2 December 2014: In order to support greater access to energy among the poor, Practical Action released the first edition of a new series of poor people’s energy briefs on the topic of decentralized energy access.

The brief identifies a number of gaps in the research to establish the evidence base for decentralized energy access. In particular, it highlights gaps related to information on successful business models, approaches to financing and estimates of costs for implementation and operation. The brief further calls for additional research on mini-grids and animal and human driven power.

Overall, the brief notes that while there is an emerging interest in decentralized energy, there is still a need to focus some of the debate on meeting the needs of the poorest consumers. To address this need, the brief calls for greater collaboration between public and private partners as well as civil society.

The Poor people’s energy briefing series is intended to promote discussion on how poor people use and access energy as well as the policy and practical steps required to meet the goal of universal access to energy by 2030. [Practical Action Press Release] [Publication: Enabling Energy Access for the Poor – The need to strengthen the evidence base on decentralized energy access]