This article announces the adoption of harmonised minimum energy performance standards for air conditioners and refrigerators in the 16 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It also explains the process by which these harmonised standards were developed and adopted.
This article explores how the Central American Integration System (SICA) has helped lead the way to improve energy efficiency in appliances at the regional level, and the opportunities that further harmonisation could generate.
The average lifespan of a building is 50 years, so the design of buildings that are constructed now will have an effect on energy consumption in our cities until well into the 2070s. This article presents the most effective options for cities to set mandatory minimum energy performance standards for buildings, to prevent locking in […]
This report assesses the effectiveness of women in energy networks worldwide and offers best practices and recommendations for networks under development or those aiming to enhance their impact.
This guide by the Covenant of Mayors of Sub-Saharan Africa shows that urban planning tends to be gender blind, with the design of urban street lighting as a key example. It provides a manual, aimed at African cities, on how to develop gender-responsive public lighting projects. English: https://comssa.org/download/rxeWs6zcOXbTl8qRidGZ9nCB7EFAI4Pa/Gender-sensitive-public-lighting.pdf French: https://comssa.org/download/U3kjdTBHqV6FGKfoI71EgLY2wZrSvtz8/Eclairage-public-sensible-au-genre.pdf
This report highlights the importance of sector coupling as a key source of flexibility that cities can explore to stabilise power grid operations when integrating high shares of variable renewable energy sources. It presents a range of sector coupling opportunities available for use in cities, including self-consumption of variable RE sources, the role of thermal […]
This report investigates different models for the deployment of e-bike fleets and charging/swapping infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the potential advantages of battery swapping for riders, highlights emerging best practice for Batteries as a Service, and provides recommendations on policy, regulation and financing to support uptake of e-motorcycles and the growth of BaaS in […]
This guide provides principles and step-by-step instructions for the establishment of regional/national networks for women working in energy
This website contains a range of learning resources on Integrated Resource Planning (a methodology for least-cost planning by public utilities), including load forecasting, tariff policies, amd demand side management. It also includes exercises and case studies.
This report explores ways to identify and mitigate energy transition investment risks in the low- and middle-income countries, pointing out 1) that better energy planning can attract greater investment in renewable energy, 2) that sustainable fuels will play an important role in delivering the energy transition, and 3) that the social dimensions of the transition […]