Affordable and clean energy / / Affordable and clean energy / Access to clean and affordable energy achieves more than goal 7 Access to affordable and clean energy achieves more Affordable, clean energy is UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, yet is fundamental to achieving many of the other SDGs. Electricity enables people to store food and medicines in fridges, power hospitals, schools and businesses, and connect to the outside world through mobile phones. More than 780M people globally – including 580M or 53% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa – continue to lack affordable and reliable electricity supply, limiting their economic opportunities and access to essential services. Goal 7 is one of seven SDGs we can directly contribute to through our projects and operations, and our energy and development teams are constantly involved in projects to bring electricity to communities, often in the remotest areas. But, because the goals are highly interdependent, progress on one affects some or all of the others – both directly and indirectly. For us, it’s all about making connections, challenging assumptions and turning potential benefits into value-adding outcomes. Goal 1 – No poverty Goal 3 – Good health and wellbeing Goal 4 – Quality education Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth Goal 9 – Industry innovation and infrastructure Goal 10 – Reduced inequalities Goal 13 – Climate action Goal 17 – Partnerships for the goals Goal 1 – No poverty Energy can be clean, but if it’s too expensive, access remains out of reach for many people. We’ve installed six mini grids in Somaliland – combining solar energy with diesel generators – with a total capacity of 1.9MW. The mini grids have provided 10,000 new connections, helping to cut electricity bills for poor households by up to 42%. Previously, the electricity that was available had cost about US$1/KWh at peak times, too high for those on the lowest incomes, whose daily earnings average US$2. Goal 3 – Good health and wellbeing Affordable and reliable energy is critical for health facilities and for storing medicines and vaccines. In many countries, health services are hard to deliver because there is a lack of electricity or supply is unreliable and there are unscheduled outages. As technology-enabled care grows, electricity to charge mobile phones is crucial to enable people to connect with healthcare professionals in countries where there is limited healthcare infrastructure and the nearest doctor is too far away. + read more Goal 4 – Quality education Lighting, cooling and digital equipment and connectivity are all vital for learning and all require electricity, but around 30% of primary schools globally lack access, limiting the opportunity of students to fulfil their potential. Importantly, lighting enables classes to be taught early in the morning or late at night, and students to study after sunset. Access to electricity is also vital to enable students to participate in remote learning – the importance of which has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. + read more Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth Expanding access to electricity fuels economic development and employment opportunities. In Peru, we worked on the 456MW Chaglla hydropower project, which provides about 6% of the country’s total electricity. Construction of the project generated 12,500 direct and indirect jobs, including equipping 1500 local people with sought-after building skills. Local people were also trained in Somaliland to help install equipment for six solar/diesel mini grids and to provide ongoing maintenance, while lower tariffs enables small firms to reduce costs and invest in their businesses. + read more Goal 9 – Industry innovation and infrastructure Industry innovation has helped to drive down the cost and efficiency of renewables technology and as energy storage, biofuel and hydrogen technologies are rolled out, there is huge potential to similarly reduce costs. We have worked on innovative projects to combine renewable energy sources with energy storage to maximise energy yield. This includes a project to deliver innovative concentrated solar power in South Africa. Solar panels harness the sun’s heat which generates steam to turn turbines, with the thermal energy stored and released for power generation after the sun sets. Innovation in project funding is also important to improve access to clean energy. The development of six solar and diesel mini girds in Somaliland was made possible by providing existing small-scale energy providers with the up-front investment in return for a commitment to reduce energy tariffs – removing one of the main barriers to adopting renewables in the country. + read more Goal 10 – Reduced inequalities Poorer rural and remote, off-grid communities tend to lack access to electricity, adding to inequality. Solar systems and mini grids that connect the poorest and hardest to reach households can help bridge the access gap and provide an opportunity to support lasting change. In the Northern Cape in South Africa, we supported the delivery of a solar thermal park that has done more than simply provide energy to remote Pofadder and its population of about 8000. The park operator funds socio-economic and enterprise development activities in the community. This includes providing kindergartens and food kitchens, ensuring those on low incomes, and the sick and elderly, receive at least one proper meal a day. + read more Goal 13 – Climate action Clean energy is key to addressing climate change and around the world over the past 10 years we’ve helped to deliver 80GW of wind generation, 30GW of hydropower, 17GW of solar PV, 6GW of concentrated solar power, and 12GW of geothermal capacity. Our teams are also helping to marry pump storage hydro and solar, and support the roll out of battery storage, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage technologies. Goal 17 – Partnerships for the goals Targets for goal 17 include strengthening domestic resource mobilisation and promoting the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of sustainable technologies. Working in partnership is how we operate, and we worked with the National Treasury and Department of Energy in South Africa to develop the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement programme. It supports the roll out of renewable energy plants and requires power companies to comply with national employment and training policy, and the government’s ambition to manufacture some equipment domestically. The success of the South African programme has made it an exemplar model for renewables in countries worldwide. + read more This is the future We want to know if you share our vision – and what is yours? Take a look. Get in touch. About us Sustainability Vision and values Equality, diversity and inclusion Contact Our policies Legal Cookies Privacy Registered companies Safeguarding Slavery and human trafficking Follow us Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram YouTube © 2021 Mott MacDonald Our use of cookies We use necessary cookies to make our site work. 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