Stanford University

The illusion of "excess capacity" in Kenya

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In a new policy memo from Energy for Growth Hub, PESD associate director Mark Thurber and co-author Murefu Barasa explain why, in an emerging market with lots of wind and solar like Kenya, achieving "excess capacity" means less than it appears.

Energy for Growth Hub Memo

The Illusion of “Excess Capacity” in Kenya
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Which type of gas-fired generator should lower-income countries choose?

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Mark C. Thurber
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Writing for Energy for Growth Hub, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Associate Director Mark Thurber and Latimer Energy Managing Director Olu Verheijen explain how open-cycle gas turbines could end up being the most affordable option for lower-income countries -- and the choice most compatible with a high-renewables future.

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Wind and solar in Africa need grids to match

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Falling costs of wind and solar have encouraged development agencies and multilateral lenders to restrict financing for new fossil fuel developments. But African countries face significant obstacles to the grid integration of high shares of intermittent renewable energy. Donors that are genuinely interested in renewable development in Africa should invest in grid operator capability and transmission interconnection while remaining supportive of a range of technologies for dispatchable backup.

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Electricity Journal
Authors
Mark C. Thurber
Murefu Barasa
Rose M. Mutiso
Beryl Ajwang
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Thurber co-authors paper on why wind and solar in Africa need better grids

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Mark C. Thurber
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PESD Associate Director Mark Thurber co-authored a new paper in The Electricity Journal on the electricity grid improvements that are needed to unlock the full potential of wind and solar energy in Africa. Donors and development agencies need to devote more attention to these missing pieces, rather than assuming that bans on fossil fuel financing alone will spur the desired transition to cleaner energy. 

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12 reasons why gas should be part of Africa's clean energy future

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Given the urgency of climate change, it might seem sensible for aid agencies and multilateral donors to stop funding fossil fuel projects -- any fossil fuel projects -- in developing countries. But Program on Energy and Sustainable Development Associate Director Mark Thurber (writing with Energy for Growth Hub's Todd Moss) explains why shutting the tap on gas in Africa is bad development policy and bad climate policy.  Read more

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Electricity Market Design and Renewables Integration in Developing Countries

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This paper identifies the key features of successful electricity market designs that are particularly relevant to the experience of low-income countries. Important features include: (1) the match between the short-term market used to dispatch generation units and the physical operation of the electricity network, (2) effective regulatory and market mechanisms to ensure long-term generation resource adequacy, (3) appropriate mechanisms to mitigate local market power, and (4) mechanisms to allow the active involvement of final demand in a short-term market. The paper provides a recommended baseline market design that reflects the experience of the past 25 years
with electricity restructuring processes. It then suggests a simplified version of this market design ideally suited to the proposed East and Western Sub-Sahara Africa regional wholesale market that is likely to realise a substantial amount of the economic benefits from forming a regional market with minimal implementation cost and regulatory burden. Recommendations are also provided for modifying the Southern African Power Pool to increase the economic benefits realised from its formation. How this market design supports the cost-effective integration of renewables is discussed and future enhancements are proposed that support the integration of a greater share
of intermittent renewables. The paper closes with proposed directions for future research in the area of electricity market design in developing countries.

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Working Papers
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Energy and Economic Growth
Authors
Goran Strbac
Frank Wolak
Frank Wolak
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Reports of the Demise of Carbon Pricing are Greatly Exaggerated

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Politicians in a number of jurisdictions with cap-and-trade markets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or carbon taxes have argued that the evidence is in and the conclusion is clear: Carbon pricing doesn’t work. A number of journalists and environmental groups have jumped on the bandwagon, amplifying a misguided message.

A better understanding of how markets and price mechanisms work might change their minds — and the conversation — on the benefits of carbon pricing.

 

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Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
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Frank Wolak
Frank Wolak
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Rural energy access through solar home systems: Use patterns and opportunities for improvement

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Solar photovoltaic (PV) products are touted as a leading solution to long-term electrification and development problems in rural parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet there is little available data on the interactions between solar products and other household energy sources (which solar PVs are often assumed to simply displace) or the extent to which actual use patterns match up with the uses presumed by manufacturers and development agencies. This paper probes those questions through a survey that tracked approximately 500 early adopters of solar home systems in two off-grid markets in Africa. We find that these products were associated with large reductions in the use of kerosene and the charging of mobile phones outside the home. To a lesser extent, the use of small disposable batteries also decreased. However, solar home systems were, for the most part, not used to power radios, TVs, or flashlights. We also did not observe adopter households using these solar products to support income-generating activities.

 

 

 

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Energy for Sustainable Development, Volume 37
Authors
Ognen Stojanovski
Ognen Stojanovski
Mark C. Thurber
Mark C. Thurber
Frank Wolak
Frank Wolak
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Solar lighting and charging research receives FSI funding

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PESD's new research on "Solar Lighting and Phone Charging in East Africa: Understanding Adoption, Business Model, and Development Outcomes" was awarded funding from the Freeman Spogli Institute's Global Underdevelopment Action Fund.

1.5 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity, severely impeding economic development and income generating activities.  The electricity access problem is most severe in sub-Saharan Africa, where it affects 700 million inhabitants. 

Rapid adoption of mobile phones has created even stronger incentives for low-income households to obtain the electricity needed to charge phones.  The emergence of businesses providing solar lighting and charging solutions could help satisfy that need. 

PESD’s research will study the factors that drive adoption of these solar lighting and charging technologies, the business models that are successful in delivering them on a commercial basis, and the development outcomes that derive from their use.

 

FSI’s venture fund was launched in the Summer of 2010 to help fund new research projects addressing global underdevelopment and poverty alleviation.  To date, the Action fund has contributed a total of $701,000 to these projects.

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