Anna Lerner Nesbitt

In Jamaica, about a quarter of electricity produced is stolen or “lost” through non-paying customers and/or accounting errors. Manual detection has failed to make a difference in reducing this theft.
ESMAP’s technical assistance team implemented a machine learning model to help Jamaican utility JPS identify and decrease incidents of theft.
The machine learning model is based on an open source code, and is available for free to any utility.

With unprecedented speed and scale, digital transformation is affecting multiple industries, including energy. A combination of technologies, and a more complex world demanding greater agility and new competences impact all aspects of the energy sector and manifest themselves in changing patterns of consumption, new ways of asset optimization, and cross-industry partnerships. ‘Smart solutions’ are a product of this transformation and energy data are its source.

By nature, the energy… Show more

With unprecedented speed and scale, digital transformation is affecting multiple industries, including energy. A combination of technologies, and a more complex world demanding greater agility and new competences impact all aspects of the energy sector and manifest themselves in changing patterns of consumption, new ways of asset optimization, and cross-industry partnerships. ‘Smart solutions’ are a product of this transformation and energy data are its source.

By nature, the energy sector generates vast amounts of big data through meters, sensor networks, customer payments, credit history, satellite imagery, etc. It is not surprising that private and public energy companies are turning to the idea of leveraging big data analytics for performance optimization and improved service delivery.

The transition to a digitized energy sector will not happen on its own, and a number of enablers are required to facilitate this change. Beyond improved digital infrastructure, digital skills and analytics capabilities will need to be strengthened. This new solutions brief aims to encourage the use of big data analytics in the energy sector by outlining opportunities and identifying cases for where the use of big data analytics could help better address challenges faced by the energy sector today. Show less

Reliable and affordable access to electricity services is fundamental to achieving the World Bank Group’s twin goals: shared prosperity and elimination of extreme poverty by 2030. Efforts to meet the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goal to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” will also require increased investment, new and refined technologies and systems, and institu- tional reform. To help the world achieve this energy transformation, the… Show more

Reliable and affordable access to electricity services is fundamental to achieving the World Bank Group’s twin goals: shared prosperity and elimination of extreme poverty by 2030. Efforts to meet the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goal to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” will also require increased investment, new and refined technologies and systems, and institu- tional reform. To help the world achieve this energy transformation, the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT), including data and advanced analytics, is already playing an essential role. Show less

Today, about 1.1 billion people around the world live without electricity. Cities, which now house more than half the world’s population, struggle under the weight of inefficient, expensive and often-polluting energy systems. Energy access and affordability are paramount in addressing poverty alleviation and shared prosperity goals, and cleaner energy is critical in mitigating climate change.

Applications of Open and Big Data principles and advanced analytics is an area of innovation… Show more

Today, about 1.1 billion people around the world live without electricity. Cities, which now house more than half the world’s population, struggle under the weight of inefficient, expensive and often-polluting energy systems. Energy access and affordability are paramount in addressing poverty alleviation and shared prosperity goals, and cleaner energy is critical in mitigating climate change.

Applications of Open and Big Data principles and advanced analytics is an area of innovation that can help address many pressing energy sector challenges in the developing world, as well as provide social and financial dividends at low cost. Show less

A short version a previously published scientific paper on community-based biofuel production in Nhambita community (Mozambique).

A short Portuguese version a previously published scientific paper on community-based biofuel production in Nhambita community (Mozambique).

Co-author of a publication on sugarcane, bioenergy and sustainability standards together with Rocio Chavez Diaz (Imperial Colleague)

This paper provides insights and recommendations for policy on the opportunities and constrains that influence the space for innovation for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use. Promoted by the Mozambican government, Nhambita community established jatropha trials in 2005. Initial results were promising, but crop failure and the absence of organized markets led to scepticism amongst farmers.

We start from the idea that the promotion of community-based biofuel production… Show more

This paper provides insights and recommendations for policy on the opportunities and constrains that influence the space for innovation for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use. Promoted by the Mozambican government, Nhambita community established jatropha trials in 2005. Initial results were promising, but crop failure and the absence of organized markets led to scepticism amongst farmers.

We start from the idea that the promotion of community-based biofuel production and use requires taking interactions between social-cultural, biophysical, economic, political and legal subsystems across different scales and levels of analysis through time into account. Our analysis demonstrates that heterogeneous farming strategies and their synergies at community level should be carefully assessed. Furthermore, national and international political and legal developments, such as the development of biofuel sustainability criteria, influence the local space in which community-based biofuel developments take place.

We conclude that ex-ante integrated assessment and creating an enabling environment can enhance space for sustainable community-based biofuel production and use. It may provide insights into the opportunities and constraints for different types of smallholders, and promote the development of adequate policy mechanisms to prevent biofuels from becoming a threat rather than an opportunity for smallholders. Show less