Powering the Slum: Exploring Alternatives Forms of Energy for Informal Sett

On Wednesday March 13th at 9:00am, join the Penn Institute for Urban Research for a conversation exploring efforts to introduce renewable energy to informal settlements in Accra, Ghana. Presented by Penn IUR Fellow James Kwame Mensah in conversation with Penn IUR Co-Director Eugénie Birch, this event builds on the new policy digest published by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Ghana’s electrical system is not only highly reliant on fossil fuels (66 percent of the total) but also does not meet demand due to rapid population growth, especially in the country’s urban informal settlements. This widespread lack of affordable and reliable energy severely limits informal settlers’ capacity to leap out of poverty and live safe, healthy, and productive lives. How can the energy generation mix be diversified to yield the most affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy in informal settlements?

This event is part of University of Pennsylvania’s Energy Week. For more information on Energy Week events go here.