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Energy modelling plays a crucial role in assisting governmental and policymaking bodies to strategise long-term investments within the context of energy transition. Among the well-established open-source optimisation models, OSeMOSYS—the Open-Source Energy Modelling System—stands out. This paper introduces clicSAND, a novel user interface designed for OSeMOSYS, aimed at reducing the learning curve and supporting novice energy modelers in efficiently conducting long-term investment analyses. clicSAND, freely available and open-source, features a user-friendly Excel interface for data input, integrated solvers, and a visualisation dashboard for result interpretation. The outcomes, projected up to 2070, hold the potential to inform policy decisions and mobilise financial resources for sustainable development endeavors, such as ensuring affordable and secure energy supply and mitigating climate change impacts. This advancement not only democratises access to energy modelling tools but also empowers policymakers and stakeholders to conduct thorough long-term investment analyses with ease. This paper elaborates on clicSAND's key advantages, architecture, and functionalities. Additionally, it discusses the evolutionary journey from clicSAND 1.0 to 3.0, emphasising a commitment to continuous improvement and user-centric adaptation, thereby enhancing its utility and relevance. The inclusion of a South African case study, conducted during the EMP-A (Energy Modelling Platform for Africa) 2021 international capacity-building event, showcases clicSAND's efficacy in facilitating knowledge transfer and skill development among inexperienced users, while providing a tangible example of its application in addressing specific regional energy challenges and policy contexts. Finally, current applications and future extensions of the software are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the impact of COVID-19's vulnerability context on Malawi's Energy Sector and outlines mechanisms for enhancing Malawi's energy-sector resilience based on experiences from a range of stakeholders. The investigation was conducted online by inviting purposively selected stakeholders to create presentations responding to thematic questions. The final sample had 19 stakeholders with representation from policy-makers, regulatory bodies, national grid supply players, off-grid players, development agencies, bankers, professional bodies, civil society, and women's rights bodies. The presentations from the stakeholders highlighted how COVID-19 affects the operation costs of energy systems and implementation of energy systems projects in areas that require stimulus packages to contain energy system delivery costs and prevent disruption of essential services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These services include stakeholder responses to COVID-19 in the energy sector, the role of digital payments particularly when purchasing electricity units, and the state of third-party service providers such as banks and mobile network operators to enhance preparedness and continuity of operations for the energy sector. Based on the findings in these thematic areas and an application of systems thinking in the analysis, the paper finally makes recommendations on how Malawi and similar low-income countries can strategise to enhance energy systems resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooking with modern energy fuels and technologies has a high potential to positively impact the users' health and well-being, and make cooking safer and less burdensome for women and girls. To date, there have been numerous interventions targeting improved cooking solutions in displacement settings, but very few which have involved modern energy cooking, such as ethanol, biogas, LPG or electric cooking. They have been largely absent from humanitarian programming due to limited availability, affordability and lack of business models that suit those complex settings. Additionally, energy access services in displacement settings have historically relied primarily on grant-based funding. However, grants are limited to relatively short timeframes which do not align with the long-term needs of the displaced. New ways of funding energy access in displacement settings, and particularly modern energy cooking services, are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge as the number of displaced surpassed 80 million in 2020, with close to 90% having little or no access to adequate cooking fuels and technologies. In this paper, we review modern energy cooking in displacement settings and the common ways of funding and delivering them. We argue that new ways of funding and delivering energy access in displacement settings are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge and to facilitate transitions to modern energy cooking fuels and technologies, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the principle of 'leaving no one behind'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]