Power for All

How can women in India and Nepal be empowered as micro-entrepreneurs to combat poverty, promote gender equality, and increase access to renewable energy? In this episode, we speak with Sujatha Ramani from Pollinate Group. We discuss how this non-profit organization empowers female entrepreneurs, known as "Suryamukhi," by providing financing for life-changing products, including affordable clean energy technology. This initiative aims to improve the lives of underprivileged individuals living in slums and villages in India and Nepal. Pollinate Group's impact model addresses the global energy crisis by providing access to essential clean energy products while creating female micro-entrepreneurs to help tackle poverty. To date, this program has empowered more than 2,200 women and positively impacted over 802,000 people in their communities.

A win-win for improved energy access Is access to mini-grids for productive use translating to improved lives for end users? What does this journey look like for customers who gain access to energy? Two thousand mini-grid customers are advancing up the energy ladder toward clean energy, improving their quality of life and enabling income-generating activities for about a quarter of these users, often through small businesses. In an interview, Kat Harrison from 60 Decibels discusses their 2024 report, “Why Off-Grid Matters,” which offers a detailed analysis of the data on ownership of modern off-grid energy products and their impact on access, behaviors, and social dynamics. 60 Decibels, a global tech-enabled social impact measurement firm, offers speedy, repeatable insights and benchmarks for comparing organizational performance. Listen to the Podcast for further insights.

How can we make farming more productive and sustainable with renewable energy technologies? That's the question we explore in our latest episode of the PowerforAll podcast, where we talk to Michael Maina of CLASP. PUE technologies in agriculture comprise a suite of technologies that include solar water pumps, walk-in cold rooms, refrigerators, and egg incubators. These technologies have huge potential in improving the income of smallholder farmers while simultaneously reducing agriculture sector emissions. But farmers face many barriers to adoption such as high cost and limited awareness about these products. Michael Maina emphasized that the problem requires a holistic solution that goes beyond increasing the adoption of PUE technologies. He said that we also need to address the agricultural issues that affect farmers, such as ensuring farmers are paid fair prices for their produce and that they have timely access to inputs. To achieve this, Michael recommends a cross-departmental coordination mechanism between energy and agriculture sector stakeholders. Michael Maina expressed his optimism that renewable energy technologies will power the agriculture sector in the future. He pointed out the growing investments from various actors, such as development partners, the government, and the private sector, as a sign of the promising potential of these technologies. Listen to the podcast to learn more.

SureChill's cutting-edge refrigeration technology, developed by engineer Ian Tansley with 35+ years of renewable energy expertise, has revolutionized cooling systems by utilizing ice and water to maintain stable temperatures for extended periods. This game-changing solution is particularly advantageous for vaccine storage, even in regions with limited electricity access. With over 25,000 fridges sold in 70 countries, SureChill's patented technology has already facilitated the safe delivery of 71 million vaccine doses. SureChill's success can be attributed to their unwavering commitment to meeting user and community needs. By providing affordable and reliable refrigeration, SureChill empowers farmers to extend the shelf life of perishable goods, boosting their income. Additionally, it enables medical professionals to safely store vaccines and medications. Expanding their product line, SureChill is introducing larger units for agriculture and retail cooling, as well as mains power devices for areas with weak grid connections or individuals seeking greater control over their electricity usage. To gain further insights, tune in to the podcast.

In our first podcast for 2023, Lungile Mashele, an Energy Economist who works for the largest asset manager in Africa, Public Investment Corporation, where she oversees energy projects, and provides technical appraisals on energy projects all over the continent, shared her thoughts on what is likely to trend in the energy sector in 2023. She says anticipates solar PV will be popular globally and say that's because the price has become more favorable as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia continues. “There will be a concerted effort on energy security, especially by European nations, and they will be scrambling to make sure that they get sufficient energy to take them through their next winter as well,” said Lungile. She adds that there is no political will to alleviate the heavy load that is the high energy prices which 60% of the African population can't afford. Lungile says people who can't access energy are also denied economic opportunities and she called on politicians to prioritize people's needs. Africa's most industrialized economy, South Africa, is struggling to keep lights on and the electricity prices have recently skyrocketed. The country was a case study for this podcast with Lungile saying the problems South Africa faces have a lot to do with internal politics, operational challenges, and lack of investment. Listen to the podcast for full details.

In this last podcast for 2022, we reflect on the COP27 outcomes with Solar Sister Chief Operating Officer Olasimbo Sojinrin. Simbo said she went to Egypt with enthusiasm that the climate conference would be Africa-focused as it was dubbed Africa's COP. While she commended the work to organize the event, she said important work happened in silos and did not go in the direction she hoped. Simbo also reflects on the responsibility developing nations have to address energy poverty and save vulnerable communities from climate disasters plaguing parts of the world. The consolation prize that Simbo said was worth noting and celebrating was the reached agreement on a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage' from climate-induced disasters. She said activists fought for this breakthrough for over 30 years. “Though no numbers or targets or set we take as a win,” she said. She said Solar Sister went to the conference with a keen interest to see how gender equity, climate justice, and energy access are tackled. Listen to the podcast to hear Simbo thinks these were handled.

In this podcast interview, Florence Nsubuga, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Umeme Limited talks about Utilities 2.0 project. Led by Power for All, it unites centralized utilities and the decentralized renewable energy sector to end energy poverty faster.

In this episode, Power for All's Director of Research, Carolina Pan, speaks to Alessio Terzi who is an Economist at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. Alessio is also the author of a book titled, Growth for Good: Reshaping Capitalism to Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe. Alessio tells Carolina that his book was inspired by the fact that we are living at a time where climate change is becoming more and more prominent and addressing it is becoming more of a priority. He added that the tipping point that called for the book was the global pandemic that rocked the world in 2020.

In this podcast series commemorating International Youth Day, Jennifer Anya, a renewable energy operations manager at Husk Power Systems, speaks to Power for All's Aashna Aggarwal on her journey and experiences as a young woman in the sector and the role of youth in championing the clean energy transition.

Young people form a large part of the global population and that's why it makes sense for them to be part of the climate change solutions, said John Paul Jose, a young climate change and social activist. He joined Power for All's Matuba Mahlatjie for a special edition of Power for All's podcast to commemorate International Youth Day.

In this Power for All podcast, Jessica Stephens, the CEO of Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA), in conversation with Power for All CEO Kristina Skierka, reflects on the recently released ‘Benchmarking Africa's Minigrids report.' This is a flagship report of AMDA, an industry association created by mini-grid developers to boost the health of the sector and deliver on global renewable energy access objectives.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, our Africa Communication Director, Matuba Mahlatjie talks with Laura Williamson, who is responsible for directing the membership and institutional partnership work at REN21 on their recently launched Renewables 2022 Global Status Report. Laura notes that while there is the ambition and desire for energy transition, it is not being backed by the necessary action and policies to make that shift happen.

Power for All's CEO, Kristina Skierka, refers to Ifeoma Malo (affectionately referred to as Ify) as part of “Power for All OG” and that was one of the main reasons she was perfect for an episode reflecting on the organization's seventh anniversary. Ify was part of Power for All's infancy as a country manager based in Nigeria back in 2016. She has since gone on to become a game-changer in the renewable energy sector and is now the leader of CleanTech Hub in Nigeria. This is a pioneering hybrid hub for the research, development, demonstration, and incubation of clean and green ideas and technologies in Africa and their validation for commercial-stage development.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All, speaks with Alice Goodbrook, Innovation Lead for Energy Catalyst on the Energy Catalyst program, which funds private sector innovation and energy access. Energy Catalyst supports the UK and international businesses and organizations to develop highly innovative market-focused energy technologies to enable energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as South East Asia. Alice explains the programme, which started in 2014, has funded about 135 projects involving more than 300 unique organizations engaged in anything that's clean energy, from solar to storage to mini grids to energy efficiency and in 29 countries. She says grant funding programs like Energy Catalyst support technologies and business models that are at very early stages of development for conventional finance, such as investment or a bank loans. Yet they hold massive potential to change lives. “And this is where grant funding really comes into its own, because that allows an organization to try something out without it making or breaking the company. And if their idea does works, it allows them later to access conventional finance,” Alice says. She also adds that the programme has an accelerator side of it to for when the technologies are ready for market. “When your technology is ready for market, the accelerator will help your business grow. So that can be anything from helping with investments, creating a business plan or doing a bit of market research. Whatever your business needs to be able to become market ready,” she explains. Alice adds that collaboration and knowledge are key for the program and the innovators supported by Energy Catalyst have embraced a culture of learning and sharing with the industry. This was important in helping people not to make the same mistakes and to help the industry to progress much quicker. Alice notes that from her many years in the sector, she had come to accept with pride that the community in development and energy access space was much more open and collaborative than in any other fields she's worked in.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All, speaks with Prof Dan Kammen, a Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, with parallel appointments in the Energy and Resources Group. The conversation focuses on how the renewable energy sector has changed over the years and the role of innovations in driving energy access in peri-urban and rural communities, particularly the Pay-As-You-Go (PayGO) model. Dan notes solar energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels. He attributes that partly to scaling up and manufacturing but mostly to figuring out how to work a system that, for a long time and maybe even today, is not bending over backward to accommodate clean energy. “Human connections, thinking about energy access, energy justice, and asking the gender and racial questions of inequality were never on the table as they are now,” he adds. He notes there are still problems in a world that still subsidizes fossil fuels more than investing in renewables but we also have a world of disruptive clean, socially just energy options. Dan notes PayGo is a democratic system that allows the consumers to see what energy costs and to pay for it, as they wish, in small units. He, however, cautions against opportunists who may take advantage of the system.

In this special podcast celebrating inspiring women leaders in renewable energy, we feature Lucia Wamala, Founder and CEO of Bakulu Power. She shares her journey into the DRE sector and the importance of gender equity in energy access.

Our guest in this special episode paying homage to women leaders in the sector is Dr Debra Rowe, the President of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development. Dr Rowe says her career has been dominated by fulfling the need to give people information so that they can move out of energy poverty, and also ensure that they can own their own energy or at the very least, access affordable energy.

In the special episode paying homage to women leaders in the sector, our guest is Emily McAteer, co-founder and CEO at Odyssey Energy Solutions. She says investors are starting to fund women-led projects in the renewable energy sector. McAteer says this is a good sign that things are changing for the better for women in the male-dominated sector. However, efforts to address biases should be intensified.

In this special podcast celebrating inspiring women leaders in renewable energy, we feature Jennye Greene, an expert on energy access. She speaks on her journey into the DRE sector and the importance of gender equity in energy access. Jenny says as the renewable energy sector grows, there has to be deliberate efforts to ensure gender diversity. Conscious choices have to be made to make that happen!

In this podcast episode, Dr. Ghosh, the founder and CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and Power for All CEO, Kristina Skierka continue to dissect our 2022 top trends for energy access.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Kristina Skierka speaks with Glenn Pearce-Oroz, Senior Director of International Relations and Special Projects at Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) on trends to watch out for in the Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) sector in 2022. At the beginning of every year, Power for All releases a trends report that highlights anticipated developments that will shape the sector in the year informed by feedback from a survey to partners on their predictions.

Energy poverty is rife in Nigeria and many parts of Africa. Pregnant women still give birth to their babies in the dark, critical surgeries are still carried out using candlelight and torchlights. It's literally a matter of life and death for many poor sick children because there is no capacity to preserve vaccines in a refrigerated environment. In Nigeria, many primary healthcare centers (PHCs) across the geopolitical zones operate in darkness because they depend on the national electricity grid which is largely unreliable and is augmented with petrol or diesel-powered generator sets. In this podcast, the focus is on the installation of mini-grids in Karu Primary Health Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, by Volsus Energy. It represents the Volsus Solar for Health (VSFH) mini-grid program which is targeting to install 5,000 units of mini-grids across health centers to improve healthcare delivery services in Nigeria. Guest: Babatomiwa Bayo-Ojo, CEO/Head of Solar Power Plant Design, Off Grid Power Development and Rural Electrification at Volsus Energy Limited, Nigeria. Do you enjoy listening to Power for All podcasts? Visit our website (www.powerforall.org) to discover inspiring interviews on renewable electrification as the fastest, most cost-effective, and sustainable approach to universal energy access. Background reading: Volsus Solar for Health Initiative led by Babatomiwa Bayo-Ojo to to improve healthcare delivery services in Nigeria You can find a wealth of sector news analysis and data on our website powerforall.org as well as on our platform for energy access knowledge PEAK (www.powerforall.org/peak/). You can also sign up to receive our fantastic monthly newsletter and if you'd like to support our work, you can donate at powerforall.org/about/donate.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast which is a continuation of Power for All's integrated energy podcast series, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All speaks with Jay Taneja, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he heads the Systems Towards Infrastructure Measurement and Analytics (STIMA) Lab. Energy equity is the result of several factors like an unequal distribution of energy resources, an institutional bias on how and where money is invested, and a one-size-fits-all approach to electrification. In the past, when grid connections were the only option for electricity access, there wasn't really a great avenue towards equity. Today, decentralized renewables are an alternative to addressing energy equity by serving communities that are disconnected from the electricity grid. Energy equity also happens through the lens of reliability. People living in rural settings do not necessarily get the same service and the same access to electricity as people living in urban settings. In this podcast we explore what can be done in COP26 to address energy inequity and how net-zero commitments help to accelerate universal electrification. Guest: Jay Taneja, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studies infrastructure in the developed and developing world—including energy and building systems. Do you enjoy listening to Power for All podcasts? Visit our website (www.powerforall.org) to discover inspiring interviews on renewable electrification as the fastest, most cost-effective, and sustainable approach to universal energy access. You can find a wealth of sector news analysis and data on our website powerforall.org as well as on our platform for energy access knowledge PEAK (www.powerforall.org/peak/). You can also sign up to receive our fantastic monthly newsletter and if you'd like to support our work, you can donate at powerforall.org/about/donate.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Anand Pathanjali speaks to Mike Bess and Ankit Agarwal from BESA 2 project on behalf of NIRAS LTS. NIRAS-LTS partnered with Aston University, E4tech and AIGUASOL for a two-year research project entitled ‘Bioenergy for Sustainable Local Energy Services and Energy Access in Africa - Phase 2' (BSEAA2), part of the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) program, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The TEA program aimed to create innovative solutions for scaling up technologies and business models to support energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

In this episode of the Power for All's Integrated Energy podcast series, Kristina Skierka, founder and CEO of Power for All speaks with Dan Klinck, CEO of East African Power, an integrated renewable energy development company delivering affordable clean energy in sub-Saharan Africa. Dan explains his entrepreneurial and career journey, the importance of finance skills to end energy poverty, and the specific role of East African Power in the Utilities 2.0 project. The conversation also highlights the need for diversification as a business strategy for companies' survival in the energy space.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Richard Harrison, the head of Smart Power Myanmar. Richard is joined by Sam Duby, research partner of Smart Power Myanmar, who is from TFE Energy. In support of this year's UN food system summit, this conversation is part of a special series on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy. This discussion aims to shed light on game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all, improve farmers' lives and support economic growth.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, a forum for leaders working to end energy poverty, Power for All speaks with Shaily Jha of the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW). Shaily is CEEW's energy access program lead, works in access to clean cooking with a focus on gender and social inclusion, leads the work on integrating a gender lens and empowering livelihoods, a USD 3 million initiative. The conversation is based on CEEW's recent report -- Improving Women's Productivity and Incomes through Clean Energy in India.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast which is a continuation of the Power for All's integrated energy podcast series, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All speaks with Riccardo Ridolfi, Chief Executive Officer of Equatorial Power: a mini-grid company that pioneered off-grid electrification and productive with substantial business model innovation focused around closing the agro-processing value gap across rural Africa. Riccardo is also a Board Member of Umeme Ltd, Uganda's largest distribution utility and Co-founder of EnerGrow. This conversation centers around EP's journey and business approach, the significance of an integrated approach and partnership for mini-grids to work with the utility. This discussion sheds light on the motivating factor for utilities to see mini-grids as a partner and not as a threat.

Today Kristina Skierka speaks with Aaron Leopold, the CEO of EnerGrow. EnerGrow is a tech start-up growing sustainable, productive, rural electricity demand in Africa, through an innovative mix of productive asset financing, training and digital ID based technology. The podcast covers a range of topics, including Aaron's career journey, the importance of alliance finance to drive rural jobs and effective mini-grid business models. A part of Power for All's integrated energy podcast series, this show also does a deep dive into energy access partnerships and the role of productive use and appliance financing in the 2.0 Uganda pilot, Twaake. The Utilities 2.0 Twaake project in Uganda is a collaboration between centralized and decentralized energy companies including East Africa Power, EnerGrow, Equatorial Power, Power for All, Umeme, The Rockefeller Foundation among other partners with a goal to bring faster connections, increase productive use of electricity, improve grid reliability and stability, reduce grid losses, promote economic growth in rural communities, and improve business profitability.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Rajneesh Rana of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). In support of this year's UN food system summit, the conversation with EESL is part of a special series on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy. The discussion aims to shed light on game changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all, improve farmer's lives, and support economic growth.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Kaushik Ramakrishnan, an expert working to transform and scale smallholder farming through innovative financial solutions. In support of this year's UN Food Systems Summit, this podcast is part of a special series focused on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy, aimed at highlighting game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all and improve farmers' lives.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Kristina Skierka, Founder and CEO of Power for All speaks with Florence Nsubuga, Chief Operating Officer of Umeme Ltd., Uganda's largest distribution utility. Florence is also a team leader of the project Girls for Girls, a forum that empowers women between the ages of 15 and 35 years to become leaders in their own communities. The conversation aims to highlight the work of Umeme along with the opportunity of working together to end energy poverty and achieve universal energy access by 2030. The discussion sheds more light on the launch of the first integrated energy pilot dubbed Twaake in Uganda and Utilities 2.0 globally. The Utilities 2.0 is a global initiative started by Power for All; the Twaake pilot includes a group of implementing partners in addition to Umeme: East African Power, EnerGrow, Equatorial Power, Makerere University and the Rockefeller Foundation. Umeme was established in 2005 and is the only cross-listed electricity distributor in Uganda and Nairobi stock exchanges. It is responsible for 95% of the grid footprint in Uganda, with a mandate to expand electricity access and maintain the distribution network. Despite these efforts,access to electricity in the country stands at 24% as of 2019.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Divya Kottadiel speaks with Dhurba Purkayastha, who leads the team at CPI in developing innovative finance and policy solutions in support of the government's renewable energy and green growth plans. He is also the director of US India Clean Energy Finance. The conversation centres around CPI's recent report on the future of distributed renewable energy in India, which outlines the benefits and market potential of India's DRE sector, examines the current policy and institutional landscape and provides tailored recommendations for various stakeholders.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Karan Sehgal, leading expert on Energy and Food Systems at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).In support of this year's UN Food Systems Summit, this podcast is part of a special series focused on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy, aimed at highlighting game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all and improve farmers' lives.

In this interview, William Brent speaks to Raffaella Bellanca, leader in access to energy at the World Food Program (WFP), discussing a critical link between school feeding initiatives and decentralized renewable energy. In support of this year's UN Food Systems Summit, this podcast is part of a special series focused on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy, aimed at highlighting game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all and improve farmers' lives.

In this episode, William Brent speaks with Magda Moner and Sandor Szabo, leading researchers in rural development and renewable energy at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and co authors of the research paper Mapping of Affordability Levels for Photovoltaic (PV) Based Electricity Generation in the Solar Belt of Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. They shed some light on the impact of their research on affordability of solar PV grids in rural electrification and why it is a more sustainable option.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, Anand Prabhu Pathanjali speaks with Kristina Skierka, founder and CEO of Power for All about the campaign’s six-year journey on the road to ending energy poverty.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Shilp Verma, a Researcher at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and a leading expert on the nexus of food, water, and solar energy. In support of this year’s UN Food Systems Summit, this podcast is part of a special series focused on the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy, aimed at highlighting game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all and improve farmers’ lives.

In this episode, William Brent speaks with Todd Moss, Founder and Executive Director of the Energy for Growth Hub and an expert on energy, finance, and foreign policy, on the recent launch of a new framework called the Modern Energy Minimum, or the Minimum, for short, which calls for a huge jump in ambition for what the global development community considers basic energy access. This was developed by 14 scholars who looked at data, historical trends and came up with this framework that includes household consumption as well as non-household usage.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Seth Silverman and Morgan DeFoort of Factor[e] Ventures, a builder of companies working at the intersection of food and energy. This podcast is a series highlighting the critical link between food systems and decentralized renewable energy in support of this year’s UN Food Systems Summit. The goal is to shed light on game-changing ideas in Africa and Asia that can help ensure sustainable energy for all, improve farmers’ lives, and support economic growth. Factor[e] has been one of the earliest investors in this space, exploring the opportunity to scale the food value chain on the back of renewable energy.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Andrew Herscowitz, Chief Development Officer at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), who has been deeply engaged on development issues for more than two decades. Before joining DFC, he was the coordinator of the Power Africa program where he oversaw the addition of 16 million new electricity connections across the continent.

In this episode of the Power for All podcast, William Brent speaks with Jeff Stottlemyer of CLASP’s Clean Energy Access program. COVID-19 has highlighted a silent humanitarian crisis that has persisted for far too long -- the fact that hundreds of millions of people in Africa and Asia are still served by rural health clinics that have no electricity. While efforts to change that are gaining momentum, what’s come to light in the process is that this is much more than just about deploying solar panels and some batteries and ensuring that these systems are operated and maintained in the long term. As important, if not more, is the need for medical devices that are able to work in these clinics once they’re electrified. CLASP’s new report published through the Efficiency for Access Coalition talks about this critical, yet underappreciated challenge.

In this episode, Divya Kottadiel speaks with Jesctina Izevbigie, Gender Manager at the Clean Cooking Alliance about the progress made and the challenges faced in promoting greater gender equality in the renewable energy sector, and more specifically in the clean cooking space.

In this episode, Power for All’s William Brent speaks to Tracy Dolan, knowledge lead at EEP Africa, about clean energy innovation and employment, the challenges and opportunities in the sector, and the launch of the Rising Energy Leaders Award. Here are some key takeaways from the conversation:

In this episode, Power for All’s Divya Kottadiel speaks to Shalu Agrawal, programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) on the Indian Residential Energy Survey 2020, the largest pan-India survey conducted by CEEW and ISEP on energy access and consumption patterns in Indian households. The survey covered 14,850 households from 152 districts in the 21 most populous states, accounting for 97 percent of the Indian population.

In this episode, Power for All’s William Brent speaks with Benjamin Attia, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie about his take on energy access sector trends for 2021. Here are some of the takeaways from what he had to say.

In this episode, Power for All’s William Brent speaks with Takehiro Kawahara of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, discussing developments in the energy access sector that we should be watching in 2021.

In this episode, we speak with Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of SEforALL and the United Nations Secretary General Special Representative for SDG7, about financing for energy access, challenges the market is facing and innovations that offer hope for the future. This podcast is brought to you by Energy Catalyst, an Innovate UK programme that supports innovators working in Africa and Asia to achieve universal energy access. Below are key takeaways from our conversation with Ms. Ogunbiyi .

With storytelling that stretches across his time living in Guinea-Bissau with the Peace Corps to founding one of the most influential advocacy organizations in the U.S., this podcast featuring Adam Browning of Vote Solar is a great way to wind-up 2020. Adam delivers expert insights into the role of activism in policy change and the importance of staying open to opportunities that bring your values to life. Listen now to learn why 2021 will be the best year yet for the global renewable energy sector.

In this episode, Gillian-Alexandre Huart, the first CEO of ENGIE Energy Access, a new energy unit launched by ENGIE, speaks about creating an integrated business model that can bring together solar home systems, minigrids and national distribution. ENGIE, one of the world's largest energy companies, has been a leader in pushing for rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, through its acquisitions of household solar companies Fenix, Mobisol and Simpa Networks, and its own minigrid provider, Powercorner. It has ambitious goals to impact 20 million people, but also to achieve scale and profitability.

In this podcast, Shonali Pachauri, Acting Program Director of the Transitions to New Technologies at IIASA in Austria discusses a new framework to measure energy poverty developed by her and her colleagues at IIASA that better aligns with services that people lack rather than merely capturing the absence of connections to sources of electricity. This framework distinguishes between two aspects of energy poverty - the conditions of supply, and the conditions and circumstances of households. The objective in developing this framework was to find an alternative to the too simplistic SDG indicators that underestimate energy poverty and the more complex multidimensional framework of the World Bank, which while a real step forward, is difficult to scale up to the global level.