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This policy brief evaluates a pilot project by Oorja Development Solutions in Uttar Pradesh, India, which utilized the secondary capacity of solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) to power community grain mills. The evaluation found that these solar mills reduced costs and travel distances for smallholders and improved women's autonomy, although operational challenges like operator availability and infrastructure limited sustained adoption. The document recommends integrating secondary productive uses into India's PM-KUSUM scheme to optimize solar asset utilization.

This briefing note examines the gendered impacts of petroleum and kerosene subsidy reform in Nigeria. It argues that without targeted compensation, reform may disproportionately harm women by increasing living costs, increasing reliance on biomass fuels (which impacts respiratory health), and reducing economic opportunities. The authors recommend a 'precautionary principle' to design compensation policies that specifically benefit women and suggest using subsidy savings to improve clean energy access.