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Dear <<First Name>>

As we approach the end of the year, it’s encouraging to look back and reflect on the work being done on multiple fronts to solve the climate crisis. Efforts related to clean technology advancements, the divestment from fossil fuels movement, political reforms by some countries, and even grass-roots activism from the school strikes led by Greta Thunberg show that momentum for meaningful action to address climate change is growing. There is a lot that individuals can do in this movement, but the most impactful changes will come from political reforms that hold large polluters to account for the environmental costs of their operations.
The clean energy transition is just one piece of the larger movement, and this newsletter highlights some of our insights and recent developments in this sector based on our recent work. Please get in touch if there are questions you need answered or research topics you would like covered related to the clean energy transition and impact investment space for next year. If you're new to our newsletter and missed the last one, you can view it here.
Clean Energy & Storage Markets Looking Up as Coal Struggles with Financing
South Africa’s government recently published its 10 year national electricity plan and roadmap to unbundle the national utility. While the plans could do more to phase-out coal from the electricity mix faster, the majority of new capacity to be built by 2030 will come from renewable energy. Fortunately, the challenges with financing new coal projects due to divestment demonstrates that responsible investment is working and will likely prevent new coal projects from being built in South Africa despite their inclusion in the plan. With the ongoing supply shortage in the country, government needs to move quickly to begin Round 5 of the renewable energy program and will hopefully prioritize license applications for distributed generation projects which is the fastest way to get affordable and clean energy connected to the grid. The market for distributed generation and battery storage solutions is projected to continue growing next year with Eskom’s plant availability factor dropping to 68% contributing to the ongoing supply shortage. Read More.
Recent and Ongoing Project Highlights
Clean Energy for Industry Project
We’re currently assisting the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & the Frankfurt School on their Clean Captive Power Initiative for Industrial Clients in Africa. This multi-year project focuses on four countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana) to demonstrate scalable clean energy solutions that can reduce greenhouse emissions from industry. Click here for more info on the project. 
Solar Plus Battery Storage in Africa
We recently worked with a leading solar and battery manufacturer to develop a product strategy for their new battery. The in-depth research and market analysis targeted various customer segments in Africa needing a solar and storage solution to provide reliable and clean electricity to their customers.
Podcast on Customer Centricity in the Electricity Industry

Special thanks to my wife for having me as a guest on her podcast show, Decoding the Customer, where we discuss the need to improve customer experience in the electricity industry and highlight some of the companies getting it right. Check it out here!
Please feel free to get in touch by email if you would like to learn more about these topics or discuss other ways to work together.

Alternatively let me know if there are other clean energy research topics you would like to see covered in this newsletter next time.

Cheers, Chris
For more updates on my publications and thoughts on industry developments, you can follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter. Alternatively connect through my website or by email.
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