Field notes from the operating layer.
Analyses and reports on running mini-grids at fleet scale — DARES economics, predictive operations, the workforce gap, and edge AI that works on 2G. Numbers first, sources cited.
Edge AI for Rural Mini-Grids: When the Internet Drops, Your System Shouldn't
Rural connectivity is 2G on a good day. What it takes to run real intelligence at the site — inference, dispatch, and 30+ days of autonomy without a network.
The Case for Performance-Based Pricing in Mini-Grid Operations
Why software vendors in this sector should get paid on verified outcomes — diesel saved, uptime held, grants cleared — and what that changes about incentives.
What Stem, Omnidian, and Raptor Maps Do That Africa Doesn't Have Yet
Stem, Omnidian, and Raptor Maps built the operations layer for distributed energy in the US. Nobody has built it for Africa — a look at what that layer actually does.
The Technician Bottleneck: 400,000 Uninstalled Meters and What It Means for DARES
400,000 imported meters are sitting in warehouses because there's nobody certified to install them. What the technician gap means for every DARES developer.
Why Predictive Maintenance Could Save Nigeria's Mini-Grid Sector
A battery fails 38 days after the first sign of degradation. The economics of catching it on day one — and why reactive maintenance is quietly the sector's biggest leak.
1,350 New Mini-Grids, 50% Workforce Shortage: Who Manages the Operations?
DARES is deploying 1,350 mini-grids into a country that lacks half the skilled workforce its power sector needs. The operations math doesn't close on its own.