Global Renewables CentreAbout us

Vision

The Scottish Government's Global Renewable Centre (GRC) is a hub for facilitating knowledge exchange between stakeholders in the Scottish Government's international development partner countries and the Scottish Renewables Sector, offering networking, shared learning, and resources that enhance global citizenship and enable increased deployment of sustainable energy. The GRC is hosted by Strathclyde University and funded by the Scottish Government.

Initially, the GRC will focus on the Scottish Government's three African international development partner countries: Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda, but with the intention to increase in country scope as the Centre develops.

The team

A middle aged white man with grey hair and beard

University of Strathclyde

(Scotland)

Damien Frame

Scotland profile

REIAMA

(Malawi)

Charles Dakalira

Malawi profile

A young African man wearing a beige suit

EPD

(Rwanda)

Serge Wilson MUHIZI

Rwanda profile

A young African woman with shoulder length curly hair

ZARENA

(Zambia)

Chikuku Katebe

Zambia profile

The GRC will be located within the Institute for Energy & Environment, one of Europe's leading and largest power systems and energy technology university research groups, and supported by Strathclyde's Centre for Sustainable Development.

The GRC delivery partner in Malawi is the Renewable Energy Industry Association of Malawi (REIAMA) whose mission is to promote efficient and sustainable use of renewable energy technologies in Malawi to the satisfaction of the end-user and all stakeholders. Their membership spans the renewable energy sector of Malawi and they lead a range of capacity-building and knowledge exchange programmes.

The GRC delivery partner in Zambia is the Zambia Renewable Energy Association (ZARENA) a leading association in Zambia that is dedicated to promoting and advancing the use of renewable energy solutions across the nation. The association brings together experts, industry professionals, and enthusiasts who are committed to driving the transition to clean, sustainable energy.

The GRC delivery partner in Rwanda is the Energy Private Developer’s Association (EPD) a membership organisation committed to sustainable energy projects that promote a low-carbon future. EPD work closely with policymakers, industry leaders, development partners and other stakeholders to advocate for policies and promote sustainable energy practices and investments.

What does the GRC do?

The GRC contributes via building capacity to deploy renewables (partner countries sharing their experiences/expertise, and collaborating with Scottish stakeholders) and supporting access to resources to take renewables projects forward.

Operating a decentralised model through formal partnerships with an organisation in each partner country, the GRC is engaging with key stakeholders across industry, academia, policymakers, NGOs and practitioners. The networks and communities of practice that are being established are identifying priority themes for Knowledge Exchange, identifying/accumulating supporting resources and data, and mapping the funding landscape.

The outputs from this work are feeding into the build of our website as we develop a platform that provides guidance and resources that support Knowledge Exchange, enabling stakeholders to quickly understand how renewables can support their development objectives and/or connect with relevant stakeholders to share their knowledge and expertise.

Principles

The GRC is focussed on identifying and responding to local and regional priorities, and a philosophy of mutual knowledge exchange (south-south-north-south) rather than north-south knowledge transfer.

It has been developed around key principles of:

partner-country led development
amplifying global-south voices
collaboration and partnerships

Importance of Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG7)

Energy provides individuals with opportunities to study in the dark, give birth safely in hospitals, heat and cool themselves and can be used for economic development. Sustainable and affordable energy are a fundamental necessity for life, health and economic growth.   Renewable energy needs to be at the heart of our efforts to combat climate change and is fundamental in the response to Covid-19.  

Yet 759 million people lack access to electricity; 3 out of 4 of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 14% of the population has access to electricity in Malawi, Zambia 47%, and Rwanda 77%, with major urban-rural divides behind those headline figures.

Each partner country faces contextual challenges towards achieving increased renewable deployment and sustainable energy access for all.  Each has a national strategy and targets within the SE4All framework that address renewables and energy access, with decentralised renewables for underserved communities a key theme (policy and progress more advanced in some countries than others), yet each has substantial untapped renewable resources.  Development partnerships between organisations in Scotland and these partner countries, often rely on the implementation of renewable energy technologies.

Role of the Scottish Government

The Scottish Government places great importance on Scotland being a good global citizen. This means playing its part in tackling global challenges including poverty, injustice and inequality. The Scottish Government’s December 2016 Global Citizenship: Scotland's International Development Strategy sets out its contribution to the international community and it contributes development funding to support that Strategy – currently £11.5M pa.

Affordable and clean energy, has been a key plank of the Scottish Government’s international development funding over the last 10 years. In addition to funding renewable energy projects in its African partner countries, the Scottish Government also seconded one of its renewable energy experts to the Government of Malawi in 2016 to support them in developing their first national Renewable Energy Strategy, in line with a commitment given to SE4All.Scotland’s natural resources in oil and gas have been a significant contribution to the Scottish economy; however, we cannot ignore the impact of climate change. Scotland has made great strides in the deployment of renewable electricity, but decarbonizing our heat and transport sectors remains a major challenge; the transition to renewable energy is more urgent than ever. Scotland’s focus is on achieving the fastest possible, just transition– one that delivers jobs, provides economic benefit, ensures our energy security and meets our ambitious net zero target by 2045.  We are looking outwards to develop new partnerships and collaborations to share innovation; we hope the GRC will facilitate international collaboration.