The Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, part of the UNEP DTU Partnership, invites applications for a PhD research project focused on development implications of sustainable energy transitions in Sub Saharan Africa. Over the past 25 years, the Centre on Climate, Energy and Sustainable development of the UNEP DTU Partnership (www.unepdtu.org) has become a leading international research and advisory hub on energy, climate and sustainable Development. The Partnership is an integrated part of the Department of Management Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The Centre works in close partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and has project activities in more than 50 developing countries. The Centre collaborates with a large number of national and international government and research institutions, especially in developing countries.

Background:
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is currently witnessing a rapid increase in private investments in energy infrastructure, such as large-scale grid connected solar and wind energy, privately operated mini-grids and individual solutions in terms of solar lanterns and solar home systems. This opens opportunities for locally based companies to engage in all levels of the value chain, including local assembly and local co-production potentially leading to job creation and local industrial development. There is, however, very limited empirical knowledge on how, and to which what extent lower and medium income countries in SSA will be able to reap these development benefits from a green energy transition, and what specific energy, industrial and other policies would sustain such a development.

Project aims:
The PhD project will investigate sustainable energy transitions in developing countries with a specific focus on the role and influence of government, the private sector and donor agencies, in ensuring local development benefits of this transition. This will lead to a broader aim of improving the understanding of the interface between the development states, markets and donors as they relate to the innovation, production and diffusion of low-carbon energy technologies.