ESMAP Newsletter | June 2024

 685 Million: The New Number of People Worldwide Without Access to Electricity 

The 2024 edition of Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report warns that current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG7 on time. There has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG7 agenda. However, the global energy access gap has worsened as population growth outpaced new connections leaving 685 million people living without electricity access in 2022 while 2.1 billion people continue to rely on damaging cooking fuels globally.  

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World Bank Invests in Solar Energy to Expand Access to Electricity in Guinea-Bissau  

The $35 million grant will enable solar power generation and increase access to electricity in Guinea-Bissau. The project is expected to benefit residential, commercial, and industrial consumers all over Guinea-Bissau, including on the islands. It will also support the Government’s efforts to create an enabling environment for private sector participation, as well as spur economic growth and create green jobs.

The Solar Energy Scale-up and Access Project will be implemented until June 2030, and will benefit from $35 million grant financing from the International Development Association (IDA), $10.5 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and $2.65 million from ESMAP.

  » Read the Press Release

World Bank Loan to Namibia Supports Renewable Energy Integration: Transmission Expansion and Energy Storage (TEES) Project  

Namibia’s first ever World Bank financed energy project, aimed at improving the reliability of the country’s transmission network and enabling increased integration of renewable energy into the country’s electricity system. The $138.5 million project will be implemented by the national electricity utility, NamPower. The project will facilitate access to Variable Renewable Energy and the Battery Energy Storage System will support the development and uptake of renewable energy plants. The project will also assist the client to develop and procure sustainable, bankable RE projects with a systematic framework to maximize socio-economic benefits, targeting job creation, skills development, and gender equality. NamPower has also joined ESMAP’s Energy Storage Partnership as a new partner.

 »  Read the Press Release 

World Bank Loan to Namibia Supports Renewable Energy Integration: Transmission Expansion and Energy Storage (TEES) Project  

Namibia’s first ever World Bank financed energy project, aimed at improving the reliability of the country’s transmission network and enabling increased integration of renewable energy into the country’s electricity system. The $138.5 million project will be implemented by the national electricity utility, NamPower. The project will facilitate access to Variable Renewable Energy and the Battery Energy Storage System will support the development and uptake of renewable energy plants. The project will also assist the client to develop and procure sustainable, bankable RE projects with a systematic framework to maximize socio-economic benefits, targeting job creation, skills development, and gender equality. NamPower has also joined ESMAP’s Energy Storage Partnership as a new partner.

 »  Read the Press Release

Sustainable Cooling in Off-Grid Rural Areas | The Nexus Between Access to Energy and Clean Cooling

This report aims to increase awareness and start a discussion among stakeholders on several important but little explored topics: access to efficient and clean cooling in off-grid rural areas.

Download the Report | Watch the Launch

Integrated Environmental & Social Sensitivity Mapping | Guidance for Early Offshore Wind Spatial Planning  

While offshore wind is critical to reducing carbon emissions and helping to achieve universal energy access as envisioned by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7, we must ensure that such turbines are installed in a way that they do not endanger marine life or harm human development. 

» Download the Report

Sierra Leone - Beyond Connections: Energy Access Diagnostic Report Based on the Multi-Tier Framework  

The survey shows that nationwide 21.1% of Sierra Leone households have access to electricity via the national grid (20.5%) or mini-grids (0.6%) and 14.7% have off-grid access. Off-grid sources predominantly include solar products such as solar lanterns, solar home systems, and solar lighting systems, and off-grid use is largely limited to rural areas. The adoption of solar lanterns, however, is significantly higher than the use of other products in rural areas. Other off-grid sources include electric generators and rechargeable batteries. 

» Download the Report

From Sun to Roof to Grid | The Economics and Policy of Distributed PV  

This report, the final in a series of three, walks policy makers, regulatory authorities, utilities, and energy experts through a framework for designing and implementing policy packages that guide and regulate DPV installations and their connection to the grid. Special attention is given to the potential economic benefits and challenges DPV pose for electric utilities. 

» Download the Report

The Critical Link: Empowering Utilities for The Energy Transition 

As the conduit between power demand and supply, the utilities that operate the world's transmission and distribution networks will be the critical link in the energy transition. Utilities will need to expand and modernize their networks to integrate variable renewable energy sources and meet growing demands for cleaner and more flexible power. This paper aims to place the need for sustainable utilities in lower-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) at the heart of the energy sector dialogue. 

» Download the Report | Watch the Video

Adapting Spatial Frameworks to Guide Energy Access Interventions in Urbanizing Africa  

The extension of electricity into rural areas has been the focus of efforts to achieve universal access to reliable, affordable, and modern energy by 2030. On the African continent and elsewhere, however, rapid urbanization has produced new patterns of human settlement that blur the distinction between rural and urban. 

» Download the Livewire 

Geothermal Energy: Empowering Development Beyond Electricity Generation

ESMAP hosted a side event at the International Geothermal Conference (ICG) in Reykjavik. The conference, themed "Recreate Your Society – Geothermal for All," was organized by the Icelandic Renewable Cluster and brought together experts from around the globe. The main theme of the ESMAP Geothermal side event was “Geothermal Energy: Empowering Development Beyond Electricity Generation.”

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