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The ASER Solar Rural Electrification Project aims to provide 100% solar mini-grids to 1,000 isolated villages in Senegal between 2021 and 2026. With a total financing package of EUR 198.7 million, including EUR 75.4 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the project targets the electrification of 38,900 households and the support of 3,739 productive use applications. The initiative focuses on reducing CO2 emissions, improving rural resilience to climate change, and empowering women and youth through technical assistance and financial incentives for energy-powered businesses.

The Mokoloki project demonstrates a new 'undergrid' business model where a private developer, Nayo Tropical Technologies, provides reliable electricity to a community within the territory of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). The pilot has achieved 99.9 percent reliability, reduced energy costs for customers by ₦20/kWh, and decreased utility losses in the area by over 90 percent. The project supports local healthcare through 24/7 power for clinics and stimulates economic growth by powering small businesses and attracting new enterprises.

The document describes a participatory research project in Kitulu, Kenya, where community members used backcasting to imagine a 2030 scenario of universal electric cooking. Participants linked electric cooking to broader development gains, such as improved infrastructure and food security, while emphasizing a stepwise transition through 'stacking' different cooking technologies. The study highlights the importance of building community social capacity and civic engagement to demand public services and manage the transition.

The report identifies immediate opportunities to electrify agricultural processing in Nigeria, categorizing activities into three tiers of readiness. Tier 1 activities—cassava grating, rice milling, and flour milling—are deemed immediately viable, capable of reducing mini-grid tariffs by up to 26% if all three are implemented. The study proposes the 'Facilitator Model' for Tier 1 and the 'Processing Center Model' for Tier 2 to address barriers such as lack of credit and reliable electricity. A deployment strategy is recommended to unlock commercial finance through credit guarantees and grants, with an estimated national investment of under $30 million required for Tier 1 activities.

The document proposes integrating Sovacool et al.'s "4E" typology (enclosure, exclusion, encroachment, and entrenchment) with the Mechanisms of Social Change (MOSC) mapping approach to identify causal pathways in adaptation projects. By mapping the solar electricity system in Turkana, Kenya, the authors demonstrate how specific actions—such as consultation, licensing, and facility design—create sequential pathways that determine how benefits and losses are distributed among community members.

The programme aims to install 7.8MW of solar capacity, consisting of 6MW of on-grid rooftop solar and 1.8MW of off-grid solar micro-grids. It seeks to transition remote island barangays from diesel-based power to renewable energy through a model involving Land Bank of the Philippines, AIEC-ILAW, and One Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc. The project includes technical assistance for policy development, financing for infrastructure, and capacity building for electric cooperatives (ECs).

The briefing analyzes Green Climate Fund (GCF) funding proposals from 2015 to July 2018, finding that interventions for energy access receive significantly less funding than other energy projects and largely neglect low-income and 'high-impact' countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The report details a study in rural Kenya where community members imagined a future of fully electric cooking and worked backward to identify the necessary steps to achieve it. Participants linked electric cooking to broader development goals, including improved health, gender equality, and infrastructure. The proposed pathway involves a gradual transition from fuelwood to improved stoves and LPG before reaching full electrification, driven by community savings, civic engagement, and government support.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) warns that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the survival of the decentralized renewable energy (DRE) sector, which serves over 420 million people globally. To prevent the collapse of rural electricity supply and the failure of Sustainable Development Goal 7, the ARE proposes the creation of a 'Global DRE Support Fund' providing low-interest loans and grants, a 'Rural Electrification Stimulus Plan' to mobilize long-term investment, and the official recognition of DRE as an 'essential service' to allow personnel movement during lockdowns. The report also calls for urgent technical assistance in risk mitigation and health training for field staff.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) warns that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the survival of the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) sector, with many companies facing liquidity crises and only 3-6 months of survival capacity. To mitigate this, the report proposes the creation of a 'Global DRE Relief Fund' providing grants and low-interest loans (up to 3%), the implementation of a 'Rural Electrification Stimulus Plan' to close the investment gap for SDG7, and the official recognition of DRE as an 'essential service' to allow staff movement during lockdowns. It also calls for the reform of fossil fuel subsidies to fund these transitions and the provision of technical assistance for crisis management and risk analysis.

The guide provides a structured framework for electrifying health facilities, moving from stakeholder consultation and national mapping to energy needs assessments, technical analysis, costing, and the development of an implementation strategy. It emphasizes the use of standardized system specifications to achieve economies of scale and suggests integrating health facility power solutions into community mini-grids for long-term sustainability. The approach is designed to be flexible, allowing steps to be expedited or run in parallel during emergencies.

The analysis reveals that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) significantly underfunds energy access compared to large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, with only 9% of its total portfolio and 14% of its energy-related funding dedicated to energy access. Furthermore, the GCF largely neglects 'high-impact' countries—those with the greatest energy deficits—allocating them only 15% of energy intervention dollars, which represents less than 1% of the annual funding required to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 by 2030. The report argues that GCF's prioritization of greenhouse gas mitigation over social benefits creates institutional barriers for small-scale, decentralized projects in low-emission, low-income regions.

The briefing urges the Puerto Rican government to move from planning to action following the passage of Act 17, which sets a 100 percent renewable energy goal. It highlights the urgent need for new capacity in solar and battery storage to mitigate reliability risks caused by earthquake damage to the Costa Sur Power Plant and the legacy of Hurricane Maria. The author advocates for the expedited procurement of solar projects, the use of virtual power plant solutions to integrate existing distributed batteries, and the development of energy efficiency programs to reduce demand and lower costs for ratepayers.

The document asserts that off-grid renewable energy, such as solar home systems and mini-grids, outperforms grid extension in cost, emissions, and deployment speed. It provides quantitative evidence showing that off-grid solutions can reduce investment costs by up to 30% and save 500 to 800 Mt of CO2 by 2030. The paper recommends integrating off-grid renewables into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), implementing financial de-risking mechanisms, fostering digital and storage innovations, and enforcing technology and consumer protection standards.

The report finds a chronic underinvestment in energy access across high-impact countries, with actual finance for residential electricity in 2018 (USD 16.1 billion) reaching less than half of the required annual investment (USD 41 billion). It highlights a concerning trend of increasing fossil fuel finance, particularly in Bangladesh, while financing for grid-connected renewables declined for the first time since 2013. Clean cooking finance remains critically low at USD 131.5 million, far below the estimated USD 4.5 billion needed annually. The report emphasizes that investment is disproportionately concentrated in a few countries, leaving many Sub-Saharan African nations with minimal support. It advocates for policy reforms, the termination of fossil fuel financing, and a more rigorous methodological framework for tracking gender-focused energy finance.

The guide argues that sustainable mini-grid deployment requires a balance between government control, public funding, and retail tariffs. It introduces 'fourth generation mini-grids' as a tool for rural industrialization and provides a decision tree to help governments select appropriate delivery models, such as ESCO or split-asset models. Key recommendations include mitigating demand and termination risks through flexible contracts and phased implementation, and utilizing the 'Cost of Service' model to ensure financial viability. The document emphasizes that scaling requires efficient, digitalized administrative processes and portfolio-based licensing to reduce bureaucratic burdens.

The document argues that sustainable rural electrification requires a stable regulatory framework that balances government control, public funding, and consumer tariffs. It introduces 'fourth-generation' mini-grids that integrate productive use of energy to drive rural industrialization. The guide provides a decision tree to help governments select implementation models—ranging from public utility-led to private-sector driven—and details mechanisms for risk mitigation regarding demand volatility and project termination.

The document outlines strategies for implementing clean energy mini-grids, emphasizing the need for a balance between government control, financial subsidies, and consumer tariffs. It introduces 'fourth-generation mini-grids' as tools for rural industrialization and provides a decision-making matrix to help governments select the most appropriate delivery model based on their financial and operational capacities.

The 2020 report by Sustainable Energy for All highlights a significant and growing gap between the investment needed and the actual funding provided for universal energy access. In 2018, only 16 billion USD was recorded for electrification in high-impact countries (HIC), far below the 41 billion USD annual requirement. Clean cooking funding, while tripling to 131 million USD in 2018, remains drastically lower than the 4.53 billion USD needed annually. The report notes a concerning trend where fossil fuel investments have grown, while renewable energy and off-grid solutions remain underfunded. It calls for coordinated action between development finance institutions and governments, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, to reduce risks for private investors and shift away from carbon-intensive energy sources.

The 2020 report by Sustainable Energy for All reveals a widening gap between the investment needed and the finance actually committed to achieve universal energy access by 2030. In 2018, only USD 16 billion was tracked for residential electrification against a required USD 41 billion, and clean cooking finance reached USD 131 million, far below the estimated USD 4.53 billion annual need. The report highlights a geographic mismatch, where Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 70% of people in HICs without electricity but received less than 20% of the total electricity access finance. Furthermore, the report notes a concerning trend toward fossil fuel-generated electricity and a lack of private sector investment in clean cooking. It recommends coordinated action from donor governments and DFIs in Sub-Saharan Africa, the termination of fossil fuel project financing, and the adoption of innovative business models for off-grid solutions.