Clean Energy Access

Catalyzing the uptake of high quality, life-transforming, energy efficient appliances for the world’s poorest people

CLASP focuses on interventions in these impact areas:

Economic Empowerment

Solar appliances can deliver life-changing services that reduce time spent on household chores, open up opportunities to generate income, and catalyze enterprise and employment in off-and weak-grid communities.

60% of off-grid solar customers undertake more economic activity within just three months of purchasing a solar home system.

Agriculture

Recent improvements in technology efficiency and performance have brought solar-powered agricultural technology within reach for hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers. Reliable access to energy and equipment could play a critical role in advancing global food security.

Farmers with fewer than five acres can increase their yield by 30% with just one piece of modern processing equipment.

Women & Gender

Women shoulder a disproportionate share of the energy poverty burden. Greater access to energy efficient off-grid appliances and modern energy services can improve a woman’s health, well-being, social, and economic status.

Studies show that women reinvest 90% of their income in their families and communities, while men reinvest only 30 to 40%.

Health

Without modern energy services, healthcare professionals cannot utilize basic diagnostic tools, maintain adequate inventories of medicines, or readily access information for patient care. Efficient, high-performing medical technologies enhance off-grid health service provision.

33% of health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa have unreliable access to electricity.

CLASP supports progress on Sustainable Development Goal 7 - affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

CLASP helps build healthy markets for off-grid solar products by driving innovation and sales in early-stage product markets, surfacing data and research on product performance, market trends, and consumer preferences, establishing technical foundations for consumer protection, and aligning sector stakeholders across the value-chain.

CLASP’s energy access programs include the Efficiency for Access Coalition, the Global LEAP Awards, and VeraSol Quality Assurance, among other initiatives.