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in 2015. In 2014, GACC projected that it would reach 63 million
households by 2016. 94 Its partner network grew from 19 in 2010
to more than 1,300 in 2015. 95 Through GACC’s activities, by
2015, 28 countries were actively engaged in the development
of International Organization for Standardization-approved
standards for clean cook stoves; 16 GACC-supported cook stoves
and fuel testing centres were operating in 14 countries around the
world; and over 300 stoves had been featured in GACC’s Clean
Cooking Catalogue. 96 In addition, since the GACC’s founding in
2010, 19 new investors have deployed more than USD 60 million,
and USD 265 million in carbon finance has been directed to the
sector. 97
The year also saw the creation of entirely new multilateral
programmes and networks. In late 2015, the United Kingdom
announced a new multilateral programme called Energy Africa
in an effort to accelerate the expansion of household solar
energy throughout the continent. 98 The Energy Africa campaign,
a multi-donor effort to be managed by the UK’s Department
for International Development, seeks to overcome financial
hurdles and market failures that are preventing firms from raising
capital by testing new approaches and reaching poor and rural
customers. It aims to overcome the policy and regulatory barriers
to household energy access, for example by drawing African
countries into the compact to accelerate clean energy access. 99
THE PATH FORWARD
The demand for DRE systems remains a matter of prime social
and economic significance for billions of people around the world.
In many developing countries, political instability and corruption
make it difficult to access financing for DRE projects, slowing
advances despite positive technology developments. 101 However,
when backed by strong financing and investment, coupled with
robust policy frameworks, DRE systems have proven to be both
a reliable and affordable means for achieving access to modern
energy services. DRE systems will only continue to grow more
reliable and affordable as technological improvements and
innovative business models enable them to spread to new
markets. DRE systems stand at the centre of global efforts to
induce a paradigm shift towards poverty eradication, green
economies and, ultimately, sustainable development.
In September 2015, the international Stiftung Solarenergie
(Germany) started the Solar Entrepreneur Network for
Decentralized Energy Access (Sendea), which seeks to enable
solar entrepreneurs to create their own companies. Operating in
East Africa and Asia, Sendea intends to establish solar villages
for social impact, awareness creation and training; to implement
a revolving fund to finance products for end-users; and to train
solar technicians in technology, management and finance. 100
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