Blog

To protect the systems they manage, utilities and grid operators first need to know which hazards could harm them.

• 01/11/2024
• Dean Gluckman, Rodrigo Chaparro

The cost-effective, sustainable, and reliable water service from solar powered pumps paves the way for increased investment in solar solutions by banks and water companies.

• 12/04/2023
• Modou Fall, Salimata Massaly, Johanna Toure

Le service d'eau rentable, durable et fiable assuré par des pompes solaires ouvre la voie à des investissements accrus dans les solutions solaires de la part des banques et des compagnies des eaux.

• 12/04/2023
• Modou Fall, Salimata Massaly, Johanna Toure

Here are four ways USAID supports African leaders across the continent to advance their ambitious climate goals and move toward a cleaner, safer, more equitable Africa.

• 09/12/2023
• USAID

In Uganda, USAID, and Berkeley Lab partnered with Clean Energy Enthusiasts to help women entrepreneurs upgrade to more efficient and productive electric equipment. After conducting a survey of small business owners on the challenges of accessing and financing efficient electric equipment, the team trained 240 women small business owners in eight districts across Uganda.

• 04/06/2023
• Christine Chumbler

This documentary from USAID's Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests in Malawi explains the factors that exacerbate illegal charcoal production, transportation, and sale in urban areas of charcoal demand.

• 12/08/2022
• USAID Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests

Kandodo markets biogas solutions from his start-up EcoGen, and now he sees farmers in a different light: a source of large amounts of organic waste and a target for fertilizer.

• 12/06/2022
• USAID Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests

As energy demand increases in Ghana, its government is seeking to diversify the country's energy mix and find innovative ways to integrate variable renewable energy (VRE) into its national grid. USAID and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are promoting the development of new hydro-solar resources.

• 09/27/2022
• Emily Klos

The potential for solar-powered irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa is high, as demonstrated by research conducted by ILSSI partner, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 

• 08/16/2022
• Agrilinks, Nicole Lefore

Kenya sits on the equator, with an average of 12 hours of sunlight every day. And, despite many recent improvements, it has had historically low rates of per capita access to grid electricity.

• 04/20/2022
• Professor Izael Pereira Da Silva, PhD

Across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), approximately 60% of healthcare facilities are without electricity access. Without such access, healthcare providers face difficult and all-too-often dangerous challenges.

• 09/28/2021
• Amer Barghouth, Alice Brower, Justin Larson, Gordon Shaw

Electrifying health facilities can be accomplished through one of two approaches: connecting to a utility grid or on-site generation. The combination of these two technologies is much cleaner than using diesel generators, the preferred mode of rural clinics for providing off-grid power, and over time is less expensive. Renewable energy solutions such as solar also reduce future greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

• 09/23/2021
• Jacob Brunell, Julia Fonteles, Will Putzier, Nicolette Salazar

Despite the government’s deliberate initiatives to reach more people, Tanzania lags behind in its grid electricity connection targets. Only 24.5% of rural households in Tanzania have access to electricity. To help realize a future where all people enjoy the benefits of modern energy, Pact develops solutions and implements projects to expand access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy and the means to use energy productively.

• 09/16/2021
• Marianna Balampama, Valentina Socias

There is growing momentum in the international community to ramp up climate finance for mitigation and adaptation actions. Undoubtedly, a focus on climate change adaptation in the developing world must be a priority for the financing.

• 09/08/2021
• Mohamed Bakarr

The United States and the world face a profound climate crisis. Climate change is not just a looming existential threat, it is currently threatening development progress and exacerbating global inequities; increasing humanitarian needs, food and water insecurity, and displacement; and contributing to conflict.

• 05/04/2021
• USAID