Ashden reports on energy poverty

Wanted: solar cooker

A new report will say simple and affordable off-grid energy is a significant part of the solution to world poverty. Two billion people worldwide have no access to electricity and 1.6 billion still rely on fuel wood and open fires for cooking. This is a critical issue for health, education and poverty reduction – escalating energy prices and growing demand mean that centralised energy systems are unlikely to fill this gap.

A total of 51 programmes were reviewed, with ten investigated in more detail through surveys with project leaders. They have all received prizes from the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy since its inception in 2003.

One solar programme in Bangladesh has installed more than 150,000 solar home systems – compared to a total of 2,300 domestic solar panel installations in the UK.

The report, “Scaling Up Low Carbon Energy for the Poor”, is published by the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in the run up to the Ashden Awards 2008 ceremony on Thursday 19th June in London. It examines 10 low carbon energy schemes bringing heat and light to the world’s poorest people. Together, they serve over nine million people in Asia and Africa and save an estimated 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 a year, equivalent to the total domestic emissions of more than 700,000 UK citizens.

The ten schemes provide simple and affordable energy technologies such as improved cooking stoves, solar home systems, biogas and water pumps. The technologies are having significant environmental benefits such as reduced carbon emissions and deforestation and important social and economic impacts, transforming the lives of beneficiaries through better income and health, food security, cleaner air and more opportunity for study.

A key finding of the report is the need for affordable credit. This is because upfront costs of new technologies such as solar panels can be a barrier – even though high prices for kerosene and other alternatives mean that the payback times can be amazingly short. Common mechanisms for making low carbon energy affordable to the poor in developing countries are microfinance backed by soft loans and government subsidies.

“With energy needs at the top of today’s agenda, these examples show us what affordable sustainable energy can achieve for millions of people without access to grid electricity or efficient cooking stoves”. The Ashden Awards brings many examples like these to the world’s attention and works with them to ensure they are replicated far and wide” says Sarah Butler-Sloss, Executive Chair of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.