Powering the Future: Renewable Energy's Rise in the Global South

The urgent need to transition to clean energy is a global challenge, but the challenges are particularly high in the Global South. These regions face complex energy requirements exacerbated by growing populations, increasing energy demands, and limited access to reliable and affordable electricity. In our latest blog post we look at the potential for renewable energy to transform lives and economies in some of the most diverse and remote regions of the world and how OpenWeather solutions are helping to predict and maintain renewable energy assets.

While challenges such as poverty, political instability, and inadequate infrastructure can hold back progress, the abundance of renewable resources such as solar, wind, and hydro power in many developing countries presents a unique opportunity.

At the UN's High-Level Political Forum, experts stressed the urgent need for a global energy transition, particularly in the global south countries. The forum estimated that to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030, renewable sources must comprise 60% of power generation. This shift is crucial not only for combating climate change, as 80% of current energy use still relies on fossil fuels, but also for boosting economies and improving lives. Currently, almost 2 billion people lack access to clean cooking fuels, and in sub-Saharan Africa, half the population lives without electricity.

At OpenWeather, we understand the crucial role that weather data has in the renewable energy sector. We offer comprehensive data and tailored solutions to boost efficiency and help with decision making and reliability.

Why Renewable Energy Matters

The benefits of renewable energy extend far beyond reducing carbon emissions. For developing countries, it's a catalyst for sustainable development, offering:

• Energy Access: Renewable energy can bring electricity to remote and underserved communities, improving healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
• Economic Growth: Investing in renewable energy infrastructure creates jobs, boosts local economies, and reduces reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports.
• Environmental Sustainability: Transitioning to clean energy sources mitigates the impacts of climate change, protects vital ecosystems, and improves air quality.
• Energy Independence: Renewable energy sources can help countries achieve energy security and reduce dependence on volatile global energy markets.

From solar-powered microgrids in Africa to wind farms in South America, inspiring projects are demonstrating the transformative power of renewable energy in the developing world. Here are a few examples:

• Barefoot College, India: This organization trains women from rural communities to become solar engineers, empowering them to bring electricity to their villages and fostering economic independence.
• Solar Sister, Africa: This social enterprise empowers women entrepreneurs to distribute clean energy technologies like solar lamps and cookstoves, improving health, income, and environmental sustainability in off-grid communities.
• Wind Power in Argentina: Argentina has become a leader in wind energy in Latin America, with large-scale wind farms generating clean electricity and creating jobs in rural areas.
• Hydropower in Nepal: Nepal, with its abundant rivers, is harnessing hydropower to provide clean electricity to its population and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Weather significantly impacts the performance and lifespan of renewable energy assets, from planning, installation to long-term support and operations. OpenWeather delivers essential climate insights to the entire industry with our Renewable Energy Collection. From energy providers and maintenance crews to traders, we empower safe and reliable operations. We provide a suite of products that can play a vital role in a wide range of renewable energy applications, no matter their size or location.

Financing the Growth

Beyond these inspiring examples, innovative financing models are emerging to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in the developing world. Organizations like renewables.org are playing a crucial role by connecting investors with high-impact solar projects in India and Africa.

Investing in renewable energy in developing countries offers a unique opportunity to accelerate the global transition to clean energy. Renewables.org focuses on solar projects in India and Africa, maximizing carbon impact by leveraging factors such as higher fossil fuel dependency in existing grids, abundant sunshine, and lower construction costs. This allows your investment to prevent significantly more emissions than comparable projects in the US, as demonstrated by their projects in Botswana and India where even small investments yield substantial increases in solar capacity.

Beyond simply offsetting carbon, Renewables.org offers a compelling financial model where investors are paid back over time. This approach provides both a tangible environmental impact and a financial return, making it a powerful tool for supporting sustainable development in the Global South.

Renewables.org does not just allow its users to help finance solar across the Global South. It provides real time information from each solar project’s it backs — including the carbon impact, solar productivity, and the regional weather where each site is located.

“When our project backers help build solar in India or Africa, we don’t want them to just trust that we are putting their funds to good use”, said Renewables.org cofounder and CEO Lassor Feasley. “We want to provide as much data as possible with the user so they can experience what they enabled through their participation on our site”.

Renewables.org uses OpenWeather's APIs to access a key metric called 'Direct Normal Irradiance' (DNI). This metric allows them to provide users with current and historical data on the amount of sunlight being converted into electricity by the solar projects they've helped fund.

“In addition to conventional data like the weather, we are always looking at additional data that OpenWeather provides”, added Mr. Feasley. "Solar irradiance and other parameters help enhance the consumer experience and give our users a stronger sense of the change they’ve enabled through their participation on Renewables.org".

Renewables.org uses OpenWeather data to power dashboards that help solar project backers understand how their funds are combating climate change globally. These dashboards combine OpenWeather data with real-time information from the solar sites, providing an immersive snapshot of the on-the-ground conditions at Renewables.org's project locations.

The Path Forward with OpenWeather

OpenWeather Expertise

The journey towards a clean energy future in the developing world is filled with challenges, but the progress made so far is undeniable. By embracing innovation, fostering collaboration, and empowering local communities, we can unlock the full potential of renewable energy to transform lives, economies, and the planet.

Some of the OpenWeather products that can play a vital role in creating a sustainable future are:

The OpenWeather Renewables Energy Collection

OpenWeather delivers essential weather data and analytics to the renewable energy sector. This empowers energy providers, maintenance teams, and traders to optimize performance, ensure safety, and maximize the lifespan of renewable energy assets, ultimately supporting a more resilient and reliable energy future. This includes:

Solar Irradiance & Energy Prediction service

This service allows you to optimize solar panel placement, streamline planning, and enhance asset protection. It provides precise solar irradiance data and advanced energy prediction for specific solar panels.

Wind & Energy Prediction service

OpenWeather's Wind Energy Collection delivers accurate, real-time, and forecasted wind data at multiple heights for any location globally. This enables optimized planning, rapid response to changing conditions, and improved strategic decision-making for wind energy generation.

Weather data service

OpenWeather provides a comprehensive weather data archive spanning 46+ years, including historical data, real-time nowcasts, and long-term climate forecasts. Covering parameters such as temperature, humidity, lightning, and severe weather, this resource empowers renewable energy operations to optimize maintenance, assess risks, and ensure asset safety.

The OpenWeather Dashboard

The flexibility, adaptability and nuanced nature of the OpenWeather Dashboard can be used for a wide range of applications, no matter the global location. The availability of hyper-local forecasts can give planners and investors in-depth insight into some of the most remote regions of the world. The OpenWeather dashboard is a customizable and constantly evolving product. Solar data can be added on request to the reports, and may well be added as a standard parameter to the available weather data.

OpenWeather for Energy

The OpenWeather energy collection delivers the climate insights needed for success in the energy sector. Our comprehensive data and tailored solutions, powered by industry-leading expertise and machine learning, empower you to enhance operational efficiency, optimize decision-making, and maximize energy production reliability.

While the journey towards a clean energy future in the global south has its challenges, the progress and potential are undeniable. The ongoing initiatives that embrace innovation and empower communities demonstrate the transformative power of renewable energy. OpenWeather's products provide crucial data and insights to support this transition, enabling informed decisions and a more sustainable future for all.

About OpenWeather:

OpenWeather provides weather data for any location on the globe using a proprietary hyperlocal forecasting model with a resolution from 500 m to 2 km, globally. More than 7,000,000 customers from logistics, agriculture, insurance, energy, retail, and many other sectors, are working with the company's weather products.

OpenWeather cooperates with global meteorological agencies such as MetOffice and NOAA, and enhances its model with data from radars, weather stations and satellites. The company provides great availability of service at 99.9% for enterprise-level products. The products can be easily integrated into complex IT systems and are ideal for ML analytic systems.

Furthermore, OpenWeather offers a comprehensive weather dashboard, providing accurate forecasts, timely severe weather alerts, detailed overviews, and expert consultations from meteorologists. As a member of the Royal Meteorological Society and an Achilles-certified supplier, OpenWeather maintains high standards of quality and reliability. The company also demonstrates a strong commitment to ethical initiatives through the OpenWeather Foundation, which supports educators and students, provides non-profit subscriptions to increase weather awareness, and fosters a community of innovators working towards a sustainable future. This commitment extends to humanitarian efforts such as the Ukrainian donation program.

For more information on how to gain access to our OpenWeather products, please email us.