7
Global Energy Alliance for people and planet
Welcome from our CEO I write this letter as I travel back from India, after visiting a newly commissioned battery energy storage system in New Delhi. The project, the largest of its kind in South Asia, is transforming lives in India and serving as a model for renewable energy storage across the world. In this moment of geopolitical unrest, economic uncertainty and climate change, I take immense pride in the progress our Alliance is driving. Projects like the one in New Delhi prove that when we unite the right players from the public, private and philanthropic sectors, we can weather the headwinds and drive lasting, systemic impact. A year into my role at Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, I have witnessed the power of clean energy to unlock opportunity and change lives in every corner of our four regions — Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. I have met farmers irrigating crops using solar pumps, entrepreneurs expanding their businesses, innovators pioneering new technologies, utilities newly emboldened to integrate renewables, and world leaders committed to ambitious national energy transition plans. This is what systemic impact looks like. When every part of the value chain is working in concert, it powers investments, upskills workforces, overcomes regulatory and financial bottlenecks, and reshapes entire energy systems. This rigorously constructed report analyzes where this systems-wide approach has worked best. From mini grids empowering rural entrepreneurs in Nigeria, to innovative mesh grids in hard-to-reach communities in Haiti, to a
renewable energy training project in South Africa that is helping accelerate the country's just energy transition, the best projects are ones that embed reform and spark further change. It also takes a clear-eyed view of what we can do differently. Four years into our mission, we are more focused than ever about the path ahead. Our work convening multi-sectoral partners, mobilizing finance and strengthening institutions works best when anchored in real projects and deep community engagement. The numbers speak for themselves: Together, we are improving energy access for 91 million people, supporting 3.1 million jobs and livelihoods and helping avoid nearly 300 million tons of carbon emissions. These are not abstract numbers. They represent lives transformed, livelihoods secured and futures protected. And we are just getting started. I am hugely proud of both our staff and our Alliance partners, whose labor is behind every breakthrough illuminated in this report. It is complicated, meticulous work, involving quiet perseverance across time zones, language barriers and borders. We are navigating a difficult landscape. But our foundation is strong. Thank you for your passion, your commitment, your collaboration and your belief in this shared mission. Together we are powerful. Together we are changing energy and changing lives. With gratitude and resolve, Woochong Um