase and power supply shortfalls) is undermined by an energy market that is rife with information asymmetries and uncertainties. Thus, although socioeconomic factors underpin the energy insecurity households experience, inadequate supply, and diminishing confidence in service providing institutions appears to heighten their vulnerability. The paper argues that while the price change has an overall effect on consumption, its impact needs to be seen within the context of its systemic interaction with the broader energy governance and service delivery challenges

Harnessing deep mitigation opportunities of urbanisation patterns in LDCs

Cities offer enormous opportunities for climate action that would limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C by 2100 above pre-industrial levels. For example, cities can act through planning and service delivery, bringing together residential, work and leisure in single spaces, and creating better connectivity between areas within and between cities. In Least Developed Countries (LDCs) cities offer multiple opportunities for low carbon innovations given that so much of the cities in LDCs are yet to be built and serviced. The development of high carbon strategies, on the other hand, poses the danger of long-term carbon lock-in and narrows the existing window of opportunity to act. This paper explores the low carbon opportunities and avoided future emissions that cities in LDCs can implement as part of their mitigation pathways. The paper makes the case that deep mitigation efforts in the context of LDCs will need to take place within the broader agenda of sustainable development, poverty reduction, and equity. Examples of transport, energy and low carbon urbanism are discussed as evidence that climate-resilient development, consistent with the 1.5 °C pathway, is already underway in some LDCs

A corruption risk assessment for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Nigeria

This study asked if the concerns about corruption in climate change in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and, therefore, fiduciary standards, is justified or not. The study employed an explorative approach using the Nigeria REDD+ process as a case study. Using semistructured questionnaire and in-depth interviews with key informants, data were collected from 201 households from REDD+ project sites and twenty-one forestry officials from local forestry commission on the perceived extent of transparency in REDD+ implementation in the study area; how REDD+ local officials perceive the fiduciary standards and other governance standards by international climate funds; and effectiveness of anticorruption measures within the REDD+ projects. The confidence reposed in the project's local implementing agency was generally poor. Allocation of carbon rights was the most critically perceived to be fraught with poor transparency in REDD+ processes. Only five out of eight governance measures that could help improve transparency in REDD+ processes were available locally two of which were rated as just fairly functional. This study agreed that the multilateral climate funds are justified in respect of the set fiduciary standards for climate finance flows

Multiyear Rainfall and Temperature Trends in the Volta River Basin and their Potential Impact on Hydropower Generation in Ghana

The effects of temperature and rainfall changes on hydropower generation in Ghana from 1960–2011 were examined to understand country-wide trends of climate variability. Moreover, the discharge and the water level trends for the Akosombo reservoir from 1965–2014 were examined using the Mann-Kendall test statistic to assess localised changes. The annual temperature trend was positive while rainfall showed both negative and positive trends in different parts of the country. However, these trends were not statistically significant in the study regions in 1960 to 2011. Rainfall was not evenly distributed throughout the years, with the highest rainfall recorded between 1960 and 1970 and the lowest rainfalls between 2000 and 2011. The Mann-Kendall test shows an upward trend for the discharge of the Akosombo reservoir and a downward trend for the water level. However, the discharge irregularities of the reservoir do not necessarily affect the energy generated from the Akosombo plant, but rather the regular low flow of water into the reservoir affected power generation. This is the major concern for the operations of the Akosombo hydropower plant for energy generation in Ghana