Off the beaten path: Rural energy & remoteness
Far-flung islands in the South Pacific and treacherous terrain in the Himalayas: both pose enormous challenges for rural development and energy. The Low Carbon Energy for Development Network and Smart Villages will hold a webinar on Wednesday, 9 March 2016 at 9:00 AM GMT where experts will talk about their experiences working in remote areas where energy access is limited or almost non-existent – and what they are doing to promote access.
What common challenges have they faced, and what solutions are they finding for energy in remote areas? How can these remote, “last mile” villages become places where people have full access to education, health, technology, and livelihoods? What can policymakers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and civil society do to make this a reality?
Each expert will speak for less than 10 minutes and will focus on their on-the-ground experience, using photos to tell their story. A recent Smart Villages policy brief on islands and energy, to be shared in advance with webinar participants, will also help focus the discussion.
Speakers:
Australia / South Pacific: Julia McDonald, Senior Engineer, IT Power Renewable Energy Consulting
India / Himalayas: Paras Loomba, Expedition Leader, Global Himalayan Expedition
Malawi: Collen Zalengera, Head of Department of Energy Studies, Lecturer of Renewable Energy Technologies, Mzuzu University
Nepal: Ben Campbell, Degree Director, MSc Sustainability, Culture and Development, Department of Anthropology, University of Durham
Vanuatu / South Pacific: Stewart Craine, Managing Director of VIA – Village Infrastructure Angels
Register now!
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8735575175504423428
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
The Low Carbon Energy for Development Network (LCEDN) brings together researchers, policy-makers and practitioners from across the United Kingdom to expand research capacity around low-carbon development in the countries of the Global South.
It links existing expertise in international development, renewable energy transitions and science and technology studies in order to enhance and support interdisciplinary research, learning and policy-formation for this increasingly important and rapidly changing field.
The LCEDN comprises internationally-renowned universities and thriving energy research institutes, alongside partnerships with the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and expanding worldwide associations. This enables a unique environment for dialogue, discussion and the generation of ideas for funding.
The Smart Villages Initiative is a global initiative that aims to provide policymakers, donors, and development agencies concerned with rural energy access across the Global South with new insights on the real barriers to energy access in villages in developing countries – technological, financial and political – and how they can be overcome. We are have chosen to focus on remote off-grid villages, where local solutions (home- or institution-based systems, and mini-grids) are both more realistic and cheaper than national grid extension. Our concern is to ensure that energy access results in development and the creation of ‘smart villages’ in which rural communities have access to healthcare, education, clean water, ICT, and livelihoods. See our recent publications and workshop reports here: http://e4sv.org/resources/
