Global Energy Access Forum

The Global Energy Access Forum (GEAF) establishes mechanisms for sharing information on needs defined by the energy access community and new capabilities enabled by fast-moving technologies, business and financing models, and use-cases - which together can accelerate the access to energy and its utilization at scale.

On 30 June 2021, a workshop was organized by IEEE.  The workshop attracted over 300 attendees, including diverse stakeholders in Energy Access.  The meeting identified a need to bring together a diverse group of energy access stakeholders, including policy, technology, business, social impact, finance, end-users, and NGOs, to create alignment in goals, metrics, strategy, and approach to achieve the objective of universal access to abundant and sustainable energy for all by 2040.  Because of this, the GEAF was established by the IEEE to address this need.

Attendees at this workshop were from the Agsol, Center for Distributed Energy, Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), Elk Coast Institute, Energy Swaraj Foundation (EBL I Team SoULS), Eskom, Freeing Energy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Global Solutions Summit, Global Thermostat, Havenhill Synergy, International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Meshpower (EBL Team Xpower), National University of Singapore, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, On Semiconductor, Schneider Electric, Solaris Off-Grid, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), University of Central Florida, University of Twente, and World Bank.

Workshop Summary Report

 

Empower A Billion Lives

Despite decades of efforts by governments and NGOs, around 700 million people in the world today still live with no access to electricity and around 3 billion live with energy poverty so severe that it impacts their lives.  Climate change and new technologies such as solar and electric vehicles (EVs) could also widen the gap between the haves and have-nots even more.  However, 21st-century technologies also hold the promise of scalable solutions to abundant energy that is affordable, clean, and equitable.

To encourage the development of solutions, the GEAF organizes Empower a Billion Lives (EBL).  EBL is a recurring global competition that helps to create an ecosystem of technologists and entrepreneurs who develop, demonstrate, derisk, and deploy new energy access solutions that are holistic, economically viable, and can rapidly scale in the target market segments.  Teams from across the globe are invited to participate in the EBL-II competition and develop and deploy a scalable holistic solution to complex issues of abundant energy access, equity, and sustainability.

More Information

 

How to Join

GEAF membership is open and free for all participants, both as a partner organization and as an individual.  This includes both IEEE and non-IEEE members.  GEAF members can also be a part of an EBL team and participate in all GEAF-organized events, such as virtual workshops and webinars.

Join GEAF

 


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