Improving inclusivity is crucial to achieving a just energy transition and maximising energy access gains, especially for vulnerable groups like women, people with disabilities and low-income households. CLASP through Efficiency for Access published a first-of-its-kind report which includes a meta-analysis of 19 household surveys spanning 5,483 solar lighting and appliance customers in eight countries and self-reported company data for nine solar product manufacturers and distributors. It is a first step towards establishing a baseline to understand how well the sector is performing across different dimensions of equity and inclusion, including:

• An understanding of the ‘typical solar product user’
• An assessment of how well the sector is reaching women, people living in poverty, and people with disabilities
• Analysis of gender gaps in hiring and compensation among private sector companies and the diversity of product expertise and offering

The report concludes with recommendations for donors, market development programs, investors, and private sector companies on improving data collection efforts and better integrating diversity, equity and inclusion principles into their work.

Download the Appliances for All: Assessing the Inclusivity of the Solar Lighting and Appliances Sector report.

About Efficiency for Access

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.

Expanding access to affordable, high-performing cooling solutions through off-grid refrigerators can strengthen food and healthcare systems, while also improving living standards and building resilience to climate change in vulnerable communities.

A recent longitudinal study by 60 Decibels and Efficiency for Access shows that off-grid refrigerators are creating financial benefits for users year on year, with 79% of respondents reporting that they use their off-grid refrigerators for income-generating activities.

This multi-year study was commissioned by Efficiency for Access as part of the Global LEAP Results-based Financing Facility. 60 Decibels interviewed 603 off-grid refrigerator customers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between 2018 and 2022 to gain insights into consumers’ experience with off-grid refrigerators. Nearly half of respondents (48%) reported that their income grew from using off-grid refrigerators, while 24% reported growth in their businesses.

The findings in this report will fill user-experience knowledge gaps and guide manufacturers in improving product design and financing for off-grid solar products.

Download the Uses and Impacts of Off-Grid Refrigerators report for more information.

About Efficiency for Access

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.

In a lead-up to announcing this year’s Global LEAP Off-Grid Cold Chain Challenge (OGCCC) finalists, a team from Efficiency for Access visited two Kenya-based field testing participants. The first visit was to a family-owned agribusiness situated in Thika, a bustling agricultural and industrial town about an hour’s drive from Nairobi. The team was eager to have a first-hand view of the Solar Cooling Engineering cold room in use and learn more about the owner’s experience.

On arrival in Thika town, we drove about 20 minutes into a lush residential estate where Kamau Mbarire and his wife, Jane, warmly welcomed us. The middle-aged couple jointly runs a profitable and growing herbs-for-export business, Jungle Harvest Limited, with Jane more actively involved in the day-to-day operations.

As the team explored the 0.75 acres of land under cultivation, Jane told us of her family’s nearly two-decade-long journey of establishing their now-thriving business. Since occupying the property, Jane’s family has tried their hand in various ventures, including dairy, pig and poultry farming and producing bananas, avocadoes, vegetables and strawberries. Of the initial pursuits, strawberries had been the most successful. Unfortunately, the success of the strawberries was short-lived — with wild monkeys in the neighbourhood stealing the ripe strawberries before she could gather them for sale. Deterred but not defeated, Jane erected a greenhouse where she would plant the strawberries away from the cheeky thieves. However, this solution did not last as the strawberries were not thriving under the canopy of the greenhouse. She also noted that the quality of the fruit did not match earlier harvests when the strawberries were planted under direct sunlight. This led to her exploring herb growing in 2018, which has proven less susceptible to the interference of the monkeys. The family now grows several herbs, including basil, coriander, dill, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme.

Since settling on their cash crop of choice, the family shifted their sights to how best they could maximise the farm’s income generation. Following a recommendation from their son Francis (a Graduate in AgroEcosystems and Environment Management), Jane and Kamau chose to invest in an on-site cold storage facility in late 2021. They received financing for the Solar Cooling Engineering brand cold room through a loan which they are currently servicing.

Before purchasing the cold room, they had to hire refrigerated trucks to keep their produce fresh for transport. This was not a sustainable approach for them. It involved their workers spending long hours during harvest days to ensure all orders were sorted and packed in time for the scheduled pick up and delivery. It was also costly, with daily truck hires averaging USD $60–77. Now, with the cold room, Jane can store over 1000 kilograms of herbs for up to a week and take more time to sort and pack the product for transport to the airport.

“We have been using it day in, day out. It has really helped us because we are growing herbs that are very sensitive to high temperatures. We can harvest today, tomorrow and the next day, and the herbs remain fresh,” says Jane.

Jane and Kamau are no strangers to solar. They have been using a SunCulture solar water pump to irrigate their crops since 2015. “With solar, we are good to go anytime,” Jane remarked.

Since acquiring the cold room, Jane and Kamau’s herb capacity has grown from about 50–80 kgs to over 300kgs, nearly doubling their income from the farm. With their increased output, they now supply higher value export clients with larger orders instead of local clients who make small orders fetching lower returns. The family also appreciate that the precise temperature control of the cold room enables herb preservation in optimal conditions, meeting the high export quality standards

Not only has the cold room benefited Jane and Kamau’s bottom line, but it has also enabled them to empower their local community. Jane mentioned that, aside from Dan, the farm manager, she prefers to employ young single mothers on the farm. In this way, the young mothers can earn an income to support themselves and their children. Additionally, Jane distributes fresh vegetables to neighbouring households which she purchases in bulk and stores in the cold room, generating some extra income.

Jane and Kamau confirmed that the cold room has been a worthy investment and a means of further expanding their business. With the extra income brought about by the cold room, they are constructing a larger herb propagation shed and plan to lease land from their neighbours, extending their farm by about an acre. With these plans in place, they will grow more herbs, take up larger orders and expand the business.

“At least now with the cold room, we are able to do more propagation and grow as many crops as possible…It was a worth it investment.” – Jane Kamau.

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About the GLOBAL LEAP Off-Grid Cold Chain Challenge (OGCCC)

The Global LEAP Off-Grid Cold Chain Challenge is an international competition that identifies and promotes the most energy-efficient, sustainable and cost-effective technologies designed for use by smallholder farmers and producers to meet cold storage requirements for fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and dairy products.

On November 19, 2021, Efficiency for Access team members went out into the field to witness some of the ongoing activities of our solar water pump consumer awareness-raising campaign in Machakos county, Kenya. During this visit, they met Samuel Ndutu, a farmer from the Mwala sub-county, who relies on solar water pumping to irrigate his farm.

Samuel is a widowed father of two who left formal employment a few years back and now relies on farming to provide for his family’s needs, such as his sons’ education. On his farm, Samuel grows various vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes, cabbages, kales, bananas, pawpaws, eggplants, and more. These crops go through different growth cycles, requiring different levels of care and intervention, as well as need varying amounts of water to produce high and healthy yields. For example, tomatoes and cabbages require frequent watering, which is a scarce resource in the hot and dry Machakos county.

Samuel’s farm is approximately half a kilometre away from the nearest water pan (a pond for storing rainwater), which he and surrounding households rely on as a water source for their livestock and crop farming. After weeks of research on online farming forums, looking for an effective and affordable means of getting the water to his farm, Samuel came across a neighbour who had shared her experience using a solar water pump on her farm. He got in touch with her and learned more about the pump’s performance, its purchase process, and how it had impacted her farming output. Satisfied with this information, Samuel contacted a local pump supplier and purchased a submersible solar water pump kit with a battery. By the time of the field visit, he had been using the pump for six months and was pleased with its performance, not having experienced any breakdowns so far. He was particularly impressed by the pump successfully pumping water uphill across a distance of over 400 meters. Aside from pumping water, he also uses the solar home system the pump came with for lighting and charging small household appliances like mobile phones.

“The pump has met the expectations I had, especially considering the distance and elevation of my farm. I have had no issues so far,” says Samuel. He further appreciated the freed-up time to attend to other tasks while water is pumped into his tank automatically. Before the purchase, he would fetch water himself—a time-consuming task.

Samuel explained that he typically pumps between 7,000- 8,000 litres over eight to nine hours. He switches the pump on in the morning, lets it run till lunchtime, empties the storage tank by watering his crops and then re-fills the tank. Samuel only pumps once a week during humid periods, but when it is drier, he pumps twice weekly. He mentioned an interest in purchasing a second pump, preferably a more powerful model than his current one, since he is keen to expand his farm to increase yields and, therefore, his income.

In addition to the pump performing as advertised, Samuel liked that he was not incurring ongoing costs to get water to his farm. If he had a fuel-powered pump, it would cost him about 5-8 USD per use. Additionally, he appreciated the convenience of the “pay as you go” product-financing model he used as an alternative to having to part with a prohibitive upfront payment.  Samuel is also satisfied with the after-sales support offered by the manufacturer. The company’s engineer installed the pump at no extra cost, and after that, whenever he has had an inquiry, all he has had to do is get in touch with the manufacturer’s support team on the phone for assistance.

Samuel is considered an influencer farmer in the area, and neighbours come to him to learn about farming with a solar water pump. Visiting his farm and seeing how using the solar water pump has boosted his farming productivity was a great reminder that efficient, solar-powered appliances improve and support the livelihoods of off-grid communities and households sustainably.

As CLASP continues to manage the Efficiency for Access consumer awareness campaign through February 2022, we look forward to uncovering more insights from the end-users like Samuel. To learn more about the campaign, follow us on Twitter or email us via info@efficiencyforaccess.org.

Appliances Stimulate Economic Growth

Across sub-Saharan Africa, communities in low-income countries often have limited access to high-performing appliances for income generation. Many communities still rely on traditional and dirty energy sources, like kerosene or diesel, which is expensive and harmful to the environment.  Access to high-performing appliances can support sustainable economic growth, improve human health and the overall well-being of communities.

“Energy-efficient productive use appliances have the potential to positively change the lives of communities, as they offer a wide range of environmental, social, and economic benefits. Starting with this market assessment, we will define targeted interventions aiming to increase the uptake of these appliances across the EAC and SADC regions. Collaboration with key stakeholders and, in particular, the private sector will be crucial,” says Karin Reiss-Haimbala, Project Manager at UNIDO.

CLASP’s Market Analysis Will Guide Policy Decisions  

“Understanding the current market of PUA’s will help us identify interventions that can increase the use of energy-efficient products, in turn increasing communities’ productivity and economic growth”, explains James Wakaba, CLASP’s East Africa director.

Productive use appliances (PUA) are income-generating appliances for domestic and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Appliances such as refrigerators and milling machines, allow small business owners to bring in new customers seeking cold drinks and to mill their cereals. Through this project, UNIDO aims to increase the uptake of these appliances to stimulate economic growth and increase productivity.

CLASP is conducting a market assessment to identify appliances with the most significant potential impact on income generation and improved quality of life for communities across six countries in East and Southern Africa. The analysis will also determine economic benefits, CO₂ emission reductions, and energy consumption reductions for selected high impact appliances to enable supply chain actors and policymakers to make informed decisions on the ease of access.

CLASP is supporting the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and works closely with EACREEE and SACREEE. The market study is part of the Energy Efficient Lighting and Appliances in East and Southern Africa (EELA), funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and implemented by UNIDO.

Solar water pumps can be highly profitable investments in dry or variable climates with abundant solar radiation, for example, in Sub-Saharan Africa. For households in these regions, solar water pumping offers numerous economic and social benefits, including:

• Increasing crop yields
• Providing a more predictable source of disposable income
• Building resilience to droughts
• Supporting farmers to better adapt to the effects of climate change

However, barriers such as inadequate market intelligence hinder the technology’s growth and increased impact despite the above benefits. This productivity model seeks to solve the information gap in sub-Saharan Africa by providing market actors with actionable insights to improve farmers’ productivity, enhance the allocation of PUE appliances and enhance food security at the national and sub-national levels.

Key applications of the data available from remote sensing and crop simulations in the report include:

• Identifying locations where a subsidy for an asset such as a solar water pump would be most effective in raising farm incomes and finding areas most vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters.​
• Improving risk assessments and reduce the cost of credit scoring based on the estimated yield and cash flows​
• Developing customized offerings for farmers, including bundling products with extension services and sustainable irrigation equipment.​
• Impact evaluation on yield improvement and new farming practices such as crop rotation/intercropping.

Download the report here: Using Technology to Build Affordable Business Intelligence for the Solar Water Pump Market

About Efficiency for Access

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.

Solar Increasingly Powers Agriculture in Kenya 

Over the past decade, the off-grid solar industry has grown to meet the energy demands of dispersed communities across Kenya, selling over 4 million solar lanterns and systems since 2016. As communities move up the energy ladder, solar-powered appliances improve the quality of life and offer new business opportunities.

In Kenya, agriculture plays a significant role in the economy, accounting for 40% of the overall workforce and contributing more than half of export earnings. The agriculture industry primarily consists of family-operated farms to meet both subsistence and commercial needs. Maize is a staple and can be eaten in popular maize dishes like Ugali, which is consumed by 78% of the population. However, there is a gap between raw maize production and the refining process to turn it into the commonly consumed flour. Because small-scale Kenyan farmers have limited access to milling machines, they rely on using third parties or mill manually. However, neither option is ideal. Milling through third parties is expensive, while manual milling does not produce a consistent grain texture. With access to smaller, more affordable mills, communities can improve agricultural productivity and the lives of off-grid communities.

Agsol Leads in Innovative Milling Technologies 

Agsol solar-mill

In 2016, Matt Carr and Greg Denn founded Agsol to build on early successes with “solarising” small agro-processing machines.

“Because diesel mills are large expensive machines and have really high operating costs, they are typically only found in larger towns and centres. That means most rural farmers waste huge amounts of time accessing these essential services. Our solar mills are specifically designed to be viable in smaller communities to bring milling services closer to the people that need them. They are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run than a diesel mill and can be operated by a non-trained technician.” explains Carr.

In 2019, Agsol won an Efficiency for Access R&D grant, which helped them develop the most efficient small grain mill known in the market. Our team has stayed in touch with Agsol since the grant. We recently visited their factory in Kikuyu to better understand their range of milling products and how farmers in Kenya use these appliances.

Agsol ’s Mills Offer Flexible Milling Hours 

Agsol has developed a small hammer mill with interchangeable screens to produce fine flour or coarse grits for animal feed. Thanks to a specialized high-speed brushless DC (BLDC) motor, Agsol’s MicroMill is highly energy-efficient at converting power into flour – over 2.5 times more efficient than typical electric mills.

The Agsol MicroMill uses only 0.8kW, allowing for small quantity batch milling. This is not the case for diesel-powered mills, which can only mill in large quantities to conserve fuel. Diesel mill owners often make customers wait until there is sufficient volume to warrant starting up the diesel mill.

The need to conserve energy and mill in large quantities has led to millers setting specific milling times of the day, ensuring a large turnout of customers and large loads of cereal to be milled. In turn, solar mills offer flexible milling times as they consume less energy and can mill smaller batches.

“Customers told us the previous version of the MicroMill was too slow, and it needed to be twice as fast. That was our goal for the current version. But by developing our own custom BLDC motor, we’ve actually tripled the production speed, increased efficiency by another 30%, and reduced the costs by 45%. The MicroMill can process over 300 kg/day of flour, and we’re excited this product has real potential to outcompete diesel mills in most off-grid settings.” Carr explained.

Solar Mills Offer Opportunity to Power Other Appliances

Consumers have the option of purchasing the Agsol mills with a power offtake module that can supply 12V and 5V DC to power devices like phones, clippers, fans, TVs, etc. The mill comes with an LFP lithium-ion battery to store excess power during periods of high irradiation, providing energy during periods of reduced sun exposure.

Are Solar Mills the Future of Small-Scale Farming?

Electric-powered mills are the most cost-effective milling option for domestic and small-scale commercial use, especially in rural areas. With no running and negligible maintenance costs, mills pay for themselves in less than two years, while diesel mills use up to 35% of the generated revenue in maintenance and fuel costs. They are environmentally friendly and adequately sized to allow more distributed placement, reducing the time and labour burden associated with accessing milling services.

“Our mills have the potential to create a more decentralized and accessible network of essential services, saving rural women time otherwise spent walking long distances to and from diesel mills. They can be used as a source of [clean] energy as well as support new income-generating activities in small communities.” 

We are excited to announce that CLASP, on behalf of Efficiency for Access, has published a series of 2021 Solar Appliance Technology Briefs for off- and weak-grid appropriate technologies.  The briefs synthesize the latest market intelligence and chart the pathway to commercialization for 11 disruptive technologies that are expected to catalyze energy access and sustainable development.

The first iteration of the LEIA Technology Summaries was published in 2017 to help the newly established Efficiency for Access Coalition navigate a nascent market. At the time there was limited data available on market trends and performance of appliances suitable for resource-constrained settings. Since then, CLASP, with the help of its partners, has assembled a wealth of information on a number of these technologies across market, consumer and impact research, and the Efficiency for Access Coalition members have invested nearly £130 million in the high-performing appliances space.

For a quick primer with most salient details from the briefs, see this collection of two-page snapshots.

At the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020, 75 parties outlined new commitments to address the burgeoning climate crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, a recent analysis by the United Nations reveals that these commitments may be inadequate to limit global temperature rise by the end of the century. In fact, total emissions interventions in the new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) would only result in around a 1% change in 2030 compared to 2010 against the needed 45%.

As we approach the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26), currently set for November, clarity on how countries will link their NDCs to longer-term carbon neutrality is critical. The priorities for COP26—spanning the energy transition, adaptation and resilience, zero-carbon transport, justice and equity so vulnerable groups won’t get left behind or further harmed, and the protection of ecosystems—can only be achieved with nexus solutions – those that take systemic, cross-sectoral approaches that examine the relationships between resources.

A systemic approach to the climate crisis is not a new concept, and yet it is still challenging to implement. In effect, this approach prevents multiple sectors and stakeholders from operating in silos, allowing each to benefit from the same, coordinated action. Take, for example, the “nexus” concept, which examines the interdependencies between water, energy, and food. First introduced in the 1980s and popularized through a 2011 conference, the nexus approach builds on the interrelation of socio-economic and environmental issues to best respond to the needs of an increasing global population. Indeed, addressing the climate crisis mandates a similar harmonization between the needs of people and the planet.

With these synergies in mind, the international community agreed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. The SDGs provide a shared global framework whereby the alleviation of any single global issue is connected to several others. Energy efficiency, for example, contributes to SDG 7 (Providing Access to Sustainable and Affordable Energy for All), while eradicating poverty (SDG1) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (SDG13).

CLASP has increasingly explored integrated approaches to target the climate crisis, increase equity and advance resilience.  For example, we recently explored the opportunity to develop water efficiency policies for taps and showerheads in the top carbon-emitting economies in the appliances sector. Efficiency policies for hot water products could achieve reductions in water use (SDG 6), CO₂ emissions (SDG 7 and 13), and improve water access (SDG 6 and 1) and overall sustainability (SDG 11).

CLASP also administers the Global LEAP Awards, whose Solar E-waste Challenge supports immediate investments in e-waste management (SDG7 and 12) as the off-grid solar sector continues to grow. Similarly, the Electric Pressure Cookers Competition identified 13 best-in-class, affordable, energy-efficient EPCs that are appropriate for use in underserved markets. The competition provides a pathway to safe and cost-effective cooking, while addressing the adverse impacts of biomass cookstoves on women and girls—preventing their exposure to household air pollution (SDG3) and safety and sustainability concerns related to collecting biomass (SDG5 and 15).

One key challenge of a nexus approach is aligning priorities and coordination across sectors, while still keeping pace with the urgency of the issue. For example, energy and water regulatory bodies often work separately of one another, resulting in fragmentation at various levels of governance. This involves poor horizontal coordination between water and energy agencies, as well as lacking vertical integration within the same sector i.e., among the stakeholders at the regional, national, provincial and local levels, as well as with non-state actors. Yet our Global Scoping Study showed that, because water is a key and scarce resource, most countries have an overarching framework which prioritizes water conservation and sustainability. Similarly, these countries are likely to prioritize energy conservation as well, creating an advantageous opportunity for coordinated efforts on policies that address products that use both. In the European Union, energy labels for washing machines and dishwashers inform consumers on both energy efficiency and water consumption – intending to drive the market toward the most efficient technologies. Coordinated policy efforts across these two sectors ensure that water and energy conservation are considered together, maximizing cost benefits for governments and people, while protecting the climate.

To achieve climate goals and more sustainable development, unique sectors must define concrete pathways that take a systemic and coherent approach. This can be achieved through collaboration among government agencies, their NGO partners, and with shared goal setting, as well as by exploring synergies at regional and global levels. Relatedly, philanthropic funds should evolve to acknowledge these intersectional foci and stimulate ambitious, cross-sectoral initiatives. CLASP is taking the remit seriously.

The Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guide is a catalog of the world’s best-in-class appliances for off- and weak-grid environments. The 2020 Global LEAP Awards Electric Pressure Cookers competition was implemented by CLASP in partnership with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) program, and funded by UK aid. This edition contains information about electric pressure cookers named Winners and Finalists based on laboratory testing in the 2020 Global LEAP Awards Electric Pressure Cooker Competition.

The Buyer’s Guide serves as a procurement tool for distributed energy service companies and appliance distributors, and provides general market intelligence to other interested stakeholders. It includes rated product specifications, performance metrics based on laboratory testing, and sales contact information. The Global LEAP Awards identifies one Winner within each size category as the best overall product, with other high-quality products within the same category identified as Finalists. Overall, the Global LEAP Awards lists thirteen electric pressure cookers in the 2020 Buyer’s Guide designed for use in households and micro-enterprises served by off-grid energy systems, unreliable grid connections, and renewable mini-grids.

Download the 2020 Buyer’s Guide for Electric Pressure Cookers