The Afterlives of Off-Grid Solar Products

In the past decade, there has been a huge increase in the availability of solar-powered products in Sub-Saharan Africa. UNSW Associate Professor Paul Munro and I arepart of a team investigating the implications of the boom for consumers, product lifecycles and waste.

The Afterlife of Solar: a film by UNSW Sydney, with support from UNSW Digital Grid Futures Institute, UNSW Scientia Program, Mzuzu University Malawi, and Zuwa Energy Malawi.

A Changeable Ocean

I am a new arrival to this ancient place,
my feet now rooted in Burramatagal soil.
There is so much to love about this country,
from its people to the breadth of its wilderness,
But the yoke of a colonial past still betrays us.
or celebrating our diversity, solidarity, and resilience.

We do not lack the moral imagination
to forge a vision of "Australia" anew,
to acknowledge and address injustice,
to place Indigenous people and their heritage
at the very core of this nation's character,
not the fringes they are relegated to.

We have all to gain through this reconception,
it does not preclude us honoring countless others,
be it our workers or soldiers, artists or scientists,
or celebrating our diversity, solidarity, and resilience.

A national day, on the day of invasion,
betrays our collective potential.
For the character of a nation is no stagnant pond,
confined to the waters of a particular past,
it is a changeable ocean
whose tides we decide.

A Better World

These tumultuous times tend to surface how fragile the foundations of our societies can be. How seemingly entrenched norms, practices and priorities can be suspended in a matter of hours. How fast the treadmill of our economies can lose power and grind to a halt. Yet the collapse of 'normality' offers an invaluable pause. For entangled in this story about a virus, are our moral defeciencies and profound imbalances of power. Manifested in social and economic systems that extract, marginalise and abandon. Unjust systems that most of us have viewed as an inevitable and unalterable arc. Yet in the midst of human catastrophe, acrid skies and waters are clearing. Other species and entire ecosystems, spared from our rapacity, are breathing a collective sigh of relief. The spread of a virus is also exposing the brutal social and economic realities of our populations, and how they are inextricably linked to our collective wellbeing. This is set to escalate in the ensuing months.

As our political and financial elites look to shore up the status quo, let us not hasten to return to familiar ground. We have long means to their ends. In the midst of disruption, anguish and loss, the weeks and months ahead can be of great significance for present and future generations. We must not conflate physical distance with social distance. This is an opportunity for us to exercise solidarity. For us to shape systems that have long been broken. Let us be bold, a better world is possible.

Creating Freedom by Raoul Martinez

This is one of the most comprehensive and compelling books I've read in recent years. As suggested in the title, a central question that Martinez explores is the extent to which we are actually free. The "lottery of birth", failing criminal systems, the perversities of markets and limitless growth, the corrosive influence of mediascapes, and broken electoral systems, are some of the crucial topics that Martinez unpacks. Importantly, he synthesizes a staggering amount of research and thought leadership across these issues. In doing so, he makes a strong case for why the social and economic systems that shape the lives of present and future generations need to be re-imagined. What is clearly illustrated in this book is that there are a plethora of solutions, but systems change requires strong grassroots mobilizations to overcome the powerful interests of a few.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in social justice. Particularly those trying to grasp what some of the root causes might be. It offers a sweeping overview of systemic challenges and possible solutions. What I really appreciate about this book is that it is not just a list of technocratic policy prescriptions, Martinez interrogates some of the deeply held ideas, beliefs, and values that have shaped our societies. In my view, he opens space for us to embrace the spirit of compassion and cooperation that has been diminished in an age of rugged individualism.

A Disappearing World

We have spent most of 2019 sealed in our apartment in Sydney, seeking refuge from the acrid smoke that has engulfed much of Australia for months now. It is the only time I’ve felt trapped in this space we call home. We have watched this disaster unfold, both through our windows and screens, fully aware of the fact that we are the lucky ones. We have not had to endure the devastating loss of loved ones, of homes, the trauma of displacement, or of battling perilously against the flames as they devastate entire towns, and decimate other living beings. Our pain is far less visceral, it is the ache of bearing witness to a disappearing world. Archived but not to be lived through again.

A “new normal” is the euphemistic term for this state we are in. The relative stability of the past swallowed by escalating chaos. We must simply adapt and carry on. We must keep the engines of our economies going. As a lecturer, I seek to trace the connective tissue between myopic economic ideology and their devastating consequences to present and future generations. No shortage of writers, scholars, and elders have alerted us to this wicked trajectory. But it is one that I try to outline, out of deep responsibility to young students, with a sense of agency and hope. A conviction, though more strained each year, that we have the collective capacity to end this hubris and turn things around. It is, after all, the interests of but a few that are served by this extractive course we chart. Why would we desire an uninhabitable earth? We cannot be pathologically suicidal. “More just and sustainable pathways are possible for our species, but the masses must demand it!” This has been my refrain for years. Yet as the city of Paramatta disappears in smoke before my eyes, and the ABC flashes scenes of families huddled under a hellish sky on Mallacoota beach, I feel desolate. After years of accumulation, a tipping point has been crossed. A sense of dread ripples through me and my bones ache. Taciturn, I can only think of fading into sleep for some brief respite.

This is not out of a lack of constitution. Having grown up across Sri Lanka and Malawi, brutality, and injustice hardened my heart at a tender age. This eventually formed the foundations fo a resolve to fight for a better future. Yet there is something truly devastating about the age we are in. The rapacity with which a few ransack our planet, can so easily vanquish hope and determination. Especially as the window for change narrows, and the impacts are felt by the most vulnerable. Yet as a leader and an educator, I must confess that I often feel the need (likely self-imposed) to be positive and hopeful, to avoid perpetuating despondency. To provide courses of action. I struggle with this on a daily basis. Especially as I lack the wherewithal to be insincere, even if towards justifiably positive ends. This is one quandry I face as my heart digests the increasingly hostile world that is here before us. But I’m forming the view that it is more important for me to honest. Even if it means unleashing sorrow and having no immediate course of action. To care is to accept the burden of grief. And while grieving, I can carve spaces to care deeply for what remains.

Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt

"Biased" draws upon extensive research (including her own) to provide insight into how our often unconscious minds are prone to implicit biases e.g. damaging stereotypes.

Eberhardt, a social psychologist, grounds her analysis in fundamental aspects of human behaviour such as why we are "hardwired to see difference" and we tend to see people outside our "group" as being a threat. She traces the historical roots of the association between blackness and being sub-human (e.g. akin to apes), an association that has had devastating impacts and lingers in many structural forms across the world e.g. migration, education, employment, incarceration. However, this book is not just about racism. Its insights speak to the limitations of our minds, and how casting attention to our own biases is central to fairer societies. To this end, Eberhardt also draws upon her extensive experience in training (e.g. US police forces) to put forward some pragmatic solutions to address implicit bias.

Overall, this book was eye-opening. Eberhardt skilfully combines powerful stories and research insights to give attention to how our implicit biases shape can shape our world. Her message is clear - bias is not the domain of a select few "bigots", it is part of the human condition... but we all have the power and responsibility to transform it.

The Courage to be Disliked

The Courage to be disliked" by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of the "self-help" category, but I do make some exceptions. This book serves as a primer on Adlerian psychology, Adler being less well-known than his famous counterparts Freud and Jung. This thought-provoking introduction is unfurled across a rich range of dialogues between a fictional philosopher and a young student. In my view, this format goes a long way towards making the book's themes and ideas much easier to grasp and relate to.

As reflected in the book's title, it's core message is that our happiness is inextricably linked to having the courage to be disliked. A prospect that can confront many, if not all. It urges us to exercise agency (as best we can) to undertake our "life tasks" instead of shifting responsibility to others. That is to say, the tasks that give our lives meaning, and are more firmly within our span of control. While some may see this approach as being dismissive of the impacts of trauma, I found its emphasis on our agency refreshing. Similar to Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning", the authors argue for more useful interpretations of the past so as to forge more fulfilling experiences in the present, and future. Overall, I feel the book offers an insightful exploration of what living by our values/principles entails.

Have any of you read this book? I'd love to hear from you. If this spurs you to give it a read/listen, do chime in when you dive in :)

We Almost Forgot

We almost forgot,
that we were born into violence.
Habituated to scenes of death,
to the tense rhythms of curfews,
and networks of military checkpoints,
an island home that we could not roam.

We almost forgot,
the confusion etched on our faces
as our elders succumed to prejudice.
From the lurid chambers of parliament
to the intimacy of our dining tables.
How even the clergy of our temples
learned to sway to songs of war.
All the while, in our classrooms and playgrounds,
their words grated against our experience.

We almost forgot,
the moral cost of the peace we enjoyed,
the thousands of lives destroyed by violence,
and denied paths to justice.
How opportunists in gilded mansions
remind us of their “accomplishments”,
while wounds unhealed still fester.

I almost forgot
how numb I have become,
across these years of bloodshed.
I felt the pull of sadness, but little else.
I hover over chasms of anger and despair,
privileged in my safety,
unable to fathom neither
the depravity of the perpetrators,
nor the grief of survivors.
Only knowing that the sinews
of my heart would collapse
If I were to plumb those depths.

Through abhorrent violence,
we, so prone to forgetting,
are reminded yet again,
of the fractures we have inherited,
and the depraved that seek to exploit them.
Our duty in the aftermath is to
trace the contours of these divisions,
to collapse the pernicious caves
of “us” and “them”,
celebrate our common humanity,
and create paths for justice.
While we may never construct a peace
that is immune from the vagaries of terrorism,
let it be one that can defeat its vicious aims.

Energy Justice in Malawi - The Case of Solar Household Systems

In my last post about my research, I offered a primer on Energy Justice. In this post, I’d like to delve deeper into my PhD research project and to this end, my research question is a good place to start.

The primary question guiding my PhD project is “how are issues of energy justice entangled in the adoption of solar household systems in Northern Malawi?”. A mouthful , isn’t it? Let me unpack what I mean by this, and why I contend that it is worthy of inquiry.

Energy justice in Malawi

As explained previously, energy justice involves the application of social and environmental rights to energy systems. It provokes questions such as “who has access to the benefits of energy?” , “who goes without?”, “who is invovled in decision making”  and “who is excluded?”.  Looking at Malawi through the lens of energy justice reveals a pernicious and intractable challenge, that of energy poverty. This occurs within a global context in which institututitions like the United Nations and World Bank are ambitiously trying to ensure universal access to energy by 2030 through a myriad of on and off-grid interventions.

In Malawi, only 10.8% of a 17.5 million population have access to electricity through the national grid. This picture is even starker when examined along economic and geographic lines, 48.7% of the country’s urban population have grid access, whereas just 3.9% of the country’s rural majority have access to the grid.  It also bears mentioning that those who do have “access”, experience an expensive and unreliable supply. “Blackouts” due to load-shedding (demand exceeding supply) are a daily part of life in Malawi. The affluent are able to use diesel generators or powerful solar systems to get by, whereas the rest of the population, be it in urban or rural contexts,  have to fashion a range of responses to source energy services like cooking, lighting, charging, and powering appliances. This often involves households using charcoal or firewood for cooking, and battery-powered torches for lighting. Against this backdrop, solar technologies are playing an important role in what is one of the least electrified nations in the world.

Solar Household Systems in Malawi

Over the last 7-8 years, basic solar lighting products have enabled Malawians, particularly those in rural regions, to transition away from kerosene lamps and torches, to brighter and more cost-effective lighting. While the statistics on adoption are sketchy, it is estimated that up to 2 million Malawians have benefitted from these small-scale products. However, while affordable, these entry level products are unable to cater to the growing energy needs of populations in Malawi. Apart from the need for high quality lighting throughout their homes, the vast majority of households in Malawi own at least one mobile phone, thus phone charging has become a vital energy service. Understandably, households also desire to power appliances  that they see as part and parcel of “the good life”, this includes sound systems, televisions, fridges and electric stoves. Many own such appliances but have no means to power them. So while solar lanterns have played a useful role in providing Malawian households with an alternative to kerosene lamps and torches, they are unable to cater to the ever-growing energy needs of Malawians. This is where solar household systems come in…

Shousehold systems (SHS)  typically involve a combination of a solar panel, a battery (to store power) and LED lights. Depending on whether the systems use alternate (which we use in our homes) or direct current, the system might also require an inverter (to convert electricity to the right voltage). There is a wide spectrum of SHS, ranging from basic systems that can power multiple LED bulbs and charge phones, to those that can power fridges and televisions.  Given the slow expansion of the grid, and the high frequency of blackouts, SHS are widely seen as a very attractive means through which households can either replace or supplement grid access. The following excerpt form a household interview speaks to this:

  "Bright: We have noticed that you have both systems - a solar system and ESCOM (grid access) In terms of use, why haven't you completely switched to using ESCOM?

Hastings: I haven't switched completely to ESCOM because of one major reason, our ESCOM power capability is not reliable. We expect blackouts nearly every day...except this month of January because I heard that the Malawi Govt sourced power of 30MW from the Republic of Zambia. Yeah...but blackouts were the order of the day in Malawi. So there's no way ...at any point in time I should say that I have no plans to completely switch from solar to electricity power. No. Our electricity is not reliable"

While SHS is a very attractive alternative to grid-based electricity, affordability has been a huge barrier to adoption. This has been eased by global reductions in the costs of panels and batteries, as well as the advent of financial innovations such as pay-as-you-go (PAYG). As the name would suggest, the latter allows households to pay for these systems incrementally (typically 6-21 months), thereby reducing upfront cost as a barrier to adoption. From an energy justice perspective, it could be argued that this innovation is furthering distirbutive justice as it allows for a greater number of households to afford a solar system. 

While millions of these pay-as-you-go solar systems (PAYG SHS)  have been sold in East Africa, this technolgoy is still at a nascent stage in Malawi. In fact, I am a co-founder of a PAYG Solar company in Malawi called Zuwa Energy, one of the first to offer PAYG SHS in Malawi. To be clear though, my research is concerned with energy justice issues that are relevant to the SHS industry as a whole.  As I’ll elaborate on soon, there are a host of benefits and challenges that the industry has to contend with.

Why northern Malawi?

Understanding my rationale for focusing on the north of Malawi requires a bit of context. Malawi achieved independence from Britain in 1964 and was ruled by a lifetime president, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, for 30 years (1964-1994). A referendum eventually resulted in Malawi becoming a multi-party democracy and Dr Banda was defeated in the nation’s first election in 1994. A sad legacy of Dr Banda’s rule was the marginalisation of the northern region of Malawi. Hisotorians and commentators attribute this to his prejudice towards the Tumbukka people of the north (perceived as being favoured by British missionaries), and his desire to focus the interests of the Chewa people (his tribe) in the centre of Malawi. Adding to this, many of Dr Banda’s political opponents (advocates for democracy) hailed from the north. This created a context where many feel that the north of the nation has long been sidelined when it comes to development, energy infrastructure being a relevant example. Thus, a key reason I’m interested in the north of Malawi is because I am curious to understand how Malawians in the north are responding to this legacy of marginalisation in the context of energy.

My second point of interest is the fact that the north of Malawi shares (porous) borders with both Tanzania and Zambia. This is particularly noteoworthy as both nations have more advanced solar industries and my field experience suggests that this has implications for Malawi. For instance, traders from neighbouring countries selling products in Malawi, and sub-standard goods from these markets being “dumped” in Malawi. Therefore in my view, combination of the north’s history, and it’s shared borders, shape the adoption of solar technologies in the region.

So what are some the “energy justice issues” in the solar industry?

While there is great potential (actual and perceived) for solar technologies to address energy poverty in Malawi, there are also a number of critical challenges. I’ll provide a brief overview in this post and delve into the nuances of some of them in a subsequent post.

Quality - The liberalisation of the solar market are a double-edged sword. While it has resulted in solar products being cheaper and more physically accessible to the masses, it has created a market in which there is a vast spectrum of quality grades. In addition to an influx of sub-standard solar products are “fake” products e.g. stickers that look like solar cells and false claims about country of origin such as “Made in Germany”. It is important to note that these issues of quality are not relegated to panels alone, they include other components like batteries and inverters. While the local energy regulator requires importers to be licensed,and consignments to be quality-tested, the ground reality is that this does not always happen. This has in effect created a vertible jungle of products, where the onus is on an often desperate consumer to make well-informed choices. A harsh reality that has only been confirmed through my interviews with local solar businesses.

Solar Literacy - So the question is, does the average Malawian household have the capacity to make well-informed choices about solar products? After all, solar technology is technically complex and as mentioned above, there are issues of quality to navigate. While my research is ongoing, it seems fairly clear that the answer is an unfortunate “no”. Households are often basing their decisions on word-of-mouth and observations of homes in their area. While there’s a basic understanding of how solar panels work, there is often very little knowledge of the various components (and their specifications) that are required for a well-functionnig system. Furthermore, there’s often vague notions of how one can detect products that are fake. Stories I’ve heard so far tend to fixate on factors such as colour, patterning or labels on the panel, hardly an effective indicator.

While this is by no means an exhaustive list of the energy justice issues in the industry, I hope it paints a picture of the landscape I’m exploring. Malawian households have little faith in the national grid providing them with access to affordable and reliable electricity, which is why they turn to promising solutions like solar household systems. However, juxtaposed against strong demand for affordable solar products is the fact that the majority of Malawians have low levels of solar literacy, thus leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. My research concentrates on this as an issue of justice and my hope is that I can work with stakeholders to propose interventions that can help address this challenge.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. I’d deeply appreciate your comments and feedback.

Uninvited

We used to  play in the shade

of that old brick house,

estranged from its first family,

overwhelmed by pink bougainvilleas.

We unsettled the dust of another time,

our feet bare and curious,

our fingers electric and clumsy.

We filled its interiors with cacophonies

of laughter and arguments,

the smell of smoke, and mulberry stains.

Unthinking of whether we were welcome.