Reliable, affordable, modern energy powers sustainable development, helping countries reduce poverty, catalyze economic growth and improve human well-being. Yet progress in universalizing access to electricity remains uneven. Gaps in accessible and accurate ground-level data hamper comprehensive energy planning in many developing countries.

Energy Access Explorer(EAE) is an online, open-source, interactive platform that uses mapping to visualize the state of energy access in unserved and underserved areas. It analyzes credible and public data to make the connection between the demand and supply of energy. Individuals can also create custom analyses to identify and prioritize areas where energy markets can be expanded.

EAE data visualization Global Horizontal Irradiation
EAE map of healthcare facilities.

Through combining public data with custom analyses, this platform paints a clearer picture of energy access and, most critically, where it is lacking. EAE provides valuable information to a multitude of stakeholders, including:

  • Off-grid and mini-grid developers who can use the tool to identify gaps in market opportunities.
  • Development finance institutions that can pinpoint regions that need additional funding to electrify energy-poor communities.
  • Energy planners who can visualize regions where greater energy access could drive sustainable development and target new areas for grid or off-grid expansion.
  • Clean energy entrepreneurswho can access demographic and socio-economic data, which indicate consumer ability to pay for electricity. This information can help identify gaps in market opportunities.
  • Electrification planning agencieswho can explore the potential for grid extension, off-grid systems and renewables for energy access in their countries.
  • Impact investors and donorswho can identify areas that need funding to meet development goals on energy access, education and more.

Learn more about EAE and its partners here.

Image Credit:Wind Demark/Flickr