Live Wire

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/39400

Report Series: Live Wire

This is a Knowledge Note series of the Energy Practice. Those working on the front lines of energy development in emerging economies have a wealth of technical knowledge and case experience to share with their colleagues but seldom have the time to write for publication. Live Wire offers a support system to make sharing knowledge as easy as possible.

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Mini Grids for Underserved Main Grid Customers
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-21) Tenenbaum, Bernard; Greacen, Chris; Shrestha, Ashish
Can mini grids help to solve the problem of poorly served main grid connected communities A mini grid is an electricity generation and distribution network that supplies electricity to a localized group of customers. Mini grids can be isolated from or connected to the main grid. To date, most mini grids in Sub-Saharan Africa have been built in electrically isolated rural villages not connected to the main grid. Based on broad experience working with mini grid programs in more than 20 low- and middle-income countries and five detailed case studies, the authors offer observations and recommendations about mini grids in general and a new type known as “undergrid mini grids” being used in Nigeria and India to serve poorly served communities.
Mobilizing Carbon Finance to Meet the Socioeconomic Costs of Reforming Energy Tariffs and Subsidies in Uzbekistan
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-07) Safarov, Maksudjon; Smith, Jason James
Across the globe countries are looking to cut greenhouse gas emissions to reach carbon neutrality and combat climate change. But doing so can be complicated. Countries are putting a price on carbon emissions (or carbon equivalents for other gases). In a landmark pilot in Uzbekistan, the World Bank is testing a way to reward countries for improving their sustainable energy policies. The program monetizes carbon-cutting efforts and prepares the country to sell carbon credits on the international carbon market.
Adapting Spatial Frameworks to Guide Energy Access Interventions in Urbanizing Africa
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-07) Kersey, Jessica; Koo, Bryan Bonsuk
The extension of electricity into rural areas has been the main focus of efforts to achieve universal access to reliable, affordable, and modern energy by 2030. On the African continent and elsewhere, however, rapid urbanization has produced new patterns of human settlement that blur the distinction between rural and urban. As a case study of Kenya demonstrates, access metrics aggregated at the rural or urban level do not equip governments and their partners to properly identify or target sites for electrification. Spatialized frameworks and data that define space along a rural–urban continuum or as urban catchment areas can improve policy makers’ understanding of the specific barriers to access that communities face.
Net Zero Energy by 2060: Charting the Path of Europe and Central Asia toward a Secure and Sustainable Energy Future
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-07) Doczi, Szilvia
In the long term, both energy security and decarbonization in the region will depend on substantial increases in national climate ambitions. Achieving those increases will depend, in turn, on equally substantial increases in investment in low-carbon technologies, accompanied by timely policies and regulatory measures. The World Bank has developed a whole-energy-system model, data driven, technology rich, and bottom-up, to project optimal least-cost pathways for Europe and Central Asia to achieve a net zero energy target by 2060. This Live Wire is based on a report published in March 2024 (World Bank and ESMAP 2024).
Using Biomass or Green Ammonia to Replace Coal in Existing Thermal Power Plants: Feasibility and Challenges
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-06) Tavoulareas, Stratos
Finding fuel sources to replace coal in power plants is crucial in the march toward decarbonization. Biomass and ammonia are two options offering significant potential. Both can be used with coal or alone in newly constructed facilities or in modified power plants. Relatively new power plants are good candidates for modification. While work is underway demonstrating the feasibility of each material, there are logistical challenges to address, particularly in the case of ammonia.
Powering through the Storm: Climate Resilience for Energy Systems
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-09) Ramstein, Celine Sarah Marie; Schweikert, Amy; Ramstein, Celine; Nicolas, Claire
Climate change and its impacts on power systems often mean more frequent power outages and repairs, which raise maintenance costs and pose other challenges. Yet proactive modifications in project design, maintenance, and operation can enhance system resilience at lower costs than reactive adaptation. This Live Wire considers the implications of climate resilience in the power sector and highlights ongoing World Bank work and best practice, with a focus on Africa.
Opportunities for Direct Uses of Geothermal Energy in Türkiye
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022) World Bank
Türkiye has substantial geothermal potential, and the country’s government is committed to exploiting it, both for economic reasons and to meet its obligations as a signatory of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Türkiye has more than 400 known geothermal fields in 63 different provinces. The country’s total estimated geothermal potential is more than 60,000 megawatts thermal. Developing that potential could create more than 120,000 direct jobs, with ample opportunities for women’s participation. The Turkish government has set an ambitious goal of 11,150 MWt in direct uses of geothermal energy by 2025. Meeting that goal will require raising awareness, building capacity, ensuring a favorable regulatory environment, and increasing access to funding for both public and private entities.
Agrodem: An Open-Source Model that Quantifies the Electricity Requirements of Irrigation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) Korkovelos, Alexandros; Koo, Bryan Bonsuk; Malik, Kabir
Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) aims to ensure access to modern energy for all by 2030. Reaching the goal depends on ramping up electrification efforts. Most of the geospatial models developed to date to identify priority areas for energy access efforts focus on the electrification of households, giving short shrift to industrial and agricultural activities. But loads from those activities can be substantial. When combined with residential loads, they can affect the least-cost technology
Access to Clean Cooking and Electricity: Righting the Policy Balance in Sub-Saharan Africa and Fragile Settings
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) Bellur, Sharmila; Mathew, Paul; Besnard, Juliette
This Live Wire analyzes data from the 2020 edition of Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) and presents the trends in policy on access to clean cooking and electricity, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and the countries within the region affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. The issue explores the imbalance in policy effort on the two forms of access.
Learning from Large-Scale Solar Home System Electrification in Bangladesh
(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank
The Bangladesh Solar Home Systems (SHS) Program contributed significantly to achieving near-universal access to electricity by installing over 4 million SHSs from 2003 to 2018, serving 16 percent of rural households by 2016. The government mobilized USD 683 million in loans and grants from international development partners for roll-out financing, which leveraged an additional USD 412 million from domestic sources. The Program provided significant benefits to all participants, especially rural households. These experiences are relevant to Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 600 million people lack electricity access and 40 percent of electricity connections will need to be off-grid to achieve universal access by 2030