Stories

Stories are what make the world and inspire the imagination. We have collected, and continue to add, stories about energy access and rural development around the world, as well as the latest updates and thoughts from our own projects and activities.

Aleutia: From solar classrooms in a box to Africa’s emerging middle class

Interview with Mike Rosenberg Founder, Aleutia Location: pan-Africa “I’m passionate about what I do. Passion is not optional”. Mike Rosenberg started his technology career in 2004 at Kelway, a leading UK IT reseller and was fascinated by the falling price of technology and opportunities for social impact in Africa. Given an opportunity to go to …

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In the Himalayas, an entrepreneur brings energy–and trekkers–to remote villages

Interview with Paras Loomba, Founder Global Himalayan Expedition Location: Himalayas “My focus? Their livelihoods” Paras Loomba, son of an Army officer, is the Founder of the Villagers at Lankarchey brok (GHE). After a successful International Antarctica Expedition in 2012, led by Robert Swan, OBE, Paras quit his corporate job to work in the field of renewable …

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Smart villages for smart voters

The right to vote is generally considered a fundamental right of each citizen, underpinning all other basic rights – to food, education and security. And the world’s most enthusiastic voters live in India’s 650,000 villages. At the heart of India’s democratic system have been regular elections that now see the participation of more than 100 …

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Barefoot Power India: Women are central to rural energy

Interview with Vernie Sannoo, Managing Director Barefoot Power India Location: India; Barefoot Power is active in the global south “The only barrier is affordability.” While Vernie Sannoo didn’t found Barefoot Power India, he has a rich experience in sales and marketing for rural energy, rural distribution, and overall business operations that he uses to help continue to …

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Azuri’s CEO anticipates continued growth in Africa, PAYG agriculture

Simon Bransfield-Garth, Chief Executive Officer Azuri Technologies Location: Pan-Africa “Go where nobody else has got to yet.” Simon Bransfield-Garth is on the cutting edge of the solar pay-as-you-go market for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Founder of Azuri Technologies, Bransfield-Garth is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for technology. He has been named a World …

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Energy provision and food security in off-grid villages

In spite of much technological progress, many countries as well as communities within countries suffer from food insecurity; one in seven people in the developing world remains food insecure. Food security involves concurrent attention to availability, which is a function of production; access, which is a function of purchasing power; and absorption, which is a …

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Is biomass a sustainable energy solution for off-grid villages in developing countries?

Summary Much is said about moving to a biobased economy (BBE) for the production of food, feed, fuels, materials and products1 particularly in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and delivering on the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, published in 2016 and 2015, respectively. The question considered here is whether the better provision of biomass …

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Leapfrogging to sustainable power

As the global population is still rising – albeit at a decreasing rate – we can expect an additional billion or more people in the next 10 years and yet another billion by 20401. Simple mathematical calculations would suggest that the number of off-grid global poor will nearly double within a decade. And the world …

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Energy innovation for smart villages

Two critically important and linked challenges face the global community in the 21st century: the persistence of widespread energy poverty and the resulting loss of economic opportunity; and intensifying human-driven climate disruption. These crises are inexorably linked through the energy technology systems that have so far provided the vast majority of our energy: fossil fuels. …

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Energy for development – the concept

Worldwide, 1.3 billion people remain without access to electricity and 2.7 billion are still cooking on harmful and inefficient stoves1. Many live in remote rural village communities, and until they have access to energy services, little progress can be made to develop and improve their lives2. As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, “energy …

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How can people be empowered to provide energy services?

Professor AbuBakr S Bahaj is head of the Energy & Climate Change Division (ECCD) at the University of Southampton. He discusses an on-going project that is partnering with a village in Kenya to help them provide their own energy services and thereby invigorate their villages.

A show of political will at World Future Energy Summit

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is an annual event, dedicated to advancing future energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies.

Held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is billed as the world’s foremost event dedicated to the advancement of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technology. The Smart Villages Initiative attended the four-day conference programme, which covered a range of key themes across clean energy. We …

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Why energy is a priority in sustainable development

Access to safe and sustainable energy is of vital importance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), says Marcel Alers, global head of energy at the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “Energy provision is an essential element of sustainable development,” Alers tells SciDev.Net, referring to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which encompasses the 17 goals …

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