In Smart Villages Podcast 1, host Sir Brian Heap interviews Dr Nalin Patel, Programme Manager of the Winton Porgramme for the Physics of Sustainabililty at the world famous Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Dr Patel tells about the experimental research they are currently conducting on batteries and superconductors. He also explains the links …
The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) together with the Smart Villages Initiative held a workshop in July 2016 focused on mini-grid energy generation, storage, and transmission technologies in India and how they will be implemented. The workshop was held at the IISc campus in Bangalore and brought together academics, students, policymakers, business people, and NGO practitioners interested in sustainable energy and rural electrification.
Women constitute 51 per cent of Sierra Leone’s population of 6 million. They are responsible for nearly all household duties, from food production and processing to child bearing and family upbringing. Often, however, women are viewed not as individuals but as part of a male-headed household with some unique needs of their own related to …
Improving life for women and girls in Sierra Leone Read More »
Having already designed Stirling engines for aerospace, Dr Mike Dadd of the University of Oxford discusses the pros and cons of a biomass-powered Stirling engines for producing electricity in off-grid villages.
Dr Shailaja Fennell of the Centre for Development Studies (University of Cambridge) discusses why understanding rural communities needs and aspirations are crucial for improving rural development.
Center: Dr Scott Watkins Based in both Seoul, Korea and in Melbourne, Australia, watkins directs new business development with KISCO, a Korean chemicals and inks manufacturer. His role is to help develop new strategies and business areas. He continues to pursue further opportunities contributing to social enterprises and technology startups. Left: Julia Vitullo-Martin Julia Vitullo-Martin …
1.3 people in the world still lack access to electricity, and at least 3 billion people are still cooking on dangerous and inefficient cookstoves that create dangerous conditions inside homes. We’re trying to understand how the lives of people in rural villages in developing countries can be improved… In this video, Smart Villages asked experts …
In this short video, you’ll hear from experts who aim to provide rural, remote islands with energy. From Tuvalu to Indonesia to Melanesia and beyond, islands face unique energy challenges. Some of these challenges include: challenging weather and turbulent seas, relying on rainwater for fresh drinking water, and remoteness. Many islands, if they are lucky, …
Islands and energy: challenges and opportunities Read More »
How has solar energy changed the lives of people in rural Tanzania? In this video, you’ll hear from villagers themselves – including small business owners and students. You’ll also hear from Mobisol, one of several companies active in providing solar energy to rural villages. Video by: Steve Martin Saning’o, Terrat, Tanzania
In this village, you’ll learn about Terrat, a village in northern Tanzania. In an effort to help Maasai learn about their land rights, Martin Saning’o Kariongi sought to create a radio station. But to do this, he knew he had to find a sustainable and reliable source of energy to power it. As the work …
A major objective of the Smart Villages Initiative is to raise public awareness of rural energy access issues, sustainable energy technologies, and entrepreneurial approaches to energy in the developing world. In line with this objective, the Smart Villages Initiative, in partnership with the Green Building Council of Paraguay, held an international media dialogue for media professionals in Asuncion, Paraguay, …
WR23: South America Dialogue for media professionals Read More »
Although Latin America has experienced a successful decade of reduction in poverty and inequality, it continues to be the most unequal region in the world1. The persistence of high levels of social injustice is not accidental: its profound structural causes are rooted in unfair political, economic and social institutional frameworks, which have been shaped throughout …
Energy and ICT for educational inclusion in Latin America Read More »
A large portion of India’s population lacks access to reliable energy. For many, the solution to this will involve decentralised energy infrastructure in the form of renewable solar, or hybrid solar, diesel, battery, and biogas mini-grids. The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) together with the Smart Villages Initiative held a workshop focused on mini-grid energy …
Interview with Ifeanyi B. Orajaka Managing Director / CEO Green Village Electricity Projects Ltd. Location: Nigeria “When everything else crumbles, it’s your integrity that will be able to pull you up again” Ifeanyi B. Orajaka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical / Electronics Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria. He has vast experience …
In Nigeria, a young entrepreneur sees mini-grids as rural energy’s future Read More »
There is a kerosene lamp known in the Luganda language as tadooba. It burns like a candle and it gives off thick dark smoke that slowly causes a black coating on the roof of the house, the walls, the furniture and other household items. It is the commonest type of lamp used in poor homesteads …
[:en] This webinar brings together researchers working on energy governance issues from a range of projects funded under two different DFID initiatives. These initiatives are the EPSRC/DFID/DECC funded Understading Sustainable Energy Solutions (USES) programme whose 13 projects are networked under the USES Network and the DFID-funded Gender and Energy research programme which is managed by Energia. …
[:en]Addressing Energy Governance: Questions of Scale and Scope[:] Read More »
Achieving energy access for everyone requires more and better targeted investment, but what role does climate finance play in filling the funding gaps? This paper examines data on the major climate funds to assess what share of international public finance goes toward energy access and compares this to overall finance needs for the sector. It …
Unlocking climate finance for decentralised energy access Read More »
Providing the world’s poor with modern energy services represents an investment challenge. The United Nations Sustainable Energy For All (SE4All) initiative estimates that energy access in developing countries requires investments of US$ 45 billion annually by 2030 to step up to this challenge1. This means that the US$ 9 billion per year currently invested in …
Will private-sector finance support off-grid energy? Read More »
There are 65.3 million forcibly displaced people and 21.3 million refugees, hosted across the world (UNHCR). “Few forcibly displaced people” have access to modern energy. Out of 8.7 million refugees and displaced people in camps, only 11% have access to “reliable energy sources for lighting” (Chatham House, 2015). However, forcibly displaced people and refugees are …
Energy for Displaced Communities: How could Smart Villages help? Read More »
It is hard to talk about development in off-grid villages without talking about energy. Health, education, food security, productive enterprise and environmental well-being, as well as participatory democracy, can all be achieved if good policies are in place, but they depend not only on access to energy but on the provision of information. Sustainable and …
Energy policies for off-grid villages in Tanzania Read More »