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 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 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 paper underscores the need for sustainable utilities to deliver the energy transition in lower- and middle-income countries, and provides recommendations to governments and other stakeholders.
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 […]
This report identifies the main risks and barriers limiting investment in the energy transition, supplying a toolkit for policy makers, public and private investors, and public finance institutions to scale up their investments in renewable energy.
This journal article describes risks and mitigation strategies in renewable energy investment.