Off-Grid: Market Outlook and Lessons Learned

With over 12 years of experience in government and academia working with and assisting remote communities in the Canadian North to transition away from fossil fuels for energy generation, Rob Cooke is the Operations Manager for Yukon University's Northern Energy Innovation and the Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET https://www.uvic.ca/acet/index.php) Strategic Research Area (SRA) Manager for remote microgrids. Understanding and supporting the vital need for communities to want, develop and own clean energy projects in their communtiies, Rob uses his skills, knowledge and experience to aid communities and build capacity to ensure communities can develop and grow their own clean energy projects. Rob is also Canada's technical lead to the Arctic Council Sustainable Deverlopment Working Group Arctic Remote Energy Network Academy (ARENA https://sdwg.org/what-we-do/projects/arctic-remote-energy-networks-academy-arena-ii-1 ), a pan-Arctic capacity building program aimed at giving energy champions from remote communities the skills, knowledge and network to grow renewable energy projects in their own communities and regions. With 23 years prior experience as an aircraft electrical engineer with the UK Royal Navy, Rob has travelled extensively throughout the Canadian North and Alaska, mostly by dog team, and the broader Arctic. He lives in a small, off-grid cabin just outside Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory where he shares his life with 42 Siberian Huskies and a quick thinking cat. Rob is a multiple finisher of both the Yukon Quest and Iditarod 1000 mile sled dog races.

Sohan is a research analyst on Wood Mackenzie's Power and Renewables team and leads the coverage of solar PV and onshore wind markets in Africa and the Middle East. He forecasts renewable installations in the region and provides insights on the latest policy and regulatory developments. He is currently based in London. Sohan has previously been a member of Wood Mackenzie's European long-term power team, where his primary focus was on power purchase agreement (PPA) and guarantee of origin (GoO) trends. Earlier in his career, Sohan lived in Nigeria, where he gained experience collaborating with a local power solutions provider on a project to install off-grid residential PV systems in rural areas of the country. Sohan graduated from Imperial College London with a first-class master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

Dr. Tania Vorwerk is a senior development policy expert with a focus on sustainable development, energy, environment and infrastructure. She studied Law and Scandinavian Studies in Freiburg and Munich and holds a PhD in European Environmental Law. Prior to joining the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2002, she worked in the private sector, including as a senior consultant at the international management consultancy Kienbaum, and served as Head of International Affairs and Protocol for the City of Bonn. At the BMZ, she has held several leadership roles, including Director for Strategy and Policy Planning and Deputy Director General for Environment and Infrastructure. In this capacity, she represented the BMZ in key international processes, including as "Sherpa" supporting former Federal President Horst Köhler on the UN High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda under UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Currently, Tania heads the Deputy Subdirectorate for General Climate, Environment and Health at the BMZ.

Xenia Rebsam is the Chief of Staff at Off-Grid Europe, where she oversees organizational strategy, as well as internal and external communications. The company designs and builds off-grid renewable energy solutions including battery storage systems. Holding a degree in European Studies, Xenia previously worked as a political staffer in the German Federal Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag), and, alongside her work, is currently serving as a member of the municipal council for the Green Party in Sigmaringen.

Diogo builds Product at Okra, where he arrived as a Software Engineer and a former Red Cross Red Crescent filmmaker. He ships the simulation software that turns vague intel into ready-to-build mesh grids. Happiest when trying to do unreasonable things.

Valentin Laroche is a Design Engineer at TTA, specializing in the design andimplementation of solar mini-grid projects across Africa. Based in Barcelona,he manages technical and construction activities from project development tocommissioning.