Browsing by Author "Meeks, Robyn"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Barriers for Municipalities to Federal Funding for Flood Mitigation
    (2020-05) Reilly, Kelly
    In North Carolina, flooding is a significant and costly problem for many counties. Efforts to mitigate flooding damage or incidence take a number of forms, including property buyouts and traditional and natural infrastructure projects, many of which can be costly for counties. There are a number of federal programs designed to fund the range of mitigative measures, dependent on the type of project or assessment of risk for the municipality. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) wants to know the answer to a key policy question related to flood mitigation: what are the barriers, if any, limiting the utilization by local governments in North Carolina of federally available funds for mitigative projects aimed at preventing flood damage? If so, how should EDF prioritize their partnerships, planning, and resources in providing solutions to lessen these barriers?
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    Evaluating Economic Impacts of Electrification in Zambia
    (2019-04-12) Aggarwal, Aashna
    Energy poverty is prevalent in Zambia. It is one of the world’s least electrified nations with 69% of its citizens living in darkness, without access to grid electricity. Zambian government has a goal to achieve universal electricity access in urban areas and increase rural electrification to 51% by 2030. With its main goal to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of Zambians. Electrification is expected to have positive impacts on health, education and employment play an important role to achieve wellbeing, however, previous studies and analysis of renewable energy programs have found different, context-dependent results. To evaluate the impacts of electrification in Zambia I have used the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) of 2015 and applied two different estimation techniques: non-linear regressions and propensity score matching. My study finds that firewood consumption significantly decreases with assess to electricity and education has positive outcomes on grade attainment. I negligible effects on wage earning employment outcomes respiratory health outcomes. Based on these results I conclude that access to grid electrification does have certain positive impacts but empirical evidence is not as strong as the theoretical claims.
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    Understanding and Contextualizing Micro-Hydro Plant Sustainability in Nepal
    (2019-04-24) Li, Gordon; Bonney, Caitlin; Ferguson, Ian; Gigil, Ghosh
    Since 1996, the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) of the Government of Nepal installed over 1,000 micro-hydro plants (MHPs) ranging from 10 to 100 kW to support off-grid electrification of rural Nepal. As of 2019, one-third of Nepal’s existing MHP infrastructure is untenable, with an additional third at risk of faltering in the coming years. The Master’s Project team conducted in-country data collection, site visits, literature reviews, and technical analysis to understand the current situation and propose recommendations to AEPC for future operational success of the existing and new micro-hydro plants.
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    Water for the Masses: An Analysis Urban Water Distribution Methods in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (2018-11) Salomon, Jacob
    In Sub-Saharan Africa, only 33% of urban residents received water piped into their homes by their city’s central water utility11. The remaining 67% of urban residents rely on small-scale or informal water providers to meet their water needs. This study seeks to understand NGOs’ perceptions of the relationship between small-scale or informal water providers and their customers as well as the role of regulation in this relationship through a series of surveys. This document evaluates these perceptions based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of the survey results. The findings indicate that NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa generally hold a negative view of the quality and pricing of water provided by small-scale and informal water providers. However, they understand that these providers are a vital part of their city’s water distribution ecosystem. Additionally, although regulation is not universally effective, NGOs generally believe that the government should play a role in regulating the operations of small-scale and informal water providers in their cities.