In a wake up call to national and international decision makers, the Overseas Development Institute examined the projected progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and found that a 'revolution' is needed to achieve SDG7—clean, affordable, modern energy for all—by 2030. Ahead of the first anniversary of the SDGs on September 25, this newsletter highlights how decentralized renewable energy (DRE) must be at the heart of that revolution, and looks at the critical role national policy must play. Here we provide a sneak peek into early findings from research by our Platform for Energy Access Knowledge team, which identifies the policy levers at the center of strong DRE markets in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Tanzania https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=885ff8bc6c2476e70788542c5&id=ba36ff1acd
As part of the ongoing Powering Jobs Campaign, the global report for 2022 is complete, after gathering inputs from peer reviewers, and it is now in the design stage. Our research team has started finalizing the in-country draftseports for India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia and these will be ready by the end of July 2022 for peer review. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/campaign-updates/campaign-updates-july-2022
Download the Powering Jobs Census 2022: The Energy Access Workforce Kenya report to learn how the decentralized renewable energy sector is steadily recovering from the negative impacts of COVID-19. Almost 3,000 jobs were lost in 2020 and 2021 due to a decline in the sales of Solar Home Systems. https://www.powerforall.org/resources/reports/powering-jobs-census-2022-focus-kenya
The Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) sector in Kenya has shown a strong rebound from COVID-19 and continues to create good and stable jobs while delivering clean and affordable energy to the 25 percent of the population living without access to electricity, a majority of whom are in remote rural areas. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/press-releases/study-shows-jobs-kenyas-decentralized-renewable-energy-sector-reach-pre-pandemic-levels-end-of-2022
We continued to disseminate and facilitate discussions on the findings and recommendations of the 2022 Powering Jobs census. We launched Powering Jobs census country reports for Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya and took part in the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo held in Kigali, Rwanda. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/campaign-updates/campaign-updates-october-2022
The ‘Powering Jobs Census 2022: The Energy Access Workforce’ report, which compiles employment data from a comprehensive survey conducted across Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, explores the potential of decentralized renewable energy to help achieve both United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 8. The report was well received and stirred debate on how best to encourage growth and inclusion in the distributed renewable energy sector. https://mailchi.mp/powerforall.org/state-of-renewable-energy-jobs-in-africa-and-india?e=[UNIQID]
The leading mini-grid program in Africa today released its first findings after nearly two years of deployment in Kenya. The paper, Powering Productivity, investigates various factors that can make or break the value of a mini-grid including recruiting the appropriate customer base, generating revenue, balancing supply and demand and creating social impact… https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/africas-leading-mini-grid-initiative-reports-key-findings
As deputy director for Africa for the World Resources Institute in Kenya, Rebekah Shirley works with local clean energy companies that demonstrate to the world that Africa is invested in fighting climate change, she said in a TED Talk. https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/regulatory-obstacles-and-financing-challenges-throttle-renewable-energy-access-sub-saharan-africa
More than 800,000 Kenyan dairy farmers have no electricity to refrigerate their milk, which means that about 60% of milk in Kenya spoils. Farmers don’t have access to electricity, and they can’t afford diesel generators, which are expensive to operate. https://www.powerforall.org/insights/impact/harvesting-hope-how-distributed-renewable-energy-can-reshape-agriculture-communities-and-planet
Power for All and IRENA are partnering to explore gender dynamics in the DRE sector, a field ripe for increasing women's participation, as seen in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/empowering-women-distributed-renewable-energy