Victoria Plutshack

  • Victoria Plutshack
    Victoria Plutshack
    EAP Affiliate

Victoria Plutshack

Gender, Climate and Energy Specialist

Victoria is a social scientist whose research uses historical analysis and interviews with business leaders, policymakers and civil society groups as a lens through which to explore technology transitions.

In her recent role as Senior Policy Associate at the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke University her work focused on policy questions around the scale up of off-grid energy solutions, climate finance, and how gender plays a role in technology change. She also works to bridge the gap between practitioner experience and researcher knowledge in the energy access space.

She also conducts historical research into women’s roles in promoting domestic electricity in the U.S. and U.K. in the mid-20th century. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Remedial Herstory Project, a nonprofit working to get women’s history into the primary and secondary school curriculum.

Victoria holds a Ph.D. in Land Economy and a M.Phil. in Technology Policy from the University of Cambridge. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago.

Recent Publications

My Work

Global Assessment of Electricity in Healthcare Facilities

Global Assessment of Electricity in Healthcare Facilities

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.

New Frontiers in Climate Finance

New Frontiers in Climate Finance

    Investment decisions made in low- and middle-income countries leading up to 2030 will determine whether low-carbon pathways out of poverty and climate vulnerability are possible for millions, and whether the next global surge in emissions can be prevented. There...

Catalyzing Climate Finance for Low-Carbon Ag-Tech

Catalyzing Climate Finance for Low-Carbon Ag-Tech

    Despite minimal contributions to causing climate change, rural households working in the agriculture sector are disproportionately impacted by climate-related shocks and see it as one of the biggest risks to their livelihoods.Climate finance presents a critical...

Listen now! Balancing Competition & Subsidy: Mini-Grid Incentives Programs in Africa Webinar

Listen now! Balancing Competition & Subsidy: Mini-Grid Incentives Programs in Africa Webinar

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.

Lessons for Modernizing Energy Access Finance

Lessons for Modernizing Energy Access Finance

    A modern energy system requires modern energy finance. This on-going series explores the ways in which we can learn from how energy access has been financed in the past to build a better, more equitable future.Part One: Public Financing for Rural...

What COVID-19 has cost the climate

What COVID-19 has cost the climate

Climate talks like the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) have led to many climate successes; informal conversations between international stakeholders at COP can become leverage for policy change at home, as seen in the case of Chile’s ambitious voluntary coal retirement scheme.

Come join the Electric Circus!

Come join the Electric Circus!

In 1935, only 10% of farms in the U.S. were electrified. This was seen as a huge problem – the productivity and quality of life that electricity could bring was bypassing the American farmer. In order to bring light to the countryside, the Rural Electrification...

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