Mainstreaming gender in energy design practice: Insights from companies operating in sub-Saharan Africa's energy sector

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. There are several readily available and freely accessible toolkits, handbooks, and manuals aiming to support gender mainstreaming in energy projects. However, with most of them targeting rural areas, their applicability by energy companies operating in urban environments is limited. This paper aims to shed light on the how energy companies operating in informal urban settlements in sub-Saharan Africa integrate gender mainstreaming into their practices, with a focus on their design processes, methods and tools. To address this knowledge gap we adopted an explorative, inductive and qualitative research based on reviewing existing gender-energy nexus supports (toolkits, handbooks, and manuals) and conducting semi-structured interviews with 15 private companies offering energy solutions in informal urban settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa. These companies focus on solutions to domestic energy needs (cooking, lighting, water heating, refrigeration, space cooling, space heating, washing, tool powering) and productive use of energy to support small entrepreneurship. The interview questions were defined to collect: 1) gender considerations in the design of energy solutions for informal urban settlements; 2) methods and expertise involved in the design of energy solutions; and 3) specifics of designing for informal urban areas. The results show that: 1] The interviewed companies are not familiar with and do not use any of the readily available supports on gender mainstreaming in energy projects; 2] They do not follow any step-by-step gender inclusion strategy but try to be impartial about considering gender through familiar and established methods used along the design process; 3] They seek for better understanding of how to integrate gender in their business practices and require specific support to do so.National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the Newton Fund through the British Council, grant number SARCHI18076349612

Energy price modeling in sub-Saharan Africa: an systematic literature review

Data availability statement: All data that support the findings of this study are included within the article (and any supplementary information files).Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Researchers have found that despite a wide range of renewable energy sources in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), renewable energy pricing policies have focused extensively on metered electricity energy, an early source of renewable energy. Supply, access, and regulation of price for metered electricity energy is mostly controlled by the governments across SSA. There is an increasing use of other renewable energy sources including portable electricity, solar power, and wind power. However, in SSA, the pricing for domestic renewable domestic renewable power such as portable electricity, rechargeable cookstoves, and portable solar power sources are left to the market to legislate, with energy prices dependent on forces of demand and supply and seldom on clear scientific models. This commercially focused energy market means businesses operating in the energy industry are more interested in profits and set prices relative to their market perceptions. The main problem with the energy market in SSA is the lack of a participatory approach where customers, businesses, the government, and other stakeholders are involved in the pricing for energy. We further note that lack of a participatory approach in energy pricing is a major challenge in uptake and demand for the domestic renewable energy sources. Through a systematic literature review, including a review of peer-reviewed journals, documents from energy utility companies, and published information on the websites for energy companies, this review analyzes the current application of energy price modeling and hypothesizes that mobile technology and a participatory pricing approach can improve pricing for domestic renewable power. Our initial literature review showed that energy price modeling had received little attention in SSA, especially for domestic renewable power energy sources. This paper, therefore, fills this gap by using a systematic literature review to consolidate knowledge on how energy price modeling has been applied in the SSA context. The systematic literature review results reveal four commonly used models: time series, artificial neural network, hybrid iterative reactive adaptive, and hybrid models. These energy pricing models are mainly applied to metered electricity power, the predominant source of energy in SSA. The literature hypothesizes that applying mobile technology to energy pricing and a participatory approach involving the consumers and energy supply businesses can move SSA closer to transitioning to renewable energy. Although other factors have hindered this transition, a participatory energy pricing approach incorporating relevant pricing models and market information creates potential solutions to these challenges. In the discussion, we hypothesize that a participatory approach to price modeling with the incorporation of mobile technology can be used at the household level to improve energy decision-making. For this to work, energy price modeling for domestic renewable sources should be simplified, user-friendly, and accessible to households. In conclusion, we recommend that SSA governments develop a more holistic view of energy price modeling to better harness the potential for domestic renewable energy sources.This work is based on research by the Africa-UK Trilateral Research Chair ID SARCI18076349612, under the Newton Fund—National Research Foundation of South Africa partnership, Grant Number 120129

Supporting the Development of Gendered Energy Innovations for Informal Urban Settlements: GENS Codesign Toolkit for Multistakeholder Collaboration

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. There is still little knowledge about the link between gender mainstreaming and energy security in informal urban settlements and there is limited design support to address this linkage. This paper presents the development and evaluation of the Gender for Energy Security (GENS) codesign toolkit, which was made to facilitate the design of gendered energy innovations for informal urban settlements. The toolkit was developed by applying the Design Research Methodology (DRM) and is grounded in the findings of a literature review, semi-structured interviews and ethnographic fieldwork in two informal urban settlements. The toolkit aimed to support codesign processes by providing its users with knowledge about the gendered energy scene in informal urban settlements and facilitating idea generation for gendered urban energy innovations. The evaluation of the GENS codesign toolkit was conducted during a one-day multistakeholder codesign workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. During the testing, we found that the toolkit was successful in facilitating energetic discussions, helping its users to learn about the gender–energy nexus in informal urban settlements and generate original ideas for gendered energy innovations. The toolkit is an addition to the current tools, handbooks and manuals on mainstreaming gender in the energy sector, with a unique focus on informal urban settlements and supporting idea generation.This research was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the Newton Fund through the British Council, grant number SARCHI1807634961

Quantification of biophysical adaptation benefits from Climate-Smart Agriculture using a Bayesian Belief Network

The need for smallholder farmers to adapt their practices to a changing climate is well recognised, particularly in Africa. The cost of adapting to climate change in Africa is estimated to be $20 to$30 billion per year, but the total amount pledged to finance adaptation falls significantly short of this requirement. The difficulty of assessing and monitoring when adaptation is achieved is one of the key barriers to the disbursement of performance-based adaptation finance. To demonstrate the potential of Bayesian Belief Networks for describing the impacts of specific activities on climate change resilience, we developed a simple model that incorporates climate projections, local environmental data, information from peer-reviewed literature and expert opinion to account for the adaptation benefits derived from Climate-Smart Agriculture activities in Malawi. This novel approach allows assessment of vulnerability to climate change under different land use activities and can be used to identify appropriate adaptation strategies and to quantify biophysical adaptation benefits from activities that are implemented. We suggest that multiple-indicator Bayesian Belief Network approaches can provide insights into adaptation planning for a wide range of applications and, if further explored, could be part of a set of important catalysts for the expansion of adaptation finance

Addressing gender dimensions in energy innovations: A gender analysis framework for informal urban settlements in Africa

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship award number (57511377); National Research Foundation South Africa (NRF) reference number MND200629538073

Control Theory and System Dynamics Simulations of Electric Vehicle Market Penetration in South Africa

Economic development shares interdependence with energy investment, a complex interaction of systems. Thus, advanced modelling tools are required to support the development of strategic integrated energy plans, inclusive of the technological complexities in the electricity value chain. This paper looks at a system dynamics modelling approach with elements of control systems engineering to determine the impact of the electric vehicle (EV) technology market penetration on the electricity demand profile and the related environmental impact in the energy and transport sectors in South Africa. Results indicate that the approach provided a robust framework in which to design the model and conduct sensitivity analyses of additional EVs entering the system due to the feedback loops inherent in the system structure

Sustainable energy transition framework for unmet electricity markets

Efficient energy supply is a means for people to gain access to a wide range of energy-related services. In unmet energy markets where energy supply is inadequate or lacking, such services, and the resulting benefits, are seldom attained. This has prompted research on energy transition, specifically a transition to renewable energy, to rapidly diffuse energy access in these regions. Existing energy transition frameworks are predominantly contextualised in developed economies, with little evidence of their applicability in the context of developing countries. This paper proposed an energy transition framework for the unmet electricity markets, after conducting a systematic review of the literature on energy transitions, specifically relating to sustainable transitions of electricity systems. Contextual limitations observed in the energy transition literature included market demand, scale of energy infrastructure, type of energy resource, transition duration, novelty of opportunities, and level of external influence. An energy transition framework for unmet electricity markets was subsequently conceptualised. The key characteristics of this modified transition framework are: (i) traditional technology; (ii) defunct deceleration; (iii) a niche technology curve; (iv) landscape support for niches; and (v) new regime condensation (emergence). Contextual awareness in designing policy frameworks for energy transition is essential to achieve sustainable energy for all, particularly in unmet electricity markets

Affordability of battery electric vehicles based on disposable income and the impact on provincial residential electricity requirements in South Africa

South Africa's political history, unique demographic profile, and economic growth drivers, present a challenge in adopting universal strategies and business models to plan for the impact of battery electric vehicles in the residential sector. This paper investigated battery electric vehicle (BEV) substitution of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) on a provincial level, to better plan for additional electricity requirements. This was achieved by developing the E-StratBEV model, using system dynamics. The model results show that nationally, although the Low Growth scenario indicates about 233,700 BEVs by 2040, the adjusted number (based on the spending behaviour within deciles) may result in 44,155 BEVs while the High Growth scenario's expected 2.39 million BEVs by 2040 could be adjusted down to 451,736 BEVs. For a coal heavy supply mix, the cumulative carbon emissions from 2019 until 2040 resulted in negligible benefits, so provinces may not be able to leverage on passenger electric vehicles to reduce provincial environmental emissions. Lastly, the BEV growth drivers introduced an additional 1589 BEVs to the Low Growth scenario and an additional 16,257 BEVs to the High Growth targets from 2019 to 2040, with the purchase price being the dominant driver

Development of living labs to support gendered energy technology innovation in poor urban environments

Africa-UK Trilateral Research Chair ID SARCI18076349612, under the Newton Fund — National Research Foundation of South Africa partnership, Grant Number 120129.British Council (Mainstreaming Gender for Energy Security in Poor Urban Environments (GENS))

A system dynamics approach to technology sustainability assessment: The case of biodiesel developments in South Africa

Lettere En WysbegeerteSentrum vir Kennisdinamika & BesluitnemingPlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]