Technology start-ups in Africa are making use of the roll-out of mobile phone networks to bring digital innovation to remote areas through pay-as-you-go models for services that can increase prosperity. For the first time, smallholders can afford solar panels for electricity while others can sign on to thriving energy-as-a-service business models that do not require an initial capital outlay
Innovation is bringing electricity services to areas of the world almost unreachable by traditional wires
SOLAR APPEAL To attain a secure electricity supply communities are jumping straight to solar power
DIGITAL LESSONS The unique grid conditions of sub-Saharan Africa has lead to the development of monitoring systems that are highly innovative by Western standards
KEY QUOTE For many of those people, who are just trying to secure their livelihoods and their energy supplies, climate is not at the front of their mind. But the really interesting thing is that most purely business-driven decisions these days are actually very climate friendly ...
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Instead of reinventing the wheel, just learn from those who have already done it. Cities are busy doing just that as they look for ways to adapt to climate change and build more liveable urban spaces.
Direct tariffs should be promoted and financed by large-scale donors to accelerate the adoption of renewables in developing countries, argue experts from Dalberg, a global advisory firm. This would encourage the release of extra capital by guaranteeing a market and an energy price for clean energy sources
Building design is key to reducing demand for energy guzzling air conditioning
Farming in the desert might seem a bit optimistic. An Australian greenhouse uses concentrated solar power to produce energy and become independent of fresh water supplies. The result is 17,000 tons of tomatoes a year.
Fossil fuel subsidies must end for a clean energy transition to take root everywhere, insists Frank Rijsberman, head of the Global Green Growth Institute
Lithium-ion batteries have developed a competitive edge for some uses, but flow batteries could be best for grid scale storage
Around 50% of the shift from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy has been a digitised transition to 2020, says Energinet, Denmark's power system operator. As the world digitises further, the already vast volumes of data will only increase in mass. Advances in Artificial Intelligence technology and machine learning tools provide ways of processing this tsunami of data into a new world order