This research concerns socio-technical issues for providing solar electricity into rural India. Several solar pico-grid systems have been implemented in villages accompanied with comprehensive data collection, field-trips, interviews, and analysis. Research questions have included behavioural aspects with use of solar electricity in the rural context, system reliability, and system optimisations. Key results include observations that reliability need more attention and local training, i.e. strengthening frugality aspects; demand response of the rural population showed less correlation with access to solar electricity.

Team

Sini Numminen, Semee Yoon, Johannes Urpelainen

The doctoral research project targets to understand the relevance of frugal and affordable energy innovations in sustainable energy transitions among low-income communities in emerging economies. The target technology is solar micro-grids in India. The various related sustainability challenges are studied as well as the role of distributed energy in the country's energy mix among rural energy users. Key methods include field trials, interviews, data analysis and sustainability and reliability assessments.

Team

The primary aim of the research is to analyze the effects of environmental change on vulnerable communities, and to suggest means of coping with this by way of co-management, bearing in mind the underlying power relations involved.

Team

The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the role of supplier development in achieving sustainability in supply chains. In doing so, we also look into how capacity building affects or improves the performance of both supplier and supplier communities and help in shaping a sustainable society.

Team

The partner organisations bring together their expertise in research and development of new educational methods and tools at university level in the field of sustainability and development education and training. The goal of the cooperation is to combine the technical and pedagogical elements of existing simulation and game tools to a massive multiplayer online simulation for sustainability education. This is pursued by forming a network willing to participate in the forming of a massive multiplayer simulation for sustainability education in Southern Africa.

Team

Johanna Ollila, Roderick Fox, Sophie Oldfield, Johanna Kärki