In the News

On the latest episode from the Sanford’s Ways & Means podcast – Marc Jeuland, Jonathan Phillips, & Rahel Bekele discusses how solar mini-grid powered irrigation can change smallholder farmers’ lives and the work EAP@Duke is doing to evaluate the effects of the DREAM project on the resilience of the farming community.

The Global Assessment of Electricity in Healthcare Facilities provides a comprehensive update on the status and key actions needed for providing reliable, modern energy to health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries.

The success of national vaccine distribution efforts depends on a functional cold chain. EAP’s Rob Fetter shared how solar can be a part of the solution in The Conversation.

In the inaugural working paper of our new series, Robyn Meeks and co-authors explore the impacts that access to electricity through microhydro in Nepal has on labor and manufacturing.

What can we learn from countries trying to scale mini-grid deployment? In this webinar, hear early lessons from Africa in the latest report from the Energy Access Project at Duke, “Balancing Competition and Subsidy: Mini-grid Incentive Programs in Africa.” EAP’s Jonathan Phillips and Victoria Plutshack led the discussion with a host of experts in the field.

As governments put in place incentives to scale up mini-grid deployment, our team has reviewed 20 mini-grid programs in sub-Saharan Africa, in order to pull out some initial lessons.

The piece addresses the importance of reliable electricity access for monitoring and treatment of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the value of off-grid solutions for health clinics far from the central grid, among other elements.

EAP’s team members Jonathan Phillips, Rob Fetter and Rajah Saparapa presented their research on the True Cost of Solar Tariffs in East Africa to the Community of Champions. The webinar was organized by GOGLA on the Socioeconomic Benefits of Off-Grid Solar: Focus on Productive Uses.
You can access the webinar slides and recordings below

Developers, donors, and customers are increasingly interested in the potential for microgrids to provide power to hundreds of millions of people who lack it. The Energy Access Project and partners test business model interventions to unlock that potential.