The Access to Energy Institute (A2EI) and the European programme GET.invest officially launched the data platform Prospect at the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo 2022 in Kigali today. Prospect radically optimizes real-time data collection, analysis, and visualisation to support sustainable energy stakeholders in providing affordable and clean energy access for all. Prospect is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Prospect is the first global open-source, product-agnostic, real-time and free-of-charge data and transaction platform that automatically collects, aggregates, analyses and displays data from all modern sustainable energy solutions. The platform facilitates big data analysis on any product segment, region, and country in near real-time. It tracks energy services ranging from small solar home systems to large mini-grids and grid-connected distribution networks – while also covering productive use appliances, modern clean cooking solutions, and systems installed in public institutions.
The platform employs a unique “energy fingerprint + heartbeat” methodology that combines customer, technical, usage, maintenance, and payment data streams to authenticate performance and impact, while adhering to strict data privacy policies. It transparently makes multi-layered data available both at the individual system and at project or aggregate level.
Prospect allows for instantaneous secure data sharing, empowering users to leverage their data to gain insights, raise finance, prove results, and contribute to broader research within the energy sector. It facilitates extensive automatic reporting, monitoring and evaluation and features a built-in transaction functionality to support financing and subsidy disbursements. Providing distributors, investors, funders and governments alike with a broad range of analytical and practical opportunities, Prospect aims to serve as a trust provider for all sustainable energy access stakeholders.
Prospect was borne out of the climate technology experiences of two aligned efforts: the Edison data platform, built by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) to support the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and the Climate Impact Payments Platform (CLIPP), developed by A2EI to prototype innovative impact monetization approaches.
“Sida has come to rely ever more on accurate, reliable and up-to-date data in our program planning and decision-making in the energy sector, and with Prospect we are investing in taking our existing efforts to the next level,” said Anders Arvidson of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, one of the donors behind Prospect. “We are thrilled to see this partnership between A2EI and GET.invest, which will also leverage GET.invest’s deep network and experience in advising and mobilizing investment for off-grid projects and companies.”
Stefan Zelazny, Prospect Project Lead and Managing Director at A2EI, explained: “Our mission is to provide a cutting-edge digital platform, advanced data analytics and technical support to anyone who enables, funds or delivers modern sustainable energy to underserved people, and do so reflecting a commitment to open-source and open access.”
“Together with A2EI and with the support from the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria, we are building next-generation data infrastructure for the off-grid sector that reflects the values of the Just Transition,” said John Tkacik, who coordinates Prospect at GET.invest.
Justin Mukosa, Manager Corporate Affairs at the Zambian Rural Electrification Authority (REA), one of the first official Prospect users: “REA Zambia is proud to be associated with A2EI and GET.invest in the development of an open data platform that would enable transparent access to high quality and verified data, contributing to the optimization of our ambitious electrification strategy. Further, high quality and verifiable data would enable REA to secure long-term financing. We believe that availability of data is key to swift scaling up and increased uptake of renewable off-grid energy projects in Africa.”
About A2EI (www.a2ei.org)
A2EI is the first not-for-profit and collaborative research and development institute aiming to advance renewable energy access in emerging economies. It provides broad, reliable open-source data, as well as on-the-ground research and analysis of solar solutions, and software platforms to administer these. Additionally, A2EI develops and procures solar system and appliance prototypes and initiates pilot projects – aiming to provide widely scalable sustainable energy research and solutions as a common good.
About GET.invest (www.get-invest.eu)
GET.invest is a leading programme that supports investments in private sector clean energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region. The programme works across all relevant clean energy technologies and business models, assisting project developers and companies towards bankability and linking them with financiers. Since 2022, GET.invest powers the Team Europe One Stop Shop for Green Energy Investments, an access point for information about and facilitated access to European support and financing instruments for energy projects and companies. GET.invest is supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.