World Resources Institute, in collaboration with the World Bank and EnAccess Foundation conducted the four-part webinar series in April 2022, grouping tools and presenters into four sessions organized across common themes. These include: integrated data platforms, resource assessment, demand assessment, and integrated strategic energy planning. In this document, we will introduce each of these themes and tools, providing insights into the role of each in understanding and improving global energy access. Though they address disparate themes and apply different methodologies, together these tools can form a data toolkit for practitioners and researchers in this space.

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World Resources Institute, in collaboration with the World Bank (ESMAP) and EnAccess Foundation, is hosting a multi-session webinar series to showcase different open-source geospatial data solutions available to support global energy access.

There has been a rapid expansion in the use of geospatial data and technology to support decision-making within the energy access space in the past decade. Open-source solutions make an important contribution to global energy access goals by enabling a data-driven approach while also preserving resources and limiting over-reliance on technical expertise.

This four-part webinar series introduces open-source geospatial solutions across various dimensions of energy access, including resource assessment, demand assessment, integrated planning, and sector-specific applications. The tool developers will present the background and objectives of their work, along with the features and impact that each tool offers. Together, the sessions intend to recognize the importance of open-source tools for achieving sustainable development goals, facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange between the different tool providers, and provide improved guidance for potential users to identify the most appropriate tools for their needs.

Session One – April 5th – Resource Assessment

  • Rachel Linda Fox – World Bank – Global Solar Atlas/Global Wind Atlas

  • Clara Ivansecu – World Bank – RE-Zoning

  • Tigran Parvanyan – World Bank – Energydata.info

Session Two – April 12th – Planning

  • Andreas Sahlberg – KTH – OnSSET
  • Benjamin Stewart – World Bank – Global Electrification Platform
  • Max Parzen – University of Edinburgh – PyPSA
  • Lama Aoudi – MIT – Open-Source Computation Framework for Scalable

Session Three – April 19th – Demand Assessment

  • Giacomo Falchetta – IIASA – Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research, LEAP-RE
  • Joel Mugyenyi – Columbia University – E-GUIDE
  • Mary Van Leuven – Deloitte (for USAID)
  • Dimitrios Mentis – WRI – Energy Access Explorer

Session Four – April 25th – Resource Assessment

  • Mohammed Nababa – Associate Programme Officer, Site Assessment, IRENA – Global Atlas / Solar City Simulator
  • Sebastian Sterl – IRENA – African Renewable Energy Profiles, Hydropower
  • Bilal Hussain – IRENA – Solar/Wind
  • Magda Moner – EU Joint Research Center – Clean Energy Access Tool

 

Participating Organizations:

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH); World Bank; World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP); The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); PyPSA meets Africa; MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium (MCSC); International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); European Union Joint Research Centre; University of Massachusetts Amherst; Deloitte for USAID and World Resources Institute.