Power / Data & Technology Solutions

Data & Technology Solutions

Current Initiative

Overview

Dramatic price reductions and efficiency enhancements in solar, battery, and smart grid technologies are disrupting traditional energy systems, and making possible more efficient, more cost-effective and more sustainable ways to bring power to communities worldwide.

However, highly risky and environmentally destructive fossil fuels and related technologies continue to dwarf investments in green technologies. Low-carbon and climate resilient asset classes are underserved by public and private capital markets, and climate risks are often ignored or underplayed by key decision makers.

According to a recent World Bank report, there are hundreds of thousands of communities where mini grids are the best solution for electrification. In these remote areas where the cost of extending the main grid can be more than $2,000 for a single connection, mini-grids are a relative bargain at $500-$1,200 a connection. However, these costs are still too high to bring affordable power to the world’s poorest populations without a significant subsidy. By lowering those costs dramatically through a combination of economies of scale, technology innovation and robust data to drive least-cost planning and size systems appropriately, we will ensure that mini-grids make the best use of limited public funding and private investment to drive access to productive power globally and divert investment from old-fashioned, dirty and unsustainable energy technologies.

Why it matters

  •  
    $0

    per connection the least cost to extend the grid in rural areas

  •  
    0%%

    reduction in the price of photovoltaic solar technology and battery storage solutions over the last decade

  •  
    $0to $1,200to $1,200

    per connection the cost of mini-grids can and should be as little as $500-$1,200

  • Report

    Electricity Demand Estimation and Viability Analysis for Off-grid Villages in Kenya

    The e-GUIDE “Electricity demand estimation and viability analysis for off-grid villages in Kenya” set out to test innovative data analytical tools to estimate and validate predictions of energy demand in off-grid areas.
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Electrifying Economies

To unlock affordable, reliable power and turn on a green and equitable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, we must make distributed energy a core part of integrated electricity systems.

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e-GUIDE

This e-GUIDE Initiative seeks to transform the approaches used for planning and operations of electricity infrastructure in developing regions.

Read the e-Guide