This paper outlines the size and nature of the energy challenge, with a focus on electricity. It describes the investments that are currently being made to improve the quality of power and access to electricity — and the growing evidence that investments often fail due to poor energy governance. The paper then delves more deeply…
This final report summarizes the achievements and outcomes of the South Africa Low Emissions Development (SA-LED) Program. This project worked with municipalities to provide targeted technical assistance to develop LED projects, build capacity and create an enabling environment for LED at the sub-national level to produce sustainable results. Focused on helping South African municipalities move…
This post originally appeared on Devex. The COVID-19 pandemic that has overwhelmed health care systems around the world has also exposed significant weaknesses in another essential element of economic and social development: the global power sector. Dramatic swings in daily electricity demands as countries impose and rescind pandemic lockdowns, and the subsequent economic damage to governments…
Dhanika De Silva has more than five years of experience in structuring large, multi-stakeholder international development projects focused on catalyzing private sector investment into energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. He holds expertise in project finance, transaction advisory, investment analysis, commercial power development, and policy formulation, including in sub-Saharan Africa, South and South East…
Matthew S. Mendis is a clean energy, environment, and finance expert with more than 35 years of experience in more than 45 developing countries. Initially, Matthew spent 10 years of his career at the World Bank, including pioneering innovative financing mechanisms for small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. Subsequently, he founded and grew Alternative…
Chemonics International announced today that it has acquired the Government Services Business Unit of Nexant Inc., a sought-after advisor to governments and multilateral organizations in energy sector planning, policy, reform, and investment. Terms of the tuck-in transaction, which closed on August 21, 2020, were not disclosed. “The addition of Nexant Government Services enhances Chemonics’ multidisciplinary…
Edward Hoyt is the Senior Advisor for Energy and Climate in Chemonics’ West and Central Africa and Haiti Division, and a member of the Sustainable Energy Transition practice. Prior to joining Chemonics, Edward was a principal consultant with Abt Associates and Nexant, and earlier was a co-founder of Econergy, a diversified clean energy company that…
Among the top emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, South Africa has redoubled its efforts to reduce emissions by expanding renewable energy generation. Several municipalities have set ambitious local clean energy goals that go beyond national targets. Yet, despite these ambitious aims, many municipalities in South Africa lack the technical capacity, access to finance,…
A well-established energy system aids all sectors, from commerce, technology, and communications, to health, education, agriculture and infrastructure. Conversely, a dearth of reliable energy constrains human and economic development. While 222 million people have gained access to electricity in recent years, one in five — or 1.1 billion people worldwide — still lack access. Many…
Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. As Africa’s population, economy, and demand for energy grow, so does the need for reliable and resilient energy systems. During the 2017 Energy Africa Conference on November 9 and 10, Chemonics joins global stakeholders in Denver, Colorado, to discuss the path to clean energy…
In 1947 and again in 2005, the Gallup Poll asked Americans what they thought was the greatest invention ever made. In both cases, Americans overwhelmingly chose electricity. Yet across the world more than 1 billion people, largely in rural areas, still lack access to electricity’s transformative potential. 600 million of those people reside in Africa.…
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an effort to mobilize resources to transform the world, eliminate poverty, safeguard the planet, and guarantee universal prosperity by 2030. Of the 17 goals, Goal 7 of the SDGs set targets to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern…