Jobs engine? Yes. Business catalyst? Yes. Changing the way we can power the future... absolutely. From Africa to India, banks to bakeries, welding shops to water pumps, reliable power from decentralized renewables is kick-starting businesses and boosting employment. This article shows how clean energy is unlocking innovation and driving the “Micro-Enterprise Economy” https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=885ff8bc6c2476e70788542c5&id=f1d9854efc
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://mailchi.mp/powerforall.org/indias-union-budget-2022-whats-in-store-for-climate-action-and-energy-access?e=[UNIQID]
Smart Power India is pushing the envelope in productive uses of electricity access beyond lighting, such as this Husk Power Systems mini-grid project in Kathkuiyan, Uttar Pradesh. Access to quality, reliable power supply from the mini-grid is ensuring that job training is uninterrupted, giving economic opportunity to local women and youth. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/videos/video-mini-grids-help-train-women-youth-reliable-power
Diesel is not the only fossil fuel being displaced by decentralized renewables. Kerosene is also fading. Yet governments continue to prop up dirty sources of energy despite clear benefits of switching. In India, data from IISD show that decentralized renewables made up only 1.2% of renewable energy subsidies and 0.12% of total energy subsidies, amounting to just US$27.6 million in 2017. https://www.powerforall.org/resources/fact-sheets-research-summaries/fact-sheet-energy-subsidy-india
CLEAN and Power for All hosted a webinar on COVID-19's impact on the India sector. Look out for an upcoming fireside chat hosted by ET EnergyWorld with Intenational Solar Agency (ISA) head Upendra Tripahty and our CEO Kristina Skierka on the solar sector's future. Also, our team went high/low fashion to liven things up on our pandemic team call. Can you say diva? https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/campaign-updates/campaign-update-april-2020
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
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]
Girish Shivakumar, the host of Emerging Tech Radio and policy analyst for Customized Energy Solutions, the company powering the Microgrid Initiative for Campus and Rural Opportunities (MICRO) in India, talks with Power for All’s William Brent. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/interviews/podcast-emerging-south-south-nexus-last-mile-electrification-sdg7
More rural customers in India prefer electricity supplied by mini-grids than state grids, while two-fifths of consumption comes from agriculture, according to Smart Power India (SPI). https://www.powerforall.org/resources/fact-sheets-research-summaries/customer-perception-india
Today, nearly 20 leaders from think tanks, research groups, renewable energy companies, sustainable development organizations, industry associations, and health care services have come together to publish an open letter calling for action, making the case for solarizing all unelectrified sub-centres in rural India, clearly outlining steps needed to get us to that goal. https://www.powerforall.org/news-media/press-releases/indian-leaders-call-improvement-rural-healthcare-solarization-of-clinics