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This guide examines how retail tariff policies and subsidy designs can be used to increase revenues for private mini-grid operators, aiming to make energy access more sustainable and profitable in un-electrified communities.

The 2019 SEforALL Charrettes Report details a two-day design-thinking event held in June 2019 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The event brought together 115 diverse participants to generate 'disruptive solutions' to accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), specifically focusing on universal access to electricity and clean cooking by 2030.

This 2019 report by Sustainable Energy for All provides a status update on global cooling access, quantifying the populations at risk and introducing a needs-based assessment tool to guide policymakers and financiers toward sustainable cooling solutions consistent with the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment.

The 2019 report 'Dynamiser le financement de l’accès à l’énergie : UN TOUR D’HORIZON', produced by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Climate Policy Initiative, analyzes public and private financing for electricity and clean cooking access across 20 developing countries from 2013 to 2017. It highlights a significant gap between current investments and the funding required to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) by 2030, noting that while electricity funding reached a record in 2017, clean cooking finance collapsed and most funds do not reach the most vulnerable populations.

This 2019 fact sheet from Sustainable Energy for All tracks populations at risk regarding cooling needs, identifying 1.05 billion people at the highest risk (Rural and Urban Poor) in 2019, a decrease from 1.1 billion in 2018.

This case study analyzes the financing and policy requirements for the Philippines to achieve universal energy access by 2030. It details the current state of electricity and clean cooking access, projecting the necessary capital for mini-grids, stand-alone solar, and improved cookstoves (ICS), while identifying regulatory barriers and affordability gaps.

The Energy Progress Report 2019, a joint publication by five custodian agencies, tracks global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7). While the world is making progress in electricity access, renewable energy adoption, and energy efficiency, the report concludes that current ambition levels are insufficient to meet 2030 targets. Significant gaps remain in clean cooking access and electricity availability, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This case study describes a partnership between Anzana Electric Group (formerly Virunga Power) and Songa Energy to develop small hydro projects in Burundi, aiming to establish a rural utility through a private concession.

This policy brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute explores the role of bioenergy in expanding energy access and use while avoiding deforestation and the use of fossil fuels, particularly in less developed regions of Africa and Latin America.

This research paper examines the adoption of electricity services from a 60 kW solar mini-grid in Mpanta, Zambia, using service design approaches to identify barriers to household energy transitions.

This briefing by RMI argues that mining companies in developing countries can improve financial and climate resilience by transitioning from inefficient diesel power to renewable energy. By co-creating business models with local communities, mining operations can address their own energy needs while expanding energy access and supporting sustainable development in remote regions.

This scoping report examines how global trends—including energy decentralization, affordability, mobile payments, women's entrepreneurship, urbanization, and humanitarian settings—affect gender equality and social inclusion in sustainable energy access, with specific analysis of five countries.

This case study describes the 'Luz en Casa Amazonia' initiative by the ACCIONA Microenergia Foundation, which implements a third-generation solar home system (3GSHS) model to provide electricity to remote, low-income communities in the Peruvian Napo basin.

This executive summary from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) analyzes finance commitments for electricity and clean cooking access in 20 high-impact developing countries, comparing the 2015-16 period to 2013-14. While electrification finance increased, it remains insufficient to meet 2030 goals, and clean cooking finance has declined. The report highlights a significant geographical imbalance, with Sub-Saharan Africa falling behind and a heavy reliance on a few Asian countries for total finance flows.

The 2018 Energy Progress Report, a joint publication by five custodian agencies, evaluates global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). It concludes that the world is not on track to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, as current progress falls short across all four SDG7 targets: electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency, and the share of renewable energy.

This executive summary report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in collaboration with ICF and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), provides the first comprehensive inventory of energy subsidies in India for the financial years 2014 to 2016. The report maps subsidies across coal, oil and gas, renewable energy, and electricity transmission and distribution (T&D), analyzing their magnitude, trends, and socio-economic and environmental impacts.

This briefing note from the International Institute for Sustainable Development details the Indian government's efforts to reform energy subsidies, specifically targeting petroleum products and electricity, to reduce fiscal deficits and improve infrastructure connectivity.

This fact sheet from Sustainable Energy for All outlines the global state of electricity access, highlighting the concentration of energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the impact of GDP on electrification rates, and the financial requirements for achieving universal energy access by 2030.

This research paper documents the deployment of solar energy in Sarda, a remote village in Odisha, India, highlighting how its location in a dense forest hinders market linkages and access to electricity and basic services.

This report analyzes the financing needs of enterprises providing decentralized electricity and clean cooking solutions (Tiers 1-3) in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, and Nigeria. It identifies a significant gap between current finance flows and the investment required to meet national energy access targets, highlighting systemic barriers such as high collateral requirements, currency volatility, and a lack of local currency debt.