Renewable Energy
Altai Consulting advises private companies, international organisations and development agencies who are working to improve access to energy in developing markets and support the transition towards renewable energy. Our expertise includes socio-economic and environmental impact assessments, investment strategy and monitoring, evaluation and learning support to help our client better navigate this fast moving sector and deliver impact.
Measuring the Economic Impact of Off-grid Solar – GOGLA
The Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA) commissioned Altai Consulting to conduct a large-scale, multi-country research effort to understand how households’ economic and social situation is impacted by the acquisition of an off-grid Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar home system. Over 2,000 customers of leading PAYG providers in five African markets were surveyed. The study demonstrates that off-grid solutions reach well beyond providing access to light and features such as phone charging or television. Indeed, results show solar home systems help off-grid households improve their quality of life and, in many cases, help them undertake more economic activity potentially leading to an increase in income.
Impact and Performance Evaluation of the Energy and Environment Partnership Africa – NDF
NDF has commissioned Altai to conduct the impact evaluation of the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) Africa Trust, which over the past decade has been supporting 250 innovative projects developing business models based on clean energy technologies and sustainable energy access to improve the quality of life of end-users. The objective was to complement the work on the results framework, providing detailed qualitative insights, assessing the validity of the underlying assumptions and identifying actionable recommendations for the next phase of the fund. The first step was to design the evaluation framework, based on the OECD-DAC guidelines and leverage all the documents shared by NDF. Then we conducted data collection combining in-depth interviews of stakeholders and project developers with end-user research for a selection of projects. The final step is to synthetise the results in a structured and user-friendly document, highlighting lessons learned (e.g. best practices and drivers of success identifying where NDF adds the most value, etc.).
Mapping the Supply Chain for Solar Lighting Products – The World Bank
Altai Consulting has been commissioned by the World Bank’s Lighting Africa program to carry out a study into solar power supply chains in South Sudan. The specific objectives of the study were threefold: i) undertake a bottom-up forensic mapping of the current purchasing and distribution/supply chains for Lighting Africa-approved products, other portable lighting products and comparable consumer goods (i.e. mobile telephones) from retailer to manufacturer, identifying the actors involved in each phase, ii) assess the bottlenecks/pinch-points along the supply-chain that are contributing to the lack of Lighting Africa-approved products available on the local market, and document the main obstacles preventing large-scale commercialisation of solar-lanterns in South Sudan, iii) recommend commercially viable existing and potential distribution models, as well as potential points of entry, which can be leveraged to increase the availability of Lighting Africa-approved products on the local market.
Real-time Learning Energy Security and Resource Efficiency (ESRES) – FCDO
Altai Consulting, with WYG/UpperQuartile, is implementing the ESRES Real-Time Learning (RTL) component to support FCDO in monitoring the progress of their renewable energy programme in Somaliland and prepare for the implementation of their longer-term engagement in fostering renewable energy solutions in Somalia. This component involves in-depth policy analysis and extensive monitoring of programme impact trajectory, based on repeated cycles of field research to understand the effects of investments in pilot hybrid mini-grid projects on household energy consumption across rural and urban segments of the population. The RTL combines qualitative and quantitative research with prolonged engagement with stakeholders (e.g. implementing partners, governments, independent power providers, public services administrators, consumers, etc.) to ensure findings from the research can be re-injected into the program via a rapid feedback loop and help FCDO and their implementing partner adjust their programming approach and scale-up/-down accordingly.
Willingness to Pay for Electricity Study – The World Bank / GECOL / REAOL
The World Bank with its Libyan partners, the General Electric Company of Libya (GECOL) and the Renewable Energy Authority of Libya (REAOL), have commissioned Altai Consulting to conduct a study to contribute to the in-depth analysis of the actual willingness-to-pay (WTP) of customers for electricity services. Fieldwork lasted two weeks, and involved a nationally representative survey of 1,000 heads of households across Libya. A final report was delivered to the World Bank and GECOL/REAOL, the findings of which informed further research and analysis regarding subsidies, RoI for potential infrastructure development projects and the design of effective and appropriate regulatory policies toward electricity cost recover and enforceable billing mechanisms.