In the News

Recent Updates from the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project

Seven Takeaways from the Energy Access Project Launch

Some of the leading lights from the energy access community convened in Washington, D.C., February 23 for the launch of Duke University’s Energy Access Project. As the new project assembles its agenda, leaders from business, government, and civil society weighed in on the market and policy challenges facing the billions of people lacking access to modern energy. Here’s some of what we heard.

March 7, 2018

Request for Proposals: Summer 2018 Energy Access Internships and Research Projects

The Energy Access Project invites proposals for student internships or research projects in Summer 2018 related to energy access in less-developed countries, with a focus on either modern technologies and fuels for cooking, or access to reliable, affordable, safe, and sustainable electricity. Undergraduate and graduate students at Duke University who are currently enrolled, and will be enrolled full-time at Duke in Fall 2018, are eligible to apply for up to $5,000. Apply by 5 p.m., Thursday March 8.

March 1, 2018

Pattanayak Appears on Policy 360 Podcast

Energy Access Project Faculty Director Subhrendu Pattanayak appears on the Policy 360 podcast to discuss the project. It’s estimated that 1.2 billion people around the world live without electricity, while another billion have only limited access to electricity. Billions more lack access to clean fuel and technology for cooking. Now, there’s an exciting new endeavor designed to address the energy needs of the world’s poor. The Energy Access Project aims to bring an interdisciplinary approach to one of the world’s most vexing issues.

February 28, 2018

Duke University Introduces Energy Access Project in D.C.

Leaders from business, government, civil society and academia came together in Washington, D.C., on February 23 to explore one of the world’s most pressing challenges at Accelerating Global Energy Access, the formal introduction to Duke University’s Energy Access Project. Nearly a third of humanity lacks reliable electricity and three billion people are without clean fuels and technologies for cooking. At the event, Energy Access Project staff and sector leaders examined ways to tackle the energy access challenge in conversation on the use of renewables, so-called last mile electrification, and financing to support viable pathways to sustainable and modern energy solutions for all.

February 27, 2018

Solar Tariffs Will Stifle Energy Access for the World’s Poorest

The White House recently announced a new tariff and quota regime that attaches a 30 percent tariff to solar cells and modules that declines over time. The decision, which is expected to increase the price of electricity from new United States solar projects, has spurred a lively debate in the U.S. around whether these trade barriers are good or bad for businesses and workers, and to what extent cost increases will soften solar demand in the U.S. On the other side of the globe, Energy Access Project staff Jonathan Phillips and Hannah Girardeau write in Devex, that there is a similar debate roiling around the treatment of solar panels and related equipment in trade policy. In the U.S., shifting tariff policy will drive changes in the sources of power generation. But for energy consumers across sub-Saharan Africa, the stakes are much higher. The debate over import tariffs there may decide whether millions of people will be able to gain access to electricity at all.

February 15, 2018

Energy Data Analytics Lab Team Takes Top Prize at 2018 Duke Research Computing Symposium with Electricity Access Project

A Bass Connections team that includes the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions T. Robert Fetter took top honors for work using machine learning and visual object identification to assess electricity access at the 2018 Duke Research Computing Symposium on January 25.

January 26, 2018

Pattanayak Attends Workshop to Address South Asia Environmental Challenges

Energy Access Project faculty director Subhrendu Pattanayak recently visited Kathmandu, Nepal, for a weeklong workshop for the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE). This network focuses on building the economics capacity of local academics and NGOs to address South Asia’s environmental challenges. In its most recent form, SANDEE has been formally integrated into the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), though it continues to receive support of the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). In addition to Pattanayak, Jeff Vincent, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and an advisor to the SANDEE community for the last 15 years, attended. SANDEE’s main approach to capacity building is through medium grants for research, pairing a regional scholar with an international faculty advisor and led to joint research between SANDEE researchers and Duke faculty. For example, Royal University of Bhutan’s Tshering Thinley worked closely with Duke scholars to conduct fieldwork and publish a paper on Bhutan’s rural electrification scheme and the resulting impacts on health, education, and productivity of rural communities. Another SANDEE project has paired Robyn Meeks, a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, Pattanayak, and ICIMOD staff in reviewing the sustainability of micro hydro projects in Nepal.

December 19, 2017

New Duke Project to Address Energy Needs of World’s Poor

The Energy Access Project was established by a $1.5 million gift from Jim Rogers, former CEO and chairman of the board for the electric utility company Duke Energy, and his wife, M.A. Rogers. The Bass Connections Challenge at Duke University will add $750,000 in matching funds for a total of $2.25 million to support the project’s goal of accelerating deployment of sustainable energy and empowering the world through expanded energy access.

December 17, 2017

Phillips Named to Lead New Energy Access Project

Jonathan Phillips, formerly the senior advisor to the president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has been named director of the Energy Access Project at Duke University. This new research and policy effort aims to address the challenges around increasing access to modern energy solutions to underserved populations around the world.

December 6, 2017
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