PLN Capacity Development Program
In 2022-23, Propel Principal Graham Pugh supported PLN, the Indonesian national utility, in its effort to create a comprehensive renewable energy and smart grid education program for its employees. Included as a component of an ADB Results-Based Lending Program, the program's goal is to train thousands of PLN employees, providing them with the practical knowledge and skills necessary to integrate larger shares of clean energy in Indonesia's electricity system.
Graham worked closely with PLN Corporate University to identify training needs, then created curriculum maps for solar, wind, and smart grid technologies. Working with an Indonesian national consultant, Graham then held discussions with several leading Indonesian universities to assess their ability to provide the identified courses. Based on his experience leading Propel's development of the Clean Power Hub, Graham worked with PLN to identify key attributes of a learning platform that would meet their institutional needs. This work points to the key role that capacity development must play in the clean energy transition. Cost-effective technologies and supportive policies are essential, but ultimately local human capacity is essential to carry out the work and ensure a just transition. |
The Clean Power Hub
Starting in 2019, with support from the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Propel conceptualized and developed a promising new tool for accelerating skills development for the clean energy transition: the Clean Power Hub.
Effective climate action depends on significantly increasing the integration of renewable energy technologies into power systems all over the world. Increasing renewables depends not only on policy and finance, but also on changes to the way that power systems are operated and regulated. There are many excellent technical assistance and knowledge resources available on these topics, but the way in which these resources are made available to practitioners is not consistent with the pace and scale of adoption required. The Clean Power Hub was an effort to address this problem through an integrated solutions platform that weds the best international expertise on clean power with the latest innovations in scalable, user-focused online learning and skills-development. Development of the Clean Power Hub benefited from important contributions by NREL, Imperial College London, ClimateWorks Foundation and others. In mid-2022, RMI acquired the Clean Power Hub to bolster its own capacity development program, the Energy Transition Academy. CIFF has provided funding to RMI in support of the transition and several Propel staff have joined RMI. |
Zero Carbon Buildings for AllWorking closely with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and others, the Propel Principal Graham Pugh and former Principal Matt Jordan led recruitment efforts and much of the development of a bold new international initiative. Zero Carbon Buildings for All seeks to jumpstart global ambition on building sector decarbonization by securing hard-hitting collaborative commitments from national leadership, industry and financial institutions. We were able to secure commitments from dozens of private sector actors and banks, and four regionally influential national governments (Kenya, Turkey, the UAE and the UK). The initiative was one of a handful “summitted” at September’s United Nations Climate Action Summit, and was announced before the General Assembly by the President of Turkey.
Learn more about the initiative on the WRI website and this blog post. |
Appliance Demand Stimulation for Rural DevelopmentSparking and expanding demand for household and productive appliances has always been a hallmark of successful rural electrification programs. But this aspect of electrification has been overlooked by many contemporary energy access and sustainable development efforts, greatly slowing market growth and impact. At the request of The Rockefeller Foundation, former Propel Principal Matt Jordan developed a first-of-its-kind programmatic strategy to stimulate demand for and accelerate the uptake of income producing, energy-dependent services in emerging rural electrification contexts. A stronger, better-equipped demand stimulation ecosystem in rural electrification contexts wouldn’t be a silver bullet—but it would be another critical step toward universal electrification, and would create important frameworks for additional progress.
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Integrated Electrification PathwaysDespite continued, dramatic cost declines among clean energy solutions, progress toward achieving the ambitions of SDG 7 -- affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all -- has been uneven. It’s increasingly clear that SDG 7’s success will require integrated strategies—those that employ a mix of off-grid, mini-grid, and on-grid electrification solutions.
Propel worked with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) to develop a report, case studies and proposed metrics to describe and highlight successful integrated electrification strategies. “Integrated Electrification Pathways for Universal Access to Electricity: A Primer” was released in May. The report is featured on SEforALL's website along with three videos they produced highlighting the findings from case studies in Ethiopia, Nepal and Togo. |