Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE)

Accelerating the uptake of distributed renewable energy, to provide fast, clean, cheap power where it is needed most

By integrating DRE into the power system you reach people faster—ramping up reliability, cutting carbon, saving money, and building more resilient systems.

The scalability of mini grids and other DRE systems means that these systems can support emerging multi-kilowatt loads associated with smallholder farming, light commercial, community factories, and schools, as well as multi-megawatt loads on urban and semi-urban distribution circuits.
We target $30bn flowing to DREs by 2030, to change lives for 180m people.

We can do this by cutting cost and making the leap to scale. At the heart of the Alliance, we:

  • Build demonstration projects, to show what’s possible
  • Develop pipelines, to aggregate the opportunity
  • Support the ecosystem for scale: governments, developers, investors
Meet the Alliance

Latest on DRE

Our DRE Projects

Ethiopia

Distributed Renewable Energy for Agricultural Modalities (DREAM): Powering agriculture with private sector mini grids in Ethiopia

Standalone systems
Nigeria

Utility-enabled distributed renewables: With utilities, deploying DREs at the grid edge to displace diesel and provide reliable power to businesses

All sectors
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nuru: Equity investment to help Nuru close $70M finance and start building the next 13.7MW of metro grids in Eastern DRC

Mini-grids
Indonesia

Renewable Energy Access for Last mile (REAL): Working with the utility to replace diesel and electrify remote communities and islands across Indonesia

Mini-grids
Myanmar

Smart Power Myanmar: Unlocking finance for distributed solar across Myanmar

Mini-grids
India

Energizing agriculture and MSMEs: Supporting state governments to deploy hundreds of megawatts of power to farmers and small businesses

All sectors
Haiti

Alina Eneji: Building mesh grids to electrify Haiti

Mini-grids
Puerto Rico

Resilient energy for critical facilities: Using DREs to build disaster resilience in the energy system

Interconnected DREs
Malawi

Solar power for agriculture: Demonstrating renewable power solutions for agricultural value chains across the country

Standalone systems
Nigeria

Energizing Agriculture Program: Showing the business models for deploying DREs with agriculture

Mini-grids

Spotlight Stories

14 partners are coming together to close the electricity access gap across the continent
IDB, IDB Invest
Read more
Electrifying islands and remote communities with DRE
Rallying round a goal to electrify 300 million people by 2030
World Bank, AfDB
Read more
Partnering with The World Bank to co-design the $750m DARES project, focused on results-based financing for renewable energy access, along with funding essential preparatory work through ESMAP
ESMAP, World Bank
Read more
14 partners are coming together to close the electricity access gap across the continent
IDB, IDB Invest
Read more
Electrifying islands and remote communities with DRE
Rallying round a goal to electrify 300 million people by 2030
World Bank, AfDB
Read more
Partnering with The World Bank to co-design the $750m DARES project, focused on results-based financing for renewable energy access, along with funding essential preparatory work through ESMAP
ESMAP, World Bank
Read more

Impacting lives with DRE

Productive Use of Energy
Gender

Let’s change energy

in Goma, DRC

Nuru, based in Goma, DRC, is one of Africa’s pioneering renewable energy-powered metrogrid companies. By delivering world-class renewable energy and connectivity services, Nuru aims to empower 5 million Congolese people, one connection at a time.

Meet Our Experts

  • Edward is a Managing Director at GEAPP, focusing on Government Enablement & Country Delivery in Africa. With 14+ years in energy efficiency and renewables, he previously co-led RMI’s Africa Energy Program and founded a Brazilian energy consultancy. Edward holds a BA (Hons) and MEng in Engineering from the University of Cambridge.

    Edward Borgstein
    Head of Solutions
    Global

  • Suman has 20+ years of experience designing global programs that promote inclusive economic development in Africa and Asia. As a Managing Director at GEAPP, she leads efforts to ensure renewable energy investments improve jobs and livelihoods globally. Suman holds an MPA from Princeton and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

    Suman Sureshbabu
    Managing Director, Demand, Jobs and Livelihoods
    Global

  • Victor is a renewable energy professional with ten years of experience in sub-Saharan Africa, developing wind, solar, and hydropower plants. At GEAPP, he focuses on expanding clean energy access and promoting innovations to reduce costs for underserved communities. He is also passionate about emerging technologies in energy and IoT.

    Victor Okinda
    Manager, Solutions
    Africa

  • Makena Ireri is an energy expert with over a decade of experience in energy access and international development. She has worked on energy projects funded by DFID, World Bank, and IFC. Previously, she was the Director of Clean Energy Access Research at CLASP, specializing in off-grid appliance technologies

    Makena Ireri
    Director, Demand, Jobs & Livelihood
    Africa

  • Dennis Waweru Nderitu is the Manager for Energy Systems at GEAPP, providing technical support across partnerships and projects. Previously, he was the Technical Lead at Energy 4 Impact and managed solar projects at Davis & Shirtliff and PowerGen Renewable Energy. Dennis holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Kenya.

    Dennis Nderitu
    Energy Systems Director
    Africa

  • Fauzia Chevonne Okediji is the Manager of Utility Innovation at GEAPP, focusing on scaling distributed renewable energy solutions. With 13+ years in the power sector, she previously led the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme at GIZ. Fauzia holds a Master’s in Engineering and is a certified Renewable Energy Professional.

    Fauzia Okediji
    Manager, DRE
    Nigeria

  • Roberto Estevez has 10+ years of experience in the energy sector, focusing on renewable energy and energy access across Latin America and beyond. He has led projects in Argentina, India, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, and Chile, and currently develops and implements GEAPP’s renewable energy, BESS, and decarbonization projects in LAC

    Roberto Estevez
    Manager, Latin America and Caribbean
    Latin America & Caribbean