Renewable Transformation Challenge Forum
About the Renewable Transformation Challenge:
Started in 2017, the objective of the Elsevier-ISES Renewable Transformation Challenge Promotion (“Challenge”) is to recognize and honour outstanding work encouraging progress towards a world powered by renewable energy and with accessible energy for all. This objective is consistent with the vision of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), which is for a world powered by 100% renewable energy used efficiently and wisely and accessible for all.
The Challenge promotion is administered every two years to recognize accomplishments by organizations such as private enterprises, NGO’s, and research institutions for undertaking projects and programs that help move the world toward an energy system supplied entirely by renewable energy sources, or for conducting the critical analyses that provide meaningful roadmaps for the transformation. The award winner represents one step towards furthering ISES’ vision of a world powered by 100% renewable energy. This vision requires a global transformation of our energy systems to efficient and affordable renewable energy sources. This transformation can only be achieved through private and civil society initiatives towards innovative and successful programs that adopt the use of renewable energy technologies and the intelligent application of energy efficiency measures. In the context of this Challenge, the energy transformation applies to all end-use energy consumption: power, heat, and transport.
Speakers
Adam Fraser -Moderator
As Senior Publisher for renewable and sustainable energy journals at Elsevier, Adam Fraser publishes journals advancing our understanding of clean and affordable energy for all in journals such as Renewable Energy, Energy Reports and Solar Energy.
Dave Renné
Dr. Renné served as President of the International Solar Energy Society from 2010 - 2019. From 1991 until his retirement in 2012 Dr. Renné managed the solar resource assessment activities at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In 2012 he formed the consultancy Dave Renne Renewables. He is dedicated to the concept of urgently achieving 100% renewable energy to meet all of our end use energy requirements as the best solution to the climate crisis.
Sebastian Groh
Sebastian Groh is Managing Director and Co-Founder of ME SOLshare Ltd, and an Associate Professor at the BRAC University Business School in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is also a 2013 Stanford Ignite Fellow from Stanford Graduate School of Business (USA) and holds a Ph.D. from Aalborg University (Denmark) and the Postgraduate School Microenergy Systems at the Technische Universität Berlin, where he wrote his thesis on the role of energy in development processes, energy poverty, and technical innovations.
SOLshare is an ICT-based private enterprise that provides clean energy, energy-efficient, and e-mobility services in rural and urban areas. The SOLbazaar, a peer-to-peer solar electricity trading platform allows low-income rural households to access sustainable, affordable, and reliable electricity through aggregated existing under-utilized solar home system assets interlinked into an ICT platform with metering, distribution, and a mobile payment system for the efficient allocation of clean electricity in off-grid areas. Through its micro-mobility solutions, SOLshare is providing battery technology solutions for EV charging to extend battery life and reduce heavy investment costs and high-interest rates for electric three-wheelers to give them an opportunity to increase their income and break out of a vicious debt cycle. SOLshare is also providing rooftop solar installations for RMG factories in Bangladesh by partnering with solar panel providers under the national net metering policy.
Doug Danley
Douglas Danley installed his first PV system in Botswana in 1982 and has worked on off-grid and grid-ted PV and microgrid systems around the world since then. He is currently working on scaling the SUNSPOT™ solar electric cooking system around the world. He has a degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
SUNSPOT™ is a self-contained off-grid solar electric cooking system which is designed to replace biomass cookstoves in remote communities. The system uses 700 watts of PV modules and a lead carbon battery to supply enough energy to cook typical meals for a family of six, as well as energy for lighting and mobile phone charging. At scale, the system will be provided to customers for the same price that they are currently paying for cooking fuel, lighting and phone charging.