Jan 03 2022
The Challenge Rural communities in the developing world often require access to high-power equipment, such as for flour milling or welding, but to run these services can require power at the minigrid-scale of more than 10kW. When this equipment is not running, the baseline demand for power is extremely low (a typical solar home system …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/mobile-minigrids-for-rapid-rural-energy-access/
Nov 15 2021
We’re excited to reveal this showcase video for Ormoti Business Hub in Northern Tanzania, created by our summer intern, Iona Smith. This pilot project was carried out in partnership with local NGO, OMASI, as part of a wider integrated community energy project. The solar-powered site powers the local borehole for fresh water, fridges for cold …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/ormoti-business-hub-showcase-video/
Apr 01 2021
The project aimed to develop a product which could: 1. Report on an entire solar system (AC currents, AC voltages, DC currents, and DC voltages), independent of the equipment manufacturer. 2. Divert excess energy directly from the solar panels to an auxiliary load, using historic data and AI algorithms to determine when there is sufficient …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/off-grid-multi-energy-reporting-system-and-ai-load-controller-completed/
Jan 01 2021
SVRG are carrying out this 3 month project with funding from InnovateUK, the UK’s Innovation Agency. Most of our community development solutions have been powered by clean offgrid solar electricity. Monitoring and controlling these systems can be challenging, as every equipment manufacturer tends to have their own bespoke monitoring and data collection system. This presents …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/off-grid-multi-energy-reporting-system-and-ai-load-controller/
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/the-innovate-uk-energy-catalyst-programme-and-working-with-partners/
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/what-we-mean-by-community-engagement-the-svrg-way-of-working/
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/the-svrg-approach-what-are-we-all-about/
Nov 20 2019
For the Maasai, the traditional living unit is the boma. This is an extended, or multi-family compound surrounded by a thorn hedge (usually), which will contain between 3 and 10 houses. There is an inner circular compound, also surrounded by a thorn hedge, to keep the livestock safe during the night. Satellite photos of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/solar-boma-systems-should-be-a-thing/
Apr 06 2018
[:en] One of the most powerful benefits of energy access in rural communities in the developing world is the potential impact on education. Whether a simple solar lantern permits an extra hour of homework and study after dark, or whether a more sophisticated community energy and ICT project permits remote education and training to take …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/webinar-education-and-young-people/
Mar 06 2018
[:en]https://youtu.be/qMftQkAWcI8 If you are a start-up or a smaller energy access firm looking to raise funds, then energy-targeted crowdfunding may just be for you. Raising the necessary finance for start-up and scale-up energy access ventures on terms that make commercial sense is one of the biggest challenges in the sector. In the search for appropriate …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/webinar-crowd-power/
Oct 14 2017
[:en] Raghuraman (Raghu) Chandrasekaran, Founder E-Hands Energy Location: Chennai, India “Who cares for the poor anyway?” Along the Himalayan border of India, site of the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict, lie rural villages which Raghuraman Chandrasekaran has ventured into many times. The founder of E-Hands Energy, which brings hybrid solar and wind energy to rural Indian …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/interview-raghuraman-raghu-chandrasekaran-e-hands-energy/
Apr 30 2017
The Smart Villages Initiative, jointly with the Academy of Sciences of Nicaragua (ACN) and the University of Central America (UCA), organised a national workshop in Matagalpa, Nicaragua on 27-28 April 2017 in order to explore the major challenges to, and opportunities for, achieving electricity access for rural and isolated communities to support productive processes and …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/workshop-report-nicaragua/
Apr 28 2017
Nicaragua’s energy sector is facing one of the most important challenges of its history in terms energy infrastructure development and electricity access. As a result of substantial investments in grid extension and strengthening of distribution and transmission systems, official figures indicate that electrification rates increased from 47 percent in 2002 to 80 percent in 2014. …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/policy-brief-nicaragua/
Mar 21 2017
Integrated ministerial strategy and micro-grid financing are other key issues identified by first global study of rural off-grid communities Bangkok: Delegates to the Smart Villages Initiative Closing Workshop for South and Southeast Asia in Bangkok March 7-9 agreed that a bottom-up approach involving villagers themselves is essential to catalyse energy access and spread its resultant …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/bottom-inclusive-approach-evidence-productive-uses-crucial-smart-village-success-south-southeast-asia-concludes-final-workshop/
Feb 27 2017
As the world moves towards 2030, the deadline for achieving the targets of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Initiative, it is important to review the achievements of the past years and readjust our path to meet the goal. For this reason, Practical Action together with the Smart Villages Initiative held a one-day regional workshop …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/policy-brief-togo/
Feb 04 2017
When disaster strikes, a community’s ability to respond and recover is tested, whether it is affected by a flood, an earthquake, a drought, a tsunami, or a hurricane, and whether it is located in a rural, urban, or peri-urban area. In this webinar, we’ll bring together experts who have worked in Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, and …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/november-webinar-going-off-grid-disaster-resilience-off-grid-energy/
Jan 30 2017
Leading experts from across Latin America and the Caribbean were brought together for a work-shop in Quito, Ecuador, on 30 January 2017 to discuss the challenges and opportunities of building resilience to natural disasters of villages in the region, with a particular concern for the contribution of energy services. Key points made in the presentations …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/sustainable-energy-resources-for-risk-management-and-resilience-of-communities-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/
Jul 25 2016
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, …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/workshop-report-paraguay-media/
Jul 21 2016
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/energy-ict-educational-inclusion-latin-america/
Jul 11 2016
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/unlocking-climate-finance-decentralised-energy-access/
