Academic publications

Vallecha, H; Kirshner, J; Howe, L; Gebreslassie, M and To, S (2026) "Supply chain challenges and off-grid energy development: insights from Southern and East Africa" in Environmental Research: Energy, Volume 3, Number 2 DOI 10.1088/2753-3751/ae659a

This article examines the critical supply chain issues through accounts of practical challenges encountered by off-grid energy developers and service providers in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique. 

This open access book engages with the difficulties of delivering community energy in practice, building on practical experiences in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique. In these countries, where many people lack access to electricity, community energy is an alternative to advance universal energy access. This book argues that, besides providing access, community energy is essential for achieving justice and resilience in sustainable energy transitions.

Castán Broto, V and Robin, E (2023). ‘Embracing change in infrastructure landscapes’ in Landscape Research. Volume 48, Issue 2, pp165-173. 

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2023.2167963

Vanesa Castán Broto and Enora Robin have just published a new special issue on change in infrastructure landscapesin the Journal of Landscape Research. This special issue examines how ideas of change and permanence have been explored in infrastructure studies. It focuses, especially, on the alternatives generated from a landscape perspective. 

Vallecha, H; Gebreslassie, M; Filli, F; Hara, C; Gogoda, C; Assefa, A; To, LS; Kirshner, J and Castán Broto, V (2025). In Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability,Vol 1, No.5 .

This paper defines the notion of realising resilient community energy systems (R-CESs) through community capital to withstand unforeseen natural hazards, climate change induced risks and socio-political disruptions. It evaluates the interrelationship between different stages of CES project implementation with the development of the community's resilience in the form of social, human, economic, physical and natural capital. 

Bahta, S and Gebreslassie, M (2023). 'The Role of Off-Grid Energy Systems for Sustainable Energy Transition in Ethiopia' in Journal of Harbin Engineering University. Volume 44, Number 12. ISSN: 1006-7043

To better understand how off-grid  energy  systems  can  support  Ethiopia's  energy  transition,  this  paper  analyzes  the  country's  current  energy situation,  highlights  the  role  of  off-grid  solutions,  and  suggests  strategies  to  increase  their  adoption  and  spread.  

Gebreslassie, M and Bahta, S (2023) 'Ethiopia needs peace to accelerate its SDG 7 achievements'. World Development Perspective. Volume 30. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100507 

The paper details the progress made so far by Ethiopia in Achieving objectives of the SDG 7 outlined in the 2030 UN agenda of the sustainable development goals. The paper then discusses the challenges directly related to the war in the country and its impact in the energy infrastructure and the financing of continued large scale energy projects. 

Gebreslassie, M and Cuvilas, C (2023). 'The role of community energy systems to facilitate energy transitions in Ethiopia and Mozambique' in Energy Systems'. 

D.O.I: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12667-023-00640-w 

The paper highlights details of the community energy initiatives in Ethiopia and Mozambique and the three interrelated components of the energy landscape (Energy transition governance, energy flows, and energy use). It also includes detailed comparative analysis of the community energy landscapes in Ethiopia and Mozambique.

Kirshner, J and Omukuti, J (2023) ‘Energy justice and development’. In ‘Handbook on Energy Justice’. Bouzarovski, S.; Fuller, S and Reames, T (Eds). UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 978 1 83910 295 0

The handbook offers a unique and critical perspective on energy justice and delves into an emerging field of inquiry encapsulating multiple strands of scholarship on energy systems. Covering key topics including generation, transmission, distribution and demand, it explores fundamental questions surrounding policy, climate change, security and social movements.

Späth, P., Castán Broto, V., Bawakyillenuo, S. and Michael Pregernigc (2022). The governance of energy transitions in Africa: a sketch of plural perspectives. Energ Sustain Soc 12, 51 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-022-00380-2

This is an editorial piece written for a special issue of Energy, Sustainability and Society that offers a sketch for a research agenda on transitions research with a main focus on Africa. 

Rigon, A and Castán Broto, K (2021) (Editors). London: Routledge. ISBN: 9780367485405 

Drawing on theoretical perspectives of intersectionality and diversity in development practice, various chapters in this book explore how diversity in gender, class, race and ethnicity, citizenship status, age, ability, and sexuality are taken (or not taken) into account in the planning and implementation of development policy and interventions in poor urban areas. 

Baptista, I and Cirolia, LR (2022) 'From problematisation to propositionality: advancing southern urban infrastructure debates'. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12537

This paper explores the notion of propositionality to advance southern urban infrastructure debates towards more anticipatory forms of scholarship. Here, propositionality refers to the idea of a research sensibility that engages with propositions for infrastructure futures on their own terms.