About the Project
We are SHINE: Sustainable, Holistic, Inclusive Energy Systems for Well-being, a three-year, £3.5 million transdisciplinary project that seeks to investigate the link between the socio-economic, gender, environmental, health and technological conditions that improves well-being, inclusiveness, and the sustainability of energy access interventions.
SHINE is funded by UKRI through their Ayrton Challenge Programme, and is one of 13 projects to be given a share of £33 million.
Sustainable Development Goals
Energy access impacts multiple of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), beyond SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy).
Some SDGs are reinforced with access to modern, sustainable energy, including, but not limited to:
- Climate action (13)
- Good health (3)
- Quality education (4)
- Gender equality (5)
Linking these goals together enhances well-being, defined by the World Health Organisation as “a positive state experienced by individuals and societies… and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions”. So, well-being clearly focuses on inclusion, equity and climate, and so is a highly appropriate structure to understand access to modern energy.
Our aim
Our aim of the project is to investigate the key research question:
To what extent does the utilisation of a well-being framework act as a driver for sustainable energy system design and enable an inclusive energy transition?
SHINE is working with communities and stakeholders in The Gambia and Ghana in West Africa to answer this question, exploring the intersectional realities associated with the energy transition. This will be achieved through piloting the well-being framework in energy interventions with off-grid communities in both Ghana and The Gambia, to understand the opportunities such a framework could bring.
The Gambia and Ghana each have their own challenges in the energy transition, Ghana’s current electrification rate is 88%, whilst The Gambia’s is 40%. However, both countries struggle to support hard-to-reach communities such as island and rural communities. They have identified the need to focus on decentralised energy access and the promotion of renewable energy systems, outlined in policy documents, but current progress on this is slow.
Outputs
SHINE has five anticipated outputs, which can help create better support for such communities:
- Creation of an interdisciplinary well-being framework that drives energy system design for inclusive energy transitions
- Open datasets (socio-economic, gender and social inclusion and technical variables) from primary data collection through small energy-based interventions
- Narrative storytelling of lived energy experience of communities and the impact on well-being
- Engaging policy makers, highlighting opportunities of a well-being framework to create an environment for effective, impactful energy interventions
- Inclusive technology/knowledge transfer programme to increase skills and capacity of stakeholders, local communities and women entrepreneurs
