• Energy Research

Abstract Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the Pacific’s largest country with one of the world’s lowest rates of energy access (13%). To address this development challenge, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the USA joined hands with the PNG government in late 2018 and signed the PNG Electrification Partnership. The Partnership aims to electrify 70% of PNG’s population by 2030. It is an unprecedented multilateral initiative that represents a major shift in political synergies between and amongst members of the Global North and South. The US$1.7 billion Partnership based on commitments from these four OECD donor nations is significant for two reasons: first, it comes at a time when China’s influence in the Pacific is growing, resulting in strategic geopolitical tensions. Second, the Partnership signifies energy access as a tool for foreign diplomacy and the scale of resource commitment is likely to shape energy discourse across much of energy poor Asia and Africa. For these reasons, the Partnership is too important to fail. However, given PNG’s long history of electrification challenges and little information currently available about the Partnership’s own workings, the Partnership faces an uphill task. In this Perspective, we draw on PNG’s unique context and past experiences to flag potential bottlenecks and issues for consideration as stakeholders work to meet the Partnership’s aims over the coming decade.

Abstract Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the Pacific’s largest country with one of the world’s lowest rates of energy access (13%). To address this development challenge, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the USA joined hands with the PNG government in late 2018 and signed the PNG Electrification Partnership. The Partnership aims to electrify 70% of PNG’s population by 2030. It is an unprecedented multilateral initiative that represents a major shift in political synergies between and amongst members of the Global North and South. The US$1.7 billion Partnership based on commitments from these four OECD donor nations is significant for two reasons: first, it comes at a time when China’s influence in the Pacific is growing, resulting in strategic geopolitical tensions. Second, the Partnership signifies energy access as a tool for foreign diplomacy and the scale of resource commitment is likely to shape energy discourse across much of energy poor Asia and Africa. For these reasons, the Partnership is too important to fail. However, given PNG’s long history of electrification challenges and little information currently available about the Partnership’s own workings, the Partnership faces an uphill task. In this Perspective, we draw on PNG’s unique context and past experiences to flag potential bottlenecks and issues for consideration as stakeholders work to meet the Partnership’s aims over the coming decade.

Abstract Decentralised Solar Home Systems (SHSs) are established as an effective strategy to connect the ‘last mile’ without electricity access and leapfrog communities to clean energy solutions. According to the World Bank, the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model has emerged as one of the effective commercially viable solutions to provide decentralised energy access to rural and remote communities in developing nations. The paying ability of households is a critical challenge for energy enterprises, and PAYG, with its easy payment schemes makes solar units affordable and allows households to gradually own these systems. The model also offers user training, ongoing maintenance, and service blocking functionality that minimises investment risk. The PAYG model has demonstrated huge success in Sub-Saharan Africa where Kenya pioneered the model as a cost competitive modern alternative for kerosene. One in five people in India lack access to electricity, and grid-connected rural communities often face frequent blackouts. With the advancement in distributed solar technologies and growing penetration of the mobile telecommunications network in India, PAYG could advance into a successful model to electrify communities living off the grid. Our analysis involves a two-dimensional approach where a systematic review of PAYG literature including case studies from Kenya and India was performed, followed by three expert interviews to further augment learnings and opportunities to deploy PAYG SHSs in India. This analysis finds that India's socio-political context seems suited for increased PAYG penetration, including utilising the opportunity provided by the country's Unified Payments Interface. This paper offers insights for practitioners and policymakers to consider the PAYG model to deploy clean electricity to households and rural micro-enterprises.

Abstract Decentralised Solar Home Systems (SHSs) are established as an effective strategy to connect the ‘last mile’ without electricity access and leapfrog communities to clean energy solutions. According to the World Bank, the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model has emerged as one of the effective commercially viable solutions to provide decentralised energy access to rural and remote communities in developing nations. The paying ability of households is a critical challenge for energy enterprises, and PAYG, with its easy payment schemes makes solar units affordable and allows households to gradually own these systems. The model also offers user training, ongoing maintenance, and service blocking functionality that minimises investment risk. The PAYG model has demonstrated huge success in Sub-Saharan Africa where Kenya pioneered the model as a cost competitive modern alternative for kerosene. One in five people in India lack access to electricity, and grid-connected rural communities often face frequent blackouts. With the advancement in distributed solar technologies and growing penetration of the mobile telecommunications network in India, PAYG could advance into a successful model to electrify communities living off the grid. Our analysis involves a two-dimensional approach where a systematic review of PAYG literature including case studies from Kenya and India was performed, followed by three expert interviews to further augment learnings and opportunities to deploy PAYG SHSs in India. This analysis finds that India's socio-political context seems suited for increased PAYG penetration, including utilising the opportunity provided by the country's Unified Payments Interface. This paper offers insights for practitioners and policymakers to consider the PAYG model to deploy clean electricity to households and rural micro-enterprises.

Abstract The Indian Government is making important inroads in addressing energy poverty in India, recently announcing the electrification of 100% of villages. Yet, approximately 300 million people are still without access to electricity. This vast population of energy poor, with no household connection to the electricity grid, represents a market for micro-level actors, particularly private sector firms providing off-grid solutions. However, due to the ever-expanding grid, such firms may face uncertainty and must carefully consider their value propositions and strategies. This research analyses ten exemplar firms in India's off-grid sector. Their responses, as part of a semi-structured interview approach, provided a unique ‘insider’ perspective on the role of the private sector that cannot be gained from secondary-data observations or existing literature. Two important observational clusters were found. Those firms more concerned about business risks from grid expansion generally exhibited a strong degree of social embeddedness, perhaps as a risk mitigation strategy. Firms less concerned about the grid generally had affordability as a core value proposition and operated in more remote locations. This dichotomy of perspectives gives some insight into the unique role of private sector actors in providing electricity to the dwellings of India's energy poor.

Abstract The Indian Government is making important inroads in addressing energy poverty in India, recently announcing the electrification of 100% of villages. Yet, approximately 300 million people are still without access to electricity. This vast population of energy poor, with no household connection to the electricity grid, represents a market for micro-level actors, particularly private sector firms providing off-grid solutions. However, due to the ever-expanding grid, such firms may face uncertainty and must carefully consider their value propositions and strategies. This research analyses ten exemplar firms in India's off-grid sector. Their responses, as part of a semi-structured interview approach, provided a unique ‘insider’ perspective on the role of the private sector that cannot be gained from secondary-data observations or existing literature. Two important observational clusters were found. Those firms more concerned about business risks from grid expansion generally exhibited a strong degree of social embeddedness, perhaps as a risk mitigation strategy. Firms less concerned about the grid generally had affordability as a core value proposition and operated in more remote locations. This dichotomy of perspectives gives some insight into the unique role of private sector actors in providing electricity to the dwellings of India's energy poor.

To lead the energy transition, effective sustainability leadership requires a spectrum of skills, knowledge and understanding across technical, financial and even political disciplines. An innovative, authentic learning initiative has been designed and implemented in which Master of Sustainable Energy students conducted team-based role-playing activities, responding to a realistic, hypothetical energy policy scenario in the form of a government announcement and other mock collateral. Groups were assigned the personas of a range of industry stakeholders and prepared presentations (and accompanying media statements and position papers) for a mock online media conference. The initiative leveraged the diversity of the cohort, enabling constructive interactions and an appreciation of the impacts of energy policy on a variety of organisations and wider society. Entry and exit surveys affirmed that participants gained a deeper understanding of key issues, constraints, alternative views and approaches involved in navigating the policy pathways to sustainability. The teaching staff also observed a high level of student engagement. Challenges of group dynamics and teaching effort were felt to be outweighed by the benefits reaped by students, particularly in terms of deeper conceptual knowledge and an understanding of perspectives in the energy transition. The case study also found that the online nature of the media conference enhanced student innovation and engagement. The framework of the case study may nudge other educators towards greater use of role-playing activities in sustainability leadership pedagogy.

To lead the energy transition, effective sustainability leadership requires a spectrum of skills, knowledge and understanding across technical, financial and even political disciplines. An innovative, authentic learning initiative has been designed and implemented in which Master of Sustainable Energy students conducted team-based role-playing activities, responding to a realistic, hypothetical energy policy scenario in the form of a government announcement and other mock collateral. Groups were assigned the personas of a range of industry stakeholders and prepared presentations (and accompanying media statements and position papers) for a mock online media conference. The initiative leveraged the diversity of the cohort, enabling constructive interactions and an appreciation of the impacts of energy policy on a variety of organisations and wider society. Entry and exit surveys affirmed that participants gained a deeper understanding of key issues, constraints, alternative views and approaches involved in navigating the policy pathways to sustainability. The teaching staff also observed a high level of student engagement. Challenges of group dynamics and teaching effort were felt to be outweighed by the benefits reaped by students, particularly in terms of deeper conceptual knowledge and an understanding of perspectives in the energy transition. The case study also found that the online nature of the media conference enhanced student innovation and engagement. The framework of the case study may nudge other educators towards greater use of role-playing activities in sustainability leadership pedagogy.

Abstract Background In pursuing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy access for all, India’s electrification efforts are dominated by a central electricity grid, with 100% of villages now connected. Despite this, 305 million people still remain without electricity. Off-grid electrification may play an important role in energy access for these ‘last mile’ consumers. However, opportunities are directly influenced by government plans and policies, including the integration of grid and off-grid systems. This paper aims to provide a contemporary assessment of the policies of the government, and how they manifest in electrification systems in rural and remote India, revealing opportunities and threats for the sector. Method The progress of village electrification is examined via policy announcements and the Indian government’s dedicated websites on progress. The role and extent of off-grid systems are then examined in two contrasting Indian states: industrialised Maharashtra and less-developed Odisha. Publically-available information is supplemented with data obtained directly from known private sector operators and state agencies. The geographic and societal setting of off-grid locations is then examined to provide contextual commentary. Finally, interviews with key stakeholders (regulatory authorities, distribution companies, private firms, industry bodies and academia) were undertaken to validate findings. Results There is evidence of some remote localities not included in the government’s electrification programs. The grid’s poor quality and reliability, along with affordability barriers, means that the government’s grid connection efforts may not result in significant improvements in electricity use by some consumers. Data from Maharashtra and Odisha showed limited private sector off-grid systems, generally operating on the periphery of government programs. This is despite the fact that there seems to be an opportunity for the private sector to enter the market, given the grid’s shortcomings. Conclusion The shortcomings of India’s centralised electrification paradigm could be overcome through more localised off-grid solutions that can access ‘last mile’ consumers. The government might consider achieving this by formally recognising the role of off-grid systems in India’s electrification objectives. Further, the government could extend the reach of electrification by transferring responsibilities for household electricity access to local-level businesses and community organisations.