Johannes Urpelainen
Johannes Urpelainen is the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is also the Founding Director of the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP). He was formerly Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University.
Professor Urpelainen develops and tests sustainable solutions to the problem of lacking energy access in emerging economies. His research with ISEP, a groundbreaking research initiative on sustainable energy policy, offers pragmatic but effective approaches to providing the world’s population with affordable and abundant energy at minimal environmental impact.
Content by Johannes Urpelainen
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Project
Longitudinal analysis of cooking behaviour in rural Bihar, India
In India, household air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels like firewood, dung, charcoal, and agricultural residues for daily energy requirements accounts for more than 400,000 premature deaths annually. Through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the Government of India is engaged in an ambitious national effort to provide access to clean-burning liquefied...
23 Nov 2020 | Johannes Urpelainen, S.P. Harish, Carlos Gould, Faraz Usmani
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Project
Electricity as a growth constraint for small and medium enterprises in Bihar state, India
The reliability and access to electricity remain a challenge across much of rural India despite rapidly growing grid electrification rates. Small and medium-sized firms represent one-third of businesses in low-income countries but are also the most vulnerable to bad electric supply. A study conducted in four rural Indian states found that only 65% of firms are connected to...
9 Nov 2020 | Johannes Urpelainen, Michaël Aklin, Setu Pelz
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Project
Policy framework for off-grid electrification in Myanmar
Myanmar is emerging from the shadow of regime change with less than 35% electrification rate and very low population density. Myanmar’s electricity generation is lowest in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Lack of access to electricity restrains development and even the basic requirement of light is a challenge. However, the country’s...
2 Dec 2019 | Johannes Urpelainen, Rustam Sengupta
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Blog post
What do we (not) know about the benefits of households' electrification?
Household electrification has recently become a controversial topic. When The Economist declared that “electricity does not change poor lives as much as was thought,” a number of non-profits and industry representatives wrote indignant responses (CEO of SolarAid, CrossBoundary) arguing that electricity, including distributed solar power, can be a game-changer for rural...
10 Apr 2019 | Johannes Urpelainen
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Publication - Project Report
A global database on rural electri cation
27 Oct 2017 | Michaël Aklin, S.P. Harish, Johannes Urpelainen
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Publication - Project Report
Rural electrification with off-grid community microgrids: An impact evaluation in Uttar Pradesh, India
17 May 2017 | Michaël Aklin, Patrick Bayer, S.P. Harish, Johannes Urpelainen
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Project
Rural electrification with off-grid community microgrids: An impact evaluation in Uttar Pradesh, India
Randomised controlled trial measuring effect of installing solar microgrids in 81 villages in Uttar Pradesh who previously had no electricity and used kerosene lamps to light their homes. Villagers spent considerably less money on buying kerosene after subscribing to the solar service. However, researchers found no evidence of broader socio-economic impacts on...
17 May 2017 | Michaël Aklin, Patrick Bayer, S.P. Harish, Johannes Urpelainen
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Blog post
Low oil prices: An opportunity for fuel subsidy reform
Consumer fuel subsidies are not only economically costly, but also environmentally destructive and highly inefficient for social welfare goals. The recent decline in oil prices presents an opportunity for governments to reduce consumer fuel subsidies without risking a backlash from consumers and vested interests. Once removed, subsidies could be replaced with more...
18 Jan 2016 | Keith Benes, Andrew Cheon, Johannes Urpelainen, Joonseok Yang
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Publication - Working Paper
The benefits of solar technology adoption for street vendors in Bihar
25 Nov 2015 | David Szakonyi , Johannes Urpelainen
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Project
A global database of rural electrification
This project provides new data on global progress in household electrification going back to 1960 for many countries. The data set contains electrification rates for rural, urban, and all households, covers 124 developing countries, and includes 1,035 observations. To the researchers' knowledge, this is the most comprehensive data set on the world’s progress...
4 Sep 2015 | Johannes Urpelainen, Michaël Aklin, S.P. Harish
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Blog post
Solar power for street vendors
Although energy poverty is usually considered a rural phenomenon, rapid urban growth in developing countries is aggravating the problem of electricity shortages in urban areas
6 Feb 2015 | David Szakonyi , Johannes Urpelainen
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Blog post
How solar power could transform rural India
More than one billion people remain without electricity today, many of them in remote rural communities. Research on off-grid solar power in rural India suggests it may hold the solution
9 Jan 2015 | Johannes Urpelainen
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Project
The benefits of solar technology adoption for street vendors in Bihar
Street vendors play a major role in the market for goods and services in India, numbering over 10 million people and predominantly represented by the urban poor. Worldwide estimates place street trading as the largest employment subgroup in the informal sector, after home-based workers. However, the ability of these microenterprises (defined as firms employing less than six...
10 Dec 2014 | Johannes Urpelainen