School of Science and Technology (SST) Faculty Member, Norbert Edomah, Wins a UKRI-GCRF Grant for Energy Transitions Research in Africa

School of Science and Technology (SST) Faculty Member, Norbert Edomah, Wins a UKRI-GCRF Grant for Energy Transitions Research in Africa

UKRI-GCRF Energy Democracy and the Politics of Energy Transition in African Countries

Dr. Norbert Edomah, a faculty member of the School of Science and Technology (SST), together with colleagues from partner institutions, has received a £1.33 million grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), to conduct a study on Energy Transition in African Countries. The grant is awarded under the United Kingdom Research & Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).

The ESRC funded three-year research project titled “Energy Democracy and the Politics of Energy Transition in African Countries” will explore the dynamics at play and the local forces on-the-ground that shape energy decisions for centralized and decentralized electricity sources, and how they impact on the type of energy infrastructure we end up with. With this project, we intend to explore, document and develop policy tools for effective electricity system governance across selected African countries that will be studied.  The findings of this study will be published as they emerge.

Principal investigators for this project include: Dr. Xavier Lemaire, University College London; Dr. Norbert Edomah, Pan-Atlantic University; Professor Peter Connor, University of Exeter; Dr. Mamello Nchake, National University of Lesotho; Dr. Elusiyan Eludoyin, University College London; Dr. Bridget Woodman, University of Exeter; Dr. Jonathan Cloke, Loughborough University; and Dr. Bernard Tembo, Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research – ZIPAR.

Dr. Edomah, while commenting on the potential impact of the project says “this project is of utmost importance as it targets to increase awareness about innovative inclusive policies and regulation that has a potential to impact on energy transition. It will also inform stakeholders on issues surrounding poverty, structural inequalities, unemployment, and multi-level responses to manage and care about energy democracy when implementing clean energy transition”.

Dr. Edomah is an expert on energy policy and electricity planning. He has researched and published extensively on the Nigerian energy transition. This research is in line with the university’s commitment to developing solutions that address local problems.