Applesonline

What is APPLES?

APPLES stands for Alleviation of Poverty through the Provision of Local Energy Services. The overall goal of APPLES is to contribute to poverty reduction and alleviation in South Africa by developing implementation strategies to enhance access to affordable energy services for poor communities.

The key barriers that inhibit access to energy services for the poor in South Africa are:
- lack of knowledge on energy needs of the poor
- lack of knowledge on energy supply options among the poor
- weak infrastructure for delivering energy services
- lack of integration of energy interventions.

APPLES addresses these barriers by researching the energy needs of poor communities, undertaking capacity building activities and identifying best-practices that can be adapted to the South African context. Furthermore, APPLES supports the South African Government’s efforts to improve the infrastructure to deliver energy services to the poor, in particular the implementation of Integrated energy Centres (IeCs).  

APPLES is funded by the European Commission under the COOPENER programme, the South African Department of Science and Technology, Department of Minerals and Energy, DANIDA and the Dutch Government.

COOPENER is part of the Intelligent Energy - Europe programme, implemented by the Intelligent Energy Executive Agency (IEEA), a new agency under the European Commission's Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN). COOPENER projects focus on capacity building and training in developing countries. Links are drawn to the EU Energy Initiative for poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
 

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