The findings presented in the conference was based on the monthly discussions of the CESET project, informal interviews with energy agencies of the respective countries and national and international publications. The presentation highlighted the CESET project partnership and what the project is aiming to achieve within the project timeframe of three years. Details of the community energy initiatives in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique was also presented. In addition, the three interrelated components of the energy landscape (Energy transition governance, energy flows, and energy Choreographies) was highlighted in the presentation. The presentation also included detailed comparative analysis of the community energy landscapes in Ethiopia and Mozambique. The results show that the two countries have community energy supportive policy albeit with challenges in implementation though community energy is not properly defined and is considered as part of the off-grid energy systems. Both countries lack integrated planning and cost reflective tariffs. Greater involvement of communities during the development of community energy systems is better in Ethiopia compared to Mozambique. In Mozambique, communities are only involved in making land available, a process that is not preceded by public consultation. Therefore, they are only informed that the site in question has been selected for the implementation of the community energy project. The licensing process in both countries is not easy because of the involvement of several stakeholders. Communities are also not well aware of what kind of business model they should use, which is affecting sustainability of the systems.
The conference paper will be available once it is published in the appropriate journal.
