Is there still a role for small wind in rural electrification programmes?

In the right context, Small Wind Turbines (SWTs) can offer a valuable complement to solar photovoltaics (PV) or diesel generators, offering diversity in power generation sources and the potential for local manufacture. However, the biggest challenges facing small wind are the high variability in the wind resource (in both space and time) and the high maintenance requirements of SWTs. What is more, PV prices have fallen dramatically in the last decade, resulting in the proliferation of an array of desirable and highly modular solar solutions, such as solar lanterns and Solar Home Systems (SHS). Consequently, outside of high wind regions, SWTs are now rarely directly economically competitive against solar PV. Going forward, SWTs are still likely to have a role to play, but in niche contexts and as a complimentary addition to hybridise solar PV or diesel systems, rather than as a standalone alternative. Market assessments are an essential first step to determine the relative viability of PV-wind or wind-diesel hybrid systems with PV or diesel systems in particular contexts. In favourable regions, the high maintenance requirements of SWTs can be tackled by providing stable institutional support to empower local champions, establish a decentralised maintenance network and foster the development of a local small wind industry. End users and local technicians should be empowered to carry out as much maintenance as they are able/willing to, especially in remote regions, where frequent long maintenance trips are likely to lead small wind electrification programmes to failure. Sustainable business models should focus on productive applications and addressing the weaknesses of diesel and/or solar generation through hybridisation

How solar household systems contribute to resilience

This paper explores the relationship between the energy services provided by solar household devices, and the resilience of their users to climate change

Tacit networks, crucial care: Informal networks and disaster response in Nepal’s 2015 Gorkha earthquake

It is often reiterated that a better understanding of local networks and needs is key to risk reduction. Nevertheless, the crucial role of informal social networks and actors in the catering for human needs in disaster circumstances remains largely under-explored. If we have to rethink the ‘work’ that informality does for our understanding of urban areas, its contribution to resilience, and take it seriously in the ‘full spectrum of risk’ in urban and peri-urban centres, better and more balanced methods are needed. This paper attends to this gap. Examining the mechanisms of aid provision in the aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal, it details an experimental set of quantitative research methods to explore the role of informal social networks in the provision of critical human needs in natural disasters. Relying on a sample of 160 households across four districts and 16 villages in the built environment affected by the Gorkha earthquake, the paper reveals that, overall, a wide disparity exists in the comparative importance of organisations in the provision of aid and resources. Much crucial after-disaster care is catered for by a mix of relatives, temples, friends, neighbours and local clubs. It highlights the importance of informal networks in understanding, and theorising, governance (of disaster and of the ‘urban’ more in general), and calls for greater attention to its role. It is time, it argues, to revalue informal disaster governance networks as a crucial, not tacit, component of disaster response

Policy perspectives on expanding cogeneration from bagasse in Malawi

Agro-industries have the potential to make a substantial contribution to sustainable energy supply in Africa, including energy access in rural areas. This paper focuses on the drivers and barriers to wider use of cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse in Malawi as there is a potential for the technology to enable access to electricity in rural areas. The paper gives an overview of the policy landscape for the energy sector and the sugar industry in Malawi. The research involved site visits, focus group discussions, and individual semi-structured interviews with participants from key government departments, businesses, research institutes and international agencies. It was found that energy sector reform, the proposed feed-in tariff for renewable energy, and risk are the key issues for investment in this area

Mapping the UK research & innovation landscape: Energy & development

The UK is already a major player in terms of research and innovation into low carbon transitions within the countries of the developing world. However, there are significant opportunities for the UK to enhance its presence within these markets whilst also making a major contribution to meeting international development targets and climate commitments. At the core of the research analysed in the report is that it reflects disparate, research initiatives funded with different research/innovation targets in mind; much latent strength in UK research for low carbon energy for development therefore is implicit in linkage possibilities enhancing systemic effectiveness, particularly by cross-fertilizing innovations taking place in the private sector. Gaps and weaknesses are reflected as much in the lack of collaborative initiatives and ‘siloization’ as in the absence of actual research/funding. The Low Carbon Energy for Development Network (LCEDN) is currently taking the initiative in one aspect of this through the provision of a programme of capacity building and partnership activities to support the development of DfID’s Transforming Energy Access research initiative. What is required of UK energy for development research for the purposes of building a functional system, however, is that the discrete areas of research outlined in this report be re-assembled as coherent, overall research narratives addressing the apparent contradiction of increasing energy access whilst transitioning to the low-carbon economy. Part of this work involves identifying the state and dynamics of UK research capacity in this sector, facilitating greater integration between research funders active in this area, evaluating gaps and key research needs and mapping potential future directions for research interventions and collaborations that build on, and develop, existing UK research capacity. It is expected that this will lead to a range of UK-led energy innovations developed, tested and scaled across developing countries by 2020. The much-needed harmonization of energy access and low carbon transition as a UK research theme however has ultimately to be created out of rethinking research fields from a combination of existing research, plus demand known to be ‘out there’ but which has yet to enter the field of vision of research-funders. This report presents the first part of this work with an overview of current UK research and innovation capacity in a widely defined ‘Energy and International Development’ research area. It identifies key institutions and research centres, thematic areas of excellence, research funding trends over the last decade, emerging research themes plus an overview of grant funding for innovation on the ground. A number of key areas/questions for potential further development of UK research and innovation capacity have been identified and are up for discussion and consultation. The work has been undertaken by LCEDN in partnership with the Knowledge Transfer Network, Energy 4 Impact and IOD PARC

Developing a research agenda for community energy resilience in the electricity sector

The Energy and Economic Growth Applied Research Programme (EEG) is partnering with Low Carbon Energy for Development Network (LCEDN) to catalyse new research collaborations on community energy resilience in low-income countries, with a focus on opportunities in on-grid, mini-grid, and stand-alone electricity systems. This 6-month project is supported by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) Whole Systems Networking Fund. The project was launched on 1 June 2018 during a session at the LCEDN Annual Conference at Loughborough University, UK, on ‘Resilience Concepts for Energy’. This brought together a number of perspectives on community energy resilience. This document introduces the project and summarises the discussions at the LCEDN conference

Clean cooking in refugee camps and COVID-19: what lessons can we learn?

Briefing note which outlines lessons to be learned from implementing clean cooking in refugee camps in the context of the challenges posed by COVID-19. The briefing note discusses access to energy for cooking in refugee camps and the implications of lack thereof. It explores the impact COVID-19 has had on camp settings and outlines three examples of progress in clean cooking transitions that took place in 2020 in displaced communities situated in Rwanda, Uganda, and Bangladesh. The note argues that clean energy for cooking in displacement settings should be prioritised on the humanitarian agenda and highlights the importance of “partnerships, innovation, and the development of financially and environmentally sustainable models for the provision of clean cooking in displacement”

Funding and delivery models for modern energy cooking services in displacement settings: a review

Cooking with modern energy fuels and technologies has a high potential to positively impact the users’ health and well-being, and make cooking safer and less burdensome for women and girls. To date, there have been numerous interventions targeting improved cooking solutions in displacement settings, but very few which have involved modern energy cooking, such as ethanol, biogas, LPG or electric cooking. They have been largely absent from humanitarian programming due to limited availability, affordability and lack of business models that suit those complex settings. Additionally, energy access services in displacement settings have historically relied primarily on grant-based funding. However, grants are limited to relatively short timeframes which do not align with the long-term needs of the displaced. New ways of funding energy access in displacement settings, and particularly modern energy cooking services, are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge as the number of displaced surpassed 80 million in 2020, with close to 90% having little or no access to adequate cooking fuels and technologies. In this paper, we review modern energy cooking in displacement settings and the common ways of funding and delivering them. We argue that new ways of funding and delivering energy access in displacement settings are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge and to facilitate transitions to modern energy cooking fuels and technologies, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’

Towards community energy resilience

Developing countries face multiple stresses and shocks that cause significant disruption to critical infrastructures including energy. Climate change is acting as a threat multiplier and countries need to make long-term adaption plans and cope with higher levels of uncertainty. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be maintained without developing societies and economies building more resilience into their infrastructural backbone, including in the energy sector. But what does it mean to incorporate greater resilience into a community, and how can resilience be encouraged and developed, in particular at the community level?This chapter explores the responses of communities to these challenges and develops the concept of community energy resilience. Firstly, we examine definitions of resilience and community resilience and how they relate to energy services. Secondly, we discuss energy resilience in the broader context of the community and the research needs identified during a series of workshops with experts from energy access and disaster risk reduction. Thirdly, we take a deep dive into the case study of Nepal after the major earthquake in 2015, an event that displaced 2.6 million people. Lastly, we will reflect on the concept of community energy resilience in relation to forced migration and avenues for further research.</div

Scaling energy resilience: A tool for leveraging local resources for adapting resilience innovations

The study examines how innovative renewable energy solutions impact community energy resilience. [...]</p