Inclusive Business Approaches to Clean Energy

8 June 2011

Access to sustainable, low-cost energy is inextricably linked to poverty reduction. To drive growth and to address environmental concerns, companies are creating inclusive business models that focus on decentralized energy systems, such as hand-held solar lights, small-scale solar panels and biofuel energy. Through these emerging technologies, off-grid, low-income households in rural areas can access affordable clean energy, and increase opportunities for income.

During the joint Business Call to Action, Business Innovation Facility and Business Fights Poverty webinar event on June 2, Panjak Patel, President and Member on the Board of Abellon CleanEnergy Limited, and Sarah Alexander, Head of Innovations at SELCO, discussed inclusive sustainable energy business models that are overcoming challenges to roll out viable business solutions to rural energy supply.

Panjak Patel presented how Abellon CleanEnergy produces bio-power from a wide variety of organic leftover such as farm and forest residue, city waste, and other biomass from the sea and seaweed. This broad spectrum of raw material to source from shows bioenergy's potential. Patel further highlighted the potential in Africa, mentioning that where there is power, industry will set up. Ghana is paying some of the highest energy tariffs among African nations, and they are importing electricity from neighbouring countries. Although they now have gas and hydro in place, the energy we are able to generate through biomass will even help them export the energy they have in surplus. In Ghana, Abellon is engaged in business activities including bio-power generation, afforestation and energy crop plantations, and bio pellet plants.

Patel ended his presentation touching upon challenges the company is facing relating to policy and regulatory framework, and infrastructure. Watch Panjak Patel's presentation.

Sarah Alexander heads up the innovations unit at SELCO, a social enterprise that was established in 1995 to provide reliable energy services for the poor in India offering solar lighting. Today, SELCO's portfolio of services has grown to also include clean cooking. With its innovative 'door step service' approach and 'door step financing' approach, SELCO seeks to look at the product not just from a technology standpoint but from the ecosystem around a product; looking at the servicing around providing a solution to the end user. Alexander highlighted that through a bottom up approach, SELCO chooses a technology depending on people's actual needs and what they can sustainably afford. SELCO then works with local financial institutions that can provide a loan package that is suitable for the end user and link it to that individual's cash flow. The company is further innovating solutions through its SELCO Labs, a think tank for energy services around the world.

Alexander ended her presentation mentioning SELCO's challenges including the 'disconnect between policy makers and practitioners' in creating an enabling environment; 'human resource constraints' and 'consumer financing', all of which the the company is actively trying to address. Watch Sarah Alexander's presentation.

For more information, see also:
Abellon CleanEnergy BCtA Initiative
UNDP SELCO case study