Community Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Transitions in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique (CESET)

A collaborative multi-institutional research partnership funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund, CESET explores the potential of community energy systems to accelerate inclusive, just, and clean energy transitions in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Map showing extreme precarity of energy access in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique

News

Supply chain challenges and off-grid energy development

2nd June, 2026

Harshit Vallecha, Joshua Kirshner, Lorraine Howe, Mulualem Gebreslassie and Long Seng To have published a new open access artilce in Environmental Research: Energy. In "Supply chain challenges and off-grid energy development: insights from Southern and East Africa" the authors argue that the off-grid energy sector, comprising small scale decentralised renewable energy systems, plays a growing role in electrifying underserved communities in many parts of Africa.

New collection of CESET poems published

14th January, 2026

CESET researcher Dr Hita Unnikrshnan has published a poem entitled "The Powers That Be..." in a new open access book - Intersectional Climate Justice in Eastern Africa - published by Bloomsbury.

MPs: UK must protect aid for community-led energy access

10th December, 2025

In December 2024, Vanesa Castán Broto submitted evidence to a call from the International Development Committee in Parliament based on research and findings from the ESRC GCRF/UKRI-funded project CESET (Community Energy and Sustainable Energy Transitions in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique).

Access the report publication: Empowering Development: Energy Access for Communities