This report is an output of the technical assistance activity carried out over 2008-2010 to Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), which is the nodal renewable energy agency of Nepal. This study has been designed to establish a monitoring system for AEPC to continually measure the results of the renewable energy programs against the targets and to organize an evaluation system that measures the impact of micro-hydro installations on rural livelihoods. Given AEPC's highly visible role, the need to develop a system that provides information on a wide range of technical, operational, and...

Bangladesh has the world's fastest growing, off-grid solar home system (SHS) coverage. The number of SHS installations has risen phenomenally--from a five-year target of 50,000 in 2003 to 50,000 a month a decade later. By early 2014, installations totaled more than 3 million. Even so, this figure represents just 10 percent of the country's off-grid households, suggesting ample room for continued program expansion. Surge in Solar-Powered Homes: Experience in Off-Grid Rural Bangladesh assesses the country's remarkable growth in SHS, its support schemes, and welfare impacts for rural households....

The recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. Today, as many as 200 million people are beneficiaries of microfinance. With its worldwide attention, microfinance has also received serious criticism, including that it is a fad with less-than-expected benefits for the poor. Surely, microfinance is not without limitations. Yet the premise of improving access by the poor to financial services for consumption smoothing has never been a subject of controversy. What has been controversial is whether microfinance can alleviate poverty. That the...