Kenya: UNDP collaborates with IBM to launch new technology tools to forecast energy access & equity

IBM and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have introduced new interactive energy models on UNDP’s global GeoHub platform. These innovative solutions leverage technologies like the IBM watsonx AI and data platform, allowing users to explore complex energy issues through cutting-edge AI technology.

GeoHub is a key component of UNDP’s Data Futures Exchange (DFx), serving as a centralized hub for geospatial data and services. This platform simplifies the process of uploading, visualizing, and analyzing datasets, seamlessly integrating time-oriented and geographic information with satellite imagery. It promotes a detailed, localized, and evidence-based approach to tackling development challenges and supports integrated policymaking.

The Electricity Access Forecasting AI model utilizes the IBM watsonx AI and data platform, IBM Cloud, and an open-source machine learning library to project electricity access trends through 2030. It achieves this by analyzing various factors such as population, infrastructure, urbanization, elevation, and satellite data, along with land use information from IBM Environmental Intelligence. The model will include data from 102 countries across the Global South, encompassing regions in Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The Clean Energy Equity Index, created collaboratively by IBM, UNDP, and Stony Brook University, integrates geospatial analytics with environmental, economic, and social factors. Through this dashboard, GeoHub users can view and customize each analyzed factor, allowing them to assess which elements most significantly affect equitable access to clean energy, thereby enhancing informed decision-making.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Vice President and Chief Impact Officer said, “Bringing together UNDP’s knowledge and global leadership in sustainable development and IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI and hybrid cloud, we are proud to unveil solutions that demonstrate the power of technology to make a lasting, positive impact on our environment and in our communities. By making innovative models freely accessible to the public, we aim to empower leaders, organizations and community members alike with the insights to make impactful energy decisions around the world.”

On her part, Laurel Patterson, Head of the UNDP SDG Integration Team, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Program Support said, “UNDP’s innovative collaboration with IBM helps countries leverage development data and technology innovation to improve lives and protect the planet. The solutions we’ve co-created provide a credible evidence base to help countries make meaningful and practical progress towards a just energy transition. Net-zero investment and people-centered development strategies are fundamental to accelerate the SDGs.”