Four out of five people in Africa use wood for cooking: a transition to clean fuels would cut emissions and save lives, a model for Nigeria shows. María Yetano Roche and Temilade Sesan share insights from their recent publication.
New Article: Impact Pathways Of Small-Scale Energy Projects In The Global South
The WISIONS team has published a new article, “Impact Pathways of Small-Scale Energy Projects in the Global South – Findings from a Systematic Evaluation”, in the journal “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews”. Read or download it here.
Access to clean and affordable modern energy services has been widely recognised as a significant factor for enabling social and economic development. It is assumed that stand-alone systems and mini-grids play an important role in the provision of sustainable energy to those people who currently lack access to it. Accordingly, an increasing number of small-scale energy projects are being implemented in developing countries and emerging economies. However, despite the large number of such energy development projects, only limited evidence exists about the actual contribution these projects make to sustainable development.
This paper addresses this research gap by providing a systematic assessment of three selected impact pathways based on the evaluation of over 30 small-scale sustainable energy projects. Applying a theory-based evaluation approach in the form of a contribution analysis, the aim of this research is to better understand if and how these types of technical interventions can create development outcomes and impacts.
The results show that technological issues are often not the most decisive factor in achieving development effects, but that embedding the technology in a set of actions that address social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects is essential.
Read or download the article: Impact Pathways of Small-Scale Energy Projects In The Global South – Findings from a Systematic Evaluation
