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Sustainable and scalable business models for minigrids - Summary concept note

The sustainable and scalable business models for minigrids conference  organized by the African school of regulation (ASR)  begins on Monday 23rd January . The three-day conference has over 200 participants from over 25 countries registered. The ASR is excited to host this multitude of experts and organizations passionate about Minigrids and increasing access to sustainable and affordable electricity in Africa. While we gear up towards this conference, we can use the conference concept note as an anchor to discuss the scalability and viable financial business models for mini-grids in Africa.    Sustainable and financially viable business models are the pre-requisite for deployment of a large number of mini-grids required to achieve the goals of universal electricity access in Africa.  The concept note by Prof.  Ignacio J. PĂ©rez-Arriaga   highlights two fundamental conditions that are indispensable to attract the massive amounts of private capital needed to deploy all the minigrids that
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African School of Regulation: In Africa, Run by Africans and for Africans

Let me tell you a fun story about a school of regulation hosted at the European University institute which is located in Florence, Italy. The Florence School of regulation   (FSR)  has for several years provided capacity building for professionals in the energy sector, participated in policy formulation and standardisation of regulation within the energy sector. I was privileged to be part of the 2019 Open Africa Power  fellowship  which , together with Strathmore University in Nairobi was facilitated by the FSR and  was an opportunity for young  African professionals in the energy sector to obtain training, network and develop projects in an effort to provide solutions for energy poverty. What are some of the challenges that inhibit Africa from  providing universal access to sustainable energy? Let us cover a few of these; ·        Lack of sustainable policies in the just transition for electricity access. ·        Insufficient capacity building for stakeholders in the energy space in

The impact of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 on Electrical Power and Energy Systems (EPEs)

The communication revolution that dominated the last half century and the economic crisis in 2008 have led to the market landscape currently being dominated by electric power and energy systems. Efficient electrical power generation, transmission and distribution provide for the backbone of any growing economy as well as the fundamental requirement for the developed global north. The adoption of climate change agreement at the UN Climate change conference in Paris led to three main drivers of technological advancement in the power industry. These main drivers of transformation can be   summarised as; i.   de-carbonization   of   EPES,   ii. decentralisation   of   electrical   power   and   iii. energy production and transportation electrification.  Technological innovation is therefore prerequisite to this transformation of EPES. The evolution of several technologies is currently underway to curb the aforementioned. We shall use a discursive analysis approach to assess the role of two

Potential of renewable energy in Marsabit, Kenya

The Global renewable energy agenda in line with the Sustainable Development goal 7 (SDG 7) is a necessary component in driving Africa’s transition to increasing access to the Energy poor. Marsabit county is riddled with inexhaustible renewable energy resources such as solar that can be harnessed to facilitate the increasing energy demands within the region whilst providing sustainable solutions to the energy crisis. Investment within the renewable energy space is highly welcome by the Government of Kenya, with the introduction of reduced tax incentives of solar products, locally available talent and the drive towards vision 2030 which encompasses the need to transform Kenya into a newly industrialized, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030.   Marsabit county is the largest county in Kenya and its largest town Moyale    boasts of a population of 459, 785 Kenyans whose pastoral productive systems form the main livelihood in Marsabit county. Th