As the Director of the Power and Climate initiative, Mr. Pariphan Uawithya oversees The Rockefeller Foundation’s initiative in Asia aimed at scaling up renewable energy solutions to drive economic and social development. In India, he works with power companies, investors and Smart Power India to bring electricity to rural communities through the establishment of renewable energy mini grids and improvement of electricity performance of distribution companies. He also oversees the Foundation’s Program Related Investment (PRI) work in India, which consists of a growing portfolio of investments in power companies that plan to build over 10,000 mini grids. In Myanmar, he leads Smart Power Myanmar, an entity dedicated to support the acceleration of last-mile electrification for 10 million people. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Uawithya led advocacy and governance initiatives for Oxfam and Save the Children in Asia.
Mr. Uawithya holds a master’s degree from Ball State University, Indiana and a bachelor’s degree from University of Melbourne.
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Dec 18 2019 Blog Post Power for the Planet, Power for Pathways Out of Poverty As world leaders gathered last week at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid to debate greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and discuss climate action plans, The Rockefeller Foundation and Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, were building the first of 10,000 renewable-powered mini-grids. Through their new enterprise, TP Renewable Microgrid (TPRMG), 25 […]
Jun 26 2019 Blog Post To Electrify Myanmar, Build The Grid From The Outside In Kin Cho has been selling bottled petrol to passing motorists in central Myanmar for over a decade. Each liter costs roughly $1, and she sells about four on a good day. Now that her village is hooked up to reliable electricity, she bought an electric fuel dispenser. She now makes $20 a day from petrol […]
Apr 30 2018 Blog Post Accelerating Rural Electrification in Myanmar An early-morning fresh market in the middle of Salingyi town in Central Myanmar is bustling with farmers, traders, and entrepreneurs coming from surrounding villages to sell assorted agricultural produce and handicrafts. Piercing noises and acrid fumes from a welding shop, a rice milling machine, and oil pressing equipment fill the air when the diesel generators […]
Jan 11 2018 Blog Post Impact of Renewable Energy Mini-Grids on Rural Economies and Livelihoods About 300 million people in India, most of them in rural areas, live without reliable electricity. Without electricity, people’s livelihood options are limited, access to basic services is restricted, and quality of life is adversely affected. There is a consensus that rural electrification has the potential to transform rural communities. At the same time, however, […]
Apr 04 2016 Blog Post In Rural India, Electricity Sparks New Businesses Located in rural Uttar Pradesh, Shivpura is a village where clean drinking water has been scarce. When TARA Urja, an Energy Service Company (ESCO), started operating a 30-KW solar power plant in his village—offering reliable electricity to villagers in February 2015—Sandeep spotted an opportunity: using the reliable flow of electricity to power a purification system, […]