News

Mapping Community Energy Systems in Malawi

16th January, 2023

Our CESET partners at Addis Abba University in Ethiopia have been busy creating an interactive map that provides information on Malawi's community energy systems (CES) as of 2023. A total of 20 community energy systems based on hydro, solar, wind, and a hybrid of solar and wind have been identified.

Decentralised and off-grid energy solutions in Mozambique

9th January, 2023

In December 2022 CESET Co-Investigator Dr Joshua Kirshner of York University was interviewed by a journalist for the last feature article of 2022 for Zitamar news on his thoughts on decentralised and off-grid energy in Mozambique.

CESET presented at the “Off-grid energy regulatory framework: a regional perspective”

2nd January, 2023

In November 2022, the CESET team travelled to Maputo, Mozambique to hold its annual team meeting and visit the proposed site for the co-produced community energy laboratory as part of work package 4. During the visit, the CESET team were invited to attend and present at the first Regional Conference on the Regulatory Framework for Access to Off-grid Energycon the 22^nd and 23^rd November. The conference was organised by The Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE) and the Dutch Development Organization (SNV) through the BRILHO program.

New CESET open access journal article published

16th December, 2022

Some of the CESET team in collaboration with their colleagues, led by our Ethiopian CESET project Co-Investigator Mulualem G. Gebreslassie, have published an article on “The need to localize energy technologies for Africa's post COVID-19 recovery and growth” in Scientific African.

CESET presents a new short film on community energy in Malawi

14th November, 2022

Last week was the premiere of the new CESET short film “community energy in Malawi: on the ground experiences” as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science at The University of Sheffield. The film was directed by filmmaker Sean Lovell.

Accelerating the energy transition in Malawi

7th November, 2022

Our CESET colleague Christopher Hara has produced a new article on "Accelerating an Energy Transition from Biomass to E-Cooking and Other Clean Energy Options Through Community Energy Off-Grid Systems in Malawi".

Fieldwork visits to four off-grid energy projects in Malawi

4th November, 2022

Josh Kirshner (University of York) and Chris Hara (Mzuzu University) made site visits to several community energy projects in central and southern Malawi in late September 2022, speaking with project directors, managers and local residents.

Community Energy in Malawi: On the ground experiences

31st October, 2022

Delivering sustainable energy is a familiar call to action here in the UK, but what might that look like for communities in the Global South? This film shares the experiences of those working on the ground to bring community energy to Malawi.

Socio-ecological systems, and histories of water infrastructure in Bengaluru

21st October, 2022

On 4th of October CESET researcher Dr. Hita Unnikrishnan was invited to deliver a seminar at the Department of Environment and Geography in the University of York.

CESET support for Chipopoma mini hydro plant

15th October, 2022

Last month the CESET team returned to Malawi to re-visit the Chipopoma mini hydro plant to see how they could provide additional technical support to increase its sustainability. Chipopoma mini hydro plant is a community-based mini-hydro developed with the personal initiation of John Sailence. The hydro plant is intended to supply electricity to the Manchewe community in Khondowe, Livingstonia, 128 Km from Mzuzu and 482 KM from Lilongwe. The mini-hydro plant operates by a 53kVA generator coupled with a locally made twin nozzle pelton hydraulic turbine.

Sitolo Solar PV Minigrid, Malawi

6th October, 2022

During our visit to Malawi in April 2022, the CESET team heard presentations from community energy projects - one of which was deleivered by Edgar Bayani of the community energy Malawi (Sitolo Solar PV Minigrid). This was an 80KWh minigrid funded by the Scottish Government in the Malawian village of Sitolo Village in Mchinji District.

New paper on institutionalisation of urban climate adaptation

9th September, 2022

CESET PI Professor Vanesa Castán Broto and her colleague Marta Olazabal have published a new paper in Buildings and Cities that explores what tools enable the institutionalisation of adaptation practices in local governments?

New film of Chipopoma Hydro Plant

3rd September, 2022

In 2022 the CESET team had its first face to face meeting in Malawi hosted by Mzuzu University. The CESET team took a field trip to Chipopoma Hydro Mini-grid project - a 53 kW mini-grid developed by John Sailence and funded by the UNDP at the Manchewe Falls for the Livingstonia community in Northern Malawi. The grid currently supplies electricity to 85 houses, a school and a milling station, but they planned to expand once they received more funding.

Research Associate for Community Energy Systems - 12month full-time

13th August, 2022

The post holder will work in close collaboration with the CESET and MECS Co-Investigator, Dr Long Seng To, focusing on the landscape of CES in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique and collaborating with other MECS researchers to build on new opportunities and knowledge emerging from community energy and sustainable energy transitions.

Watch the Malawi CES presentations on YouTube

12th July, 2022

Earlier this year the CESET team travelled to Malawi for its annual CESET meeting hosted by Mzuzu University. Part of this meeting was an opportunity for CESET members to meet delegates from community energy projects and we had a selection of presentations from representatives about their experiences in setting up and operationalizing mini grids in their communities.

CESET participation in the DSA conference

11th July, 2022

On 6th of July CESET PI Professor Vanesa Castán Broto, researcher Dr Hita Unnikrishnan, Co-Investigaor Getachew Bekele and Dr Lorraine Dongo of the Urban Institute particpated in the Development Studies Association Online Conference hosted by the University College London.

2022 World Cities Report launched by UN-Habitat at the World Urban Forum

8th July, 2022

Our CESET PI and Vanesa Castán Broto, CESET researcher Hita Unnikrishnan and their colleagues at the Urban Institute have collaborated to produce Chapter 5 on Securing a Greener Urban Futures and also contributed to Chapter 6 on planning.

Josh Kirshner presents at BISA conference 2022

24th June, 2022

CESET Co-I Josh Kirshner presented in a panel on ‘Energy colonialism: Roots, racialization, recurrent patterns,’ hosted by the Colonial-Postcolonial-Decolonial Working Group at the British International Studies Association (BISA) conference 2022 - held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, June 15-17th. Professor Franziska Müller and Johanna Tunn (both at the University of Hamburg, Germany) were panel chair and organizer.

Launch of new digital magazine Feminism and the City?

16th June, 2022

CESET Principal Investigator Professor Vanesa Castán Broto has recently contributed to the new digital magazine Feminism and the City?

New CESET open access journal article published!

14th June, 2022

The CESET team, led by our Ethiopian Co-Investigator Mulualem G. Gebreslassie have published an article on “Delivering an of-grid transition to sustainable energy in Ethiopia and Mozambique” in Energy, Sustainability and Society.