Solar energy has experienced major scale globally in recent years. Today, as prices continue to drop and technologies improve, developing countries are beginning to capitalize on its offerings. Startups are popping up all over Sub-saharan Africa and rural India, offering BoP consumers access to clean, sustainable electricity at affordable prices. Below are articles highlighting the opportunities that solar offers to developing countries, and how startups, like our portfolio companies Simpa Networks and SolarNow are experiencing … read more
Off-grid Solutions to Energy Poverty
Energy poverty is a major global problem, hindering the development of bottom-billion countries. Solar has been identified as a sustainable solution to provide reliable electricity to the globe. In order for the solar industry to scale and offer affordable solutions to the billions in need of power, infrastructure changes and major investments must be made. Below are recent articles, reports, and interviews discussing the potential for solar and the changes that must be made to … read more
Developments in Solar Energy
As solar falls in price, innovators see opportunities to create off-grid energy solutions for the millions without access to power. Entrepreneurs have identified ways to leverage these technologies to build businesses addressing energy access in emerging markets. This week’s articles take a look into recent developments in the market. Why solar costs will fall another 40% in just two years by Giles Parkinson on Renew Economy The World Energy Future Conference took place in Abu … read more
Progress in Solar for Energy Access
Access to clean, affordable energy for the rural poor is an issue that we are actively trying to solve. Solar power is a great solution, but solar products often have large up-front costs and the rural population can be skeptical about purchasing technologies they know little about. Entrepreneurs are taking the initiative to overcome these obstacles by creating innovative financing models or technical solutions such as integrating pay-as-you-go technologies with solar products, notably our own … read more
Renewable Energy Developments
Renewable energy solutions continue to contribute to solving the world’s energy crisis. Below are recent articles highlighting recent news and developments in the space.
Renewable Energy Capacity Grows at Fastest Ever Pace Terry Macalister on The Guardian
A recent report by the International Energy Agency revealed that renewable power capacity grew at its strongest ever pace last year and now produces 22% of the world’s electricity. More than $250 billion was invested in “green” generating … read more
Global Energy Updates
Most of the developing world finds itself in an energy crisis, with little to no access to the grid or unreliable power supply for those with access. The portion of the world with reliable energy on the other hand wastes billions of dollars worth of watts every year. The articles below discuss each of these energy problems and outline solutions that could save money while providing more.
Clean energy developments
1.3 billion individuals across the globe, almost 20% of the world’s population, lack access to basic electricity mostly in emerging markets. If all of the energy currently generated in Africa were equally distributed, it would be enough to turn on one standard light bulb per person for a mere three hours per day. The following articles detail some new initiatives that are aiming to combat this pressing worldwide issue.
SOLAR ENERGY ON A ROLL
Solar energy has been on a roll in recent years, helped by a drastic 64% decrease in the price of photovoltaic cells since 2008. Thanks to falling costs, over 2 million solar lanterns were sold in 2012, expected to increase 75% a year in Africa alone. Lowering costs and increasing affordability will be the biggest drivers for the continued growth of solar, so investments at both the project and product level are important to watch.… read more
Impact Investing in Alternative Energy Enterprises
With our vested interest in alternative energy and emerging markets, we are always excited to see startups in and out of the portfolio recognized for their efforts, whether that’s through finding an investor match of simply receiving credit on well-respected publications. Below are some of the exciting developments in the alternative energy startup space over the past few weeks.
Ghana-Based Renewable Energy Startup Acquired in an Estimated 7-Figure Deal by Shea Gunther on Mother Nature … read more
Agriculture’s Impact on the Environment.
With every action comes a consequence. In our reading this week, we focused on the consequences of agricultural practices on the environment. We are always looking for new investments that can solve these worldwide problems.
“Water pollution” by C Michael Hogan on The Encyclopedia of Earth
With 50 millions annual deaths worldwide due to contaminated water, water pollution has become a serious, global health risk. Unfortunately, agriculture is one of the biggest water … read more
Agriculture and technology around the world
It’s no secret that the agriculture space is a hot sector. At ID, we’re finding many opportunities that leverage mobile and information technology to improve efficiency for the small farmer. This Weekly Review features stories on the collaboration of technology and agriculture around the world.
“Unleashing Ugandan Farmers’ Potential Through Mobile Phones” by Kyla Yeoman on Global Envision
MobiPay Kenya has developed a unique application designed with small African farmers in mind. AgriLife… read more
Innovating to Meet Energy Demand
This week we’re featuring news on energy, including breakthroughs from innovators and commentary on how this type of innovation is needed to meet the growing energy demand in Africa.
“A quiet breakthrough in geothermal power tech” by Katie Fehrenbacher on GigaOM
As we frequently mention on this blog, we like to keep tabs on innovation breakthroughs in renewable energy. Although we haven’t invested in a geothermal tech, we like to learn about those … read more
Renewable Energy in Kenya: Policy Tools and Anticipated Effects
As we introduced in our last post on this topic, Kenya is using several policy tools to stimulate renewable energy development and grow its national energy supply. With rapidly growing demand, the government has clearly identified renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, as a reliable and sustainable way to increase energy supply.
Renewable energy production presents the potential for income and employment generation. It also encourages private investment while minimizing environmental harm. … read more