Nepal’s energy situation reflects its challenging terrain (over 75% mountainous) and very low income levels (UNDP, 2013). About 25% of Nepal’s 26.5 million people live below the poverty line, which varies by region but averaged 19,261 NPR per year (or about USD 0.75 per day) in FY 2010/2011 (Central Bureau of Satistics, 2012). The nation …
Energy for off-grid villages in Nepal and the role of mini-grids Read More »
I once stood in the courtyard of an apartment house in Mombasa, Kenya, watching residents try to chase off mosquitoes using the fumes from burning cow dung. Children near to the fumes were crying but, in a country where mosquito-born diseases such as Malaria and Dengue Fever kill tens of thousands per year, the discomfort …
Project aims to provide rationale for wider investment in last mile communities throughout the developing world as new Sustainable Development Goals come into operation The Smart Villages Initiative today announced that it has completed the first phase of a specially designed study to quantify and understand the impact of sustainable modern energy access on rural …
This paper uses Practical Action’s experiences with micro-hydro schemes to connect global nexus debates to the experiences of and solutions for remote off-grid communities and smallholder farmers. Through examples in Peru, Nepal, and Zimbabwe we exemplify the need for an integrated approach to energy, water, and food security. We show that decentralized energy provision has …
The energy–water–food nexus at decentralized scales Read More »
There is a growing interest in how to deliver energy services to people on a low income, not just for household use but to earn a living: the so-called ‘productive uses’ of energy. One sector that deserves particular attention is smallholder agriculture. Expanding access to modern energy services and equipment for farmers could help address …
Growing power: Exploring energy needs in smallholder agriculture Read More »
Ed- How can science and research help bridge the gap in energy access for some 1.3 billion people living in off-grid communities worldwide? Anna gives her report after attending the Smart Villages Seoul Media Workshop. A potential solution lies in mapping on-ground activities of prototype ‘smart villages’ that use off-grid electrification solutions to deliver energy, …
More applied research, news needed on off-grid ‘smart villages’ Read More »
Our Seoul media workshop was a two-day residential event featuring a combination of background briefings from local and international experts and entrepreneurs on energy markets and developments in the South East Asian off-grid sector. The workshop offered an opportunity to explore the Smart Villages concept and study nascent Smart Village projects and relevant technologies from …
Dr Scott Watskins speaks about perovskites: absorbing materials can be used in an organic solar power. They act as the light absorbing part of the cells but can also transmit the charges. The exciting part about this is that they are dramatically more efficient than previous thin film solar cell technology. He demonstrates his work …
“Energy is a prerequisite for sustainable rural development” – UNESCO Smart Villages pitches its vision for rural communities with the aim of developing villages primarily in the areas of education, enterprise and health. It promotes the use of off-grid energy, mainly powered by sustainable means, as an alternative to being isolated from the national grid. …
Jorge Moreno Kean Ng Songqiao Yao Taskeen Adam The team seeks to utilise off-grid electricity to implement a pilot project in Sierra Leone aimed at improving the livelihoods and incomes of small scale farmers by processing fresh tomatoes into canned tomato paste, a high value added product in the country. With a population of more …
Adam Hamilton David Pepper Duncan McNicholl Noura Wahby Samantha Passmore Despite ongoing innovation, technology developers often do not know potential customers in developing countries. This gap hinders appropriate technology development. ‘Next Billion Research’ (NBR) targets this gap by facilitating direct customer feedback, and gathers information on product distribution in developing countries. NBR takes technologies and …
Taskeen Adam, Department of Engineering, MPhil David Bowly, Department of Engineering, MPhil Jaspreet Singh, Department of Engineering, MPhil Kerstin Göpfrich, Department of Physics, PhD 2nd year Moni K. Gupta, Department of Chemistry, PhD 3rd year Kysen Palmer, Department of Physics, PhD 3rd year Tayyab Safdar, Centre of Development Studies The Mobile Education for Smart Technology …
Hajime Shinohara (Physics (Winton Scholar), PhD, 2nd Mike Coto (Materials Science and Metallurgy, PhD 3rd One of the most urgent problems facing off-grid communities is lack of clean drinking water. Globally approximately 2000 people die every day due to lack of access to clean water. Companies and NGOs have tried to purify water in off-grid …
Water purification and testing in off-grid communities Read More »
Steffen Illig, University of Cambridge, Physics, PhD 3rd Year Luis Miguel Pazos Outón, University of Cambridge, Physics, PhD 2nd Year Flora Ponjou Tasse, University of Cambridge, Computer Laboratory, PhD 3rd Year Sara Serradas Duarte, University of Cambridge, Neuroscience, PhD 3rd Year Can biogas solve the problems of deforestation, sanitation and lack of access to energy …
Cambridge University graduates in science, technology, engineering, humanities and social sciences were invited to apply for one of an initial 20 places at a New Year Forum on 12th January 2015, sponsored by the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre, Smart Villages and the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. The purpose of the Forum was …
Yoshiki Tsukamoto, Judge Business School, Master of Business Administration, 1st year Glen Whitehead, Judge Business School, Master in Technology Policy, 1st year The project, Study on Advanced Measures for Mosquito Control by Insecticide Vaporisers, aims to examine the feasibility of utilising insecticide vaporisers to enhance mosquito control in rural Republic of Kenya (hereinafter Kenya). The …
Study on Advanced Measures for Mosquito Control by Insecticide Vaporisers Read More »
The Smart Villages Initiative, working with its local partner Practical Action Consulting South Asia, held a workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal on 10th April 2015. The aim of the workshop was to learn lessons from Nepal’s experience of micro/mini-hydroelectric schemes for off-grid rural communities and associated initiatives to stimulate productive enterprises which could be shared with …
WR5: Smart Villages in Nepal: Kathmandu Workshop Report Read More »
The European Union has unveiled plans to support new energy schemes in Africa. The partnership with Paris-based private equity firm Astor Capital Partners will support around 20 SME’s involved in off-grid and decentralised energy production. The Electricity Access Fund aims to invest €55 million over five years, with €10 million of the fund’s capital coming …
EU drive energy access through ‘blending’ grants Read More »
The Smart Villages Initiative together with its local partner, Practical Action Consulting South Asia, held a workshop in Kathmandu on 10th April 2015 to consider off-grid energy systems in Nepal. The workshop focused on Nepal’s substantial experience of micro/mini-hydro schemes, and on initiatives to stimulate productive enterprises enabled by the availability of sustainable electricity supplies. …
BR3: Findings from the Nepal Smart Villages Workshop Read More »
Off-grid renewable energy systems are expanding rapidly on the ground to service the needs of more than one billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity. Change is driven by declining costs and increasing performance for small hydro installations, solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines, as well improved technologies for electricity storage and control. However, …