All Finance
COP Out! Big Oil Drowns Out Increasingly Desperate Nations
The COP29 summit in Baku highlighted significant gaps between climate ambitions and real-world outcomes, focusing on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. Despite raising the annual climate finance target to $300 billion, the amount falls far short of the $3 trillion needed annually for a global low-carbon transition. The summit's outcomes were criticized for insufficient transparency, inefficiencies in fund deployment, and disproportionate influence from 1,770 fossil fuel lobbyists overshadowing climate-vulnerable nations. Key challenges include bureaucratic delays, opaque financial tracking, and inadequate representation of underprivileged nations in negotiations. Critics emphasized the need for stringent conflict-of-interest policies to curb fossil fuel lobbying, alongside transparent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure accountability in climate finance. While the NCQG presents an opportunity to mobilize global partnerships and private investment, its success hinges on equitable representation, robust monitoring, and effective disbursement. Without these, COP risks failing to meet its mission of achieving meaningful climate action.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/cop-out-big-oil-drowns-out-increasingly-desperate-nations
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Solar Mini-Grid Growth Stunted by Financial Shadows
Discover why financial transparency is vital for the growth of solar mini-grids in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article uncovers the discrepancies in funding reports for solar mini-grid projects and the need for more accurate and consistent tracking of donor funding.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/sub-saharan-africa-solar-mini-grid-growth-stunted-financial-shadows
Philanthropy Trends: Collaboration, Climate, and Clean Energy in Agriculture
2023 saw global philanthropy pivot to climate and clean energy in agriculture, with key investments driven by collaborations like ClimateWorks and partnerships like Acumen-Green Climate Fund.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/philanthropy-trends-collaboration-climate-and-clean-energy-agriculture
Regional Collaborations Set to Strengthen, Global Collaboration Confronts Challenges
Just energy transition requires global collaboration, facing socio-economic, geopolitical challenges, with regional cooperation strengthening but global efforts hindered by protectionist policies and unequal standards.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/regional-collaborations-set-strengthen-global-collaboration-confronts-challenges
Advancing Climate Adaptation: The Impact of Renewables in the Loss and Damage Fund
The Loss and Damage Fund, crucial for aiding vulnerable nations, will continue to struggle with implementation and funding. More closely integrating renewable energy will be key for climate adaptation.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/advancing-climate-adaptation-impact-of-renewables-loss-and-damage-fund
Empowering Africa: Overcoming Challenges to Harness Carbon Markets for Renewable Energy
Sub-Saharan Africa's access to flawed yet vital global carbon markets is challenging; initiatives like the Africa Carbon Market aim to refine these markets and spur economic growth. Integrating renewable energy into the evolving Loss and Damage Fund is key for effective climate adaptation in 2024.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/empowering-africa-overcoming-challenges-harness-carbon-markets-renewable-energy
Reshaping the Global Landscape: The Need for a New Bretton Woods in the Era of Green Minerals
In 2024, the demand for green minerals is reshaping global power, highlighting the need for a new Bretton Woods system to ensure sustainable, equitable growth and manage geopolitical and environmental challenges.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/reshaping-global-landscape-need-new-bretton-woods-era-of-green-minerals
The Battle Against Energy Poverty: Will Macron's Summit Deliver for the World's Poorest?
Today, French President Emmanuel Macron will host a Summit for a new global financing pact in Paris. Over 100 heads of state, policymakers, and international organizations will convene to discuss financing solutions to respond to global crises, including climate change, development, and biodiversity loss.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/battle-against-energy-poverty-will-macrons-summit-deliver-worlds-poorest
Financing and Knowledge Crucial for Ethiopia's Ambitious Energy Goals
In a country where 56 per cent of the population still has little or no access to electricity, achieving universal access in the next couple of years is an ambitious goal. This is, however, exactly what the Ethiopian government hopes to achieve by 2025 through a combination of grid and off-grid based solutions. To ensure this aspiration becomes reality, the country must increase financing for off-grid renewable energy solutions and find ways to boost knowledge and understanding of the sector.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/financing-and-knowledge-crucial-ethiopias-ambitious-energy-goals
Regulatory Obstacles and Financing Challenges Throttle Renewable Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa
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
Charting Path to COP27: New and Old Challenges and Hope for Permanent Solutions
Energy sector leaders, politicians and activists voice their hopes for the upcoming COP27 to be held in Egypt in November. The rallying call is on climate finance. There is an urgent need for financial support to rebuild and better protect the nations most impacted by climate change.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/charting-path-cop27-new-and-old-challenges-and-hope-permanent-solutions
Going Beyond Access: Financing of Assets and Appliances Stimulates Energy Demand in Uganda
According to a recent household survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, only 57% of Ugandans have access to any form of electricity. Of these, 19% and 38% were connected to the grid and off-grid power, respectively. Most of those without access to electricity are in rural areas where over 75% of the households reside and depend on agriculture as their main source of income.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/going-beyond-access-financing-of-assets-and-appliances-stimulates-energy-demand-uganda
Interview with Prof Dan Kammen on PayGo, a Disruptive Tool for Just Energy Transitions
In this podcast interview, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All, speaks with Dan Kammen, a Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, on the social and technological innovations that have transformed the renewable energy sector over the years including the PayGo business model that is driving a just energy transition.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/interviews/interview-prof-dan-kammen-paygo-disruptive-tool-just-energy-transitions
Energy Access, Financial Inclusion, and Improved Livelihoods: PayGo’s Triple Win
“Africa is simply tired of being in the dark. It is time to take decisive action and turn around this narrative: to light up and power Africa – and accelerate the pace of economic transformation, unlock the potential of businesses, and drive much-needed industrialization to create jobs,” This was said by Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, in his speech at the Africa Union Summit held in January 2016 while outlining the bank’s five development priority areas for Africa’s transformation including Light up and Power Africa initiative.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/impact/energy-access-financial-inclusion-and-improved-livelihoods-paygos-triple-win
India’s Decentralized Renewable Energy Enterprises Show Resilience Amid COVID -19 Pandemic
Clean Network has recently published the State of the Sector report, and it shows that the Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) sector in India, with policy and financing support, is poised to bounce back from the sluggish growth of the past year.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/indias-decentralized-renewable-energy-enterprises-show-resilience-amid-covid-19-pandemic
India’s Union Budget 2022: What Does it Hold for Climate Action, Energy Access, and Rural Development?
On February 1, 2022, India’s Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, tabled the 2022-23 Union Budget in Parliament. Climate action and Productivity were among the four pillars shaping this year’s budget. This article highlights some of the provisions in the budget that present opportunities to strengthen climate action alongside rural development and productivity.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/indias-union-budget-2022-what-does-it-hold-climate-action-energy-access-and-rural-development
Decentralized Renewable Energy Trends to Watch in 2022
From a heated African UN COP27 to unlocking of finances for small and medium-sized enterprises, more jobs, and the take-off of electric two-and three-wheelers. These and others are amongst the top trends to watch in 2022 in the clean energy access arena according to our partners. This year, we again reached out to them to share their predictions on what will be hot for the sector in the new year. Their verdict is out. Read on to see what’s in store in what seems a stellar year ahead!
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/impact/decentralized-renewable-energy-trends-watch-2022
COP26: Climate finance for fueling Renewable Energy in the Global South
Power for All reviews the need for increased financial investments in the Global South in this decade of action, to ensure energy access goals are achieved.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/cop-26-climate-finance-fueling-renewable-energy-global-south
Interview with Dan Klinck, CEO of East African Power
In this episode of the Power for All's Integrated Energy podcast series, Kristina Skierka, founder and CEO of Power for All speaks with Dan Klinck, CEO of East African Power, an integrated renewable energy development company delivering affordable clean energy in sub-Saharan Africa.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/interviews/interview-dan-klinck-ceo-of-east-african-power
For local manufacturing to create jobs in Africa, governments need to look beyond standard incentives
For countries in sub-Saharan Africa to undertake successful assembly and manufacturing of solar products, there is need to ensure an enabling environment is created to encourage companies and investors to move beyond future commitments. It is critical that countries put in place that prioritise local content in off-grid solar procurement, as otherwise this will likely create supply side constraints in reaching energy access targets
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/local-manufacturing-create-jobs-africa-governments-need-look-beyond-standard-incentives
Beyond COVID, consumer subsidy needed to narrow energy affordability gap
By 2030, 228 million people worldwide are expected to still be without access to electricity due to affordability and access constraints, and COVID is likely to push that number higher. "Demand-side subsidies," i.e. reducing the cost of power to the poorest of the poor, are essential to avoiding this scenario, concludes ACE TAF.
https://www.powerforall.org/decentralized-renewable-energy-covid19-subsidy
Donors: where’s your money promised for minigrids?
Donors have deployed just 13% of the US$ 1.6 billion in funds committed to the minigrid sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, and most of that went to technical assistance consultants, not building projects. Where is the other 87%?, asks the African Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA).
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/donors-wheres-your-money-promised-minigrids
Off-grid sector success post-pandemic hinges on shift to new financing models
Off track and under-funded, the goal of universal energy access will only happen if there is much tighter collaboration between funders to unify a highly fragmented finance landscape, while also maintaining a laser focus on results. SEforALL explains why multi-donor RBF is essential for success.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/grid-sector-success-post-pandemic-hinges-shift-new-financing-models
Off-grid customers struggling: interview with Kat Harrison
85% of off-grid solar customers say their financial situation has worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one-fifth reported paying for energy as a "heavy burden". We spoke with 60 Decibels director Kat Harrison to understand where things stand, where they are headed and what's at stake.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/interviews/grid-customers-struggling-interview-kat-harrison
Investing in clean energy an opportunity for African middle class
By 2021, the green-energy investing will account for 25% of all energy spending, for the first time ever, surpassing spending on fossil fuels, according to Goldman Sachs. Africa's growing middle class could be pivotal to the continent's transition to a sustainable energy future.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/renewable-energy-investement-africa
Who will rescue off-grid renewable energy from coronavirus?
Eight months after coronavirus was first reported, it is clear that donors, multilateral agencies and governments have failed to offer adequate financial relief to the industry providing energy services to tens of millions of rural poor. As a result, the economic impact on the "energy access" sector is a rapidly unfolding crisis.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/covid-economic-impact-renewable-energy
Energy access enters decade of homegrown innovation
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the global engine of innovation and job creation. On MSME Day, learn about the state of energy access entrepreneurship in Africa and Asia, how disruptive ingenuity is accelerating SDG7, and why financial and technical support for innovation must be redoubled post-pandemic.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/energy-access-enters-decade-of-homegrown-innovation
How community-based education campaigns can increase electricity connections and improve project economics
Placing community awareness campaigns at the core of rural electrification projects can increase connections by 50%, reduce the cost per connection by 24% and significantly improve the overall economics of the projects. This preliminary conclusion emerged as a result of a Community-Based Energy Education Programme led by Energy 4 Impact in Tanzania between October 2018 and December 2019.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/policy/how-community-based-education-campaigns-can-increase-electricity-connections-and-improve-project-economics
Why gender mainstreaming is important to your renewable energy business
While the renewable energy market in African countries is flourishing, companies that adequately address the needs of women in their business plans are a step ahead of their competitors. Here are the key steps to mainstreaming gender across business operations.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/why-gender-mainstreaming-important-your-renewable-energy-business
Commercial and industrial customers to accelerate the energy transition in Africa
Commercial and industrial (C&I) off-takers can become the main driver for the energy transition in Africa and elsewhere. This is in-line with a global trend that is seeing C&I businesses integrating renewable energy solutions to power on-site operations. Renewables address three issues: greening energy supply, reducing cost and making power more reliable.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/africa/commercial-and-industrial-customers-accelerate-energy-transition-africa
Local manufacturing: a next frontier for SDG7
Almost without exception, the growth of distributed renewable energy (DRE) in sub-Saharan Africa and developing economies in South and Southeast Asia has been achieved on the back of inexpensive imports from China. That is changing.
https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/articles/local-manufacturing-next-frontier-sdg7
4 keys to unlock cheap micro-grid finance
To improve lender confidence and increase project financial attractiveness, micro-grid developers should reduce the risks of non-steady cash flows through four short-term actionable strategies
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/4-keys-unlock-cheap-micro-grid-finance
IEA Concludes DRE “Least-Cost Solution” for 75% of SDG7 Connections Needed
An updated analysis of electricity access by the International Energy Agency (IEA) concludes that “decentralised systems, led by solar PV in off-grid and mini-grid systems, will be the least-cost solution for three-quarters of the additional connections needed” to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) by 2030.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/dre-least-cost-solution-75-sdg7-connections-needed-iea
Finance Focus: Mini-grids Meet their match.com
“New investors are interested in mini-grids, but they look at companies and say ‘They are not ready for us’,” says Katrina Pielli, senior energy advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “It’s exhausting for investors to go through 16-tab spreadsheets with no two developers presenting things the same way.”
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/finance-focus-mini-grids-meet-their-matchcom
Extending the Horizon: Access to Finance and Kenya’s DRE Market
Our Director of Research, Dr. Rebekah Shirley, took a post-conference opportunity to explore the catalysts of growth in the Kenyan decentralized solar market. In this article, she shares key insights and reflections from KEREA, Steama.co, Azuri and Tropical Power.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/extending-horizon-access-finance-and-kenyas-dre-market
Building Better: Why Decentralized Energy Increases Resilience
One of the most pronounced effects of a changing climate is the increase in extreme weather and other natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. These disasters are not spread evenly: of the 30 countries most affected by changing weather, 26 are least developed countries. To put it another way, 423 million people living in extreme poverty are considered likely to experience the impacts of a changing climate. The tragic events of hurricane Matthew in Haiti are just the most recent example.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/building-better-why-decentralized-energy-increases-resilience
Market Maturing for Tanzania Mini-Grids
East Africa is a leader in the decentralized renewable energy revolution, and along with India it is the most closely watched market as it relates to scaling mini-grids. This is especially true of Tanzania. What happens in Tanzania will have implications for the success of mini-grids elsewhere.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/africa/market-maturing-tanzania-mini-grids
Decentralized Renewables & The Rise of the Micro-Enterprise Economy
Decentralized renewable energy has traditionally been under-estimated in emerging markets as only being capable of delivering electricity for home use, and then mostly for basic lighting. “Productive use”—creating goods and services either directly or indirectly for the production of income or value—has been more elusive.
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/technologies/decentralized-renewables-rise-micro-enterprise-economy
Is AfDB’s new deal on energy forgetting decentralized?
In an advert this week in The Economist, the African Development Bank posted an opening for a Vice President of Power, Energy and Green Growth (VP of PEGG), who it said “will champion the New Deal on Energy for Africa and will lead the Transformative Partnership on Energy for Africa to achieve universal energy access in Africa.” Great news, right?
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/africa/afdbs-new-deal-energy-forgetting-decentralized
The Missing Link in Global Development: Energy Access Opportunity Costs
This article was originally printed in the World Post | 14 April 2016
https://www.powerforall.org/insights/finance/missing-link-global-development-energy-access-opportunity-costs