Lighting a Billion Lives is a global initiative to facilitate clean energy access and the delivery of last mile energy services for basic and productive use. The initiative enables energy poor communities to transition from traditional and inefficient energy sources to modern, more efficient and sustainable energy solutions. The initiative accelerates market development for clean energy technologies through knowledge sharing, capacity building and market seeding.

This report provides the results of a review of the evidence that investments in electricity-generating capacity have benefits for poor people, and what factors influence that relationship. The review begins by elucidating a theory to break down the causal chain between additional renewable electricity generation capacity and poverty impacts in four stages or links, which can be formulated as four research questions: (1) What is the link between increased renewable electricity capacity and higher availability and reliability of supply?

This report highlights two underutilized but fully implementable technologies that efficiently integrate heat and electricity systems, provide flexibility and enhance energy security. It examines what restricts co‑generation and efficient district heating and cooling systems that can help de-carbonize the energy system.

Short statement of Practical Action's commitment to delivering energy access made at the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum in New York, April 2015

This brief publication describes how a multi-tier approach to measuring energy access proposed in the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework of 2013 introduces a five-tier measurement methodology based on various energy attributes, such as quantity, quality, affordability and duration of supply. According to the authors, the approach makes it possible to compute a weighted index of access to energy for a given geographical area.

The State Scorecard assesses state policies and programs that improve energy efficiency in our homes, businesses, industries, and transportation systems. It considers the six policy areas in which states typically pursue energy efficiency: utility and public benefits, transportation, building energy codes and compliance, combined heat and power (CHP), state government–led initiatives around energy efficiency, and appliance and equipment standards.

Lack of access to electricity is seen as a major constraint to economic growth and increased welfare in developing countries. In this report, the authors conducted a review of the evidence that investments in electricity-generating capacity have benefits for poor people, and what factors influence that relationship. The review analyzes a large and diverse range of literature dealing with the poverty impacts of increased generation capacity.