3 June 2014

THE SMART VILLAGES CONCEPT DR JOHN HOLMES

The Scale of the Energy Challenge

1.3 billion people without access to electricity, mainly in rural communities

3 billion people use traditional fuels for household energy

1.5 million people die each year from indoor air pollution caused by traditional fuels

Oil prices in real terms are 5 x what they were when OECD countries were at a similar stage of development

Universal access to electricity by 2030

IEA World Energy Outlook: new connections in rural areas

30% grid extension

70% from micro-grids and home-based approaches

Energy as a catalyst for development

Sustainable energy

access for development

Education

Local business

Health & welfare

Democratic engagement

Food security

Focus: mini/micro-grid and home-based approaches

Policy advice: an insightful, ‘view from the frontline’ of the challenges of village energy provision for development, and how they can be overcome

Workshops: bringing together the key players: scientists, entrepreneurs, villagers, NGO’s, financers, regulators and policy makers etc:

• What are the barriers?

• How can they be overcome?

• What messages to funders and policy makers?

The Smart Villages Initiative

MCSC/CMEDT

EASAC

National Science Academies

Regional/Global networks of

science academies

Expert organisations:

Practical Action, TERI ++

Smart Villages Initiative: a partnership

MCSC/CMEDT

EASAC

National Science Academies:

Tanzania and Kenya

Regional networks of academies:

NASAC

Expert organisations:

Practical Action, TERI ++

From Sweden:

•ISP

•SSEESS

•KVA

Smart Villages Initiative: a partnership

ARUSHA

Scoping study

• Village-level energy services in Tanzania, Ghana and India

• University of Oxford study team

• Published January 2013: www.e4sv.org

Extensive round of meetings

• Europe: European Commission and Parliament

• UN: UNIDO and UNEP

• Other stakeholders

Forward look workshop

• Cambridge, January 2014

• Possible game changing scientific/technical developments over next 10-20 years

Smart villages: work to date

June 2014: Tanzania/East

Africa

January 2015: Malaysia/Southea

st Asia

May 2015: India/South Asia

November 2015: Bolivia/South

America

April 2016: Ghana/West

Africa

November 2016: Mexico/Central

America

Going Forward: In-country workshops

Follow up activities:

Dissemination of workshop report

Preparation of briefs and briefing meetings

Training courses and master classes

Entrepreneurial competitions

Final event with key stakeholders

Additional activities

Vision Paper

Booklet of essays

Pocket guide

Website:www.e4sv.org

Final Workshops: Brussels and Addis Ababa

A key aim: identify framework conditions to:

• foster entrepreneurial activities

• maximise leverage of public sector funding

An underlying premise: maximise social benefit and development impact:

• integrate energy access with other development initiatives

• take a community level approach

An important concern:

• to catalyse progression through the various levels of energy access

The Smart Villages Initiative

Smart cities

Smart villages

Smart cities: need for a village level analogue

47% of world’s population/ 70% of the world’s poor live in rural villages

Education and health services

• ICT connectivity: distance learning and world’s knowledge base

• Modern health services and tele-medicine

Through ICT connectivity, participate in governance processes

• At local, regional and national levels

• Creating smart communities with strong rural and urban linkages

Foster entrepreneurship in provision and use of energy services

• Capture more of the agricultural value chain

• Create new businesses

Building more resilient communities better able to respond to shocks

• Clean water and sanitation

• Affordable and nutritious food

Smart villages: some key features

All enabled by access to energy

City

Village

Shifting the balance of opportunities between cities and villages

Technological advances

Game changing technologies

‘Counter-urbanisation’ in industrialised countries

Lifestyle and family preferences

Urban-level amenities in rural villages

Reduction in information,

communication and transportation barriers

New economic opportunities

What might they look like?

What is an appropriate level of ambition?

How can that ambition be achieved?

Smart villages in East Africa