A senior researcher with over 20 years of experience in clean energy policy and energy access in the Global South will speak at the Energies 3.0 Conference, a virtual international event running from April 22 to 24, 2026.
The conference, organised by the Green Institute of Nigeria, runs daily from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM online. Registration is open at www.greeninstitute.ng/energies2026.
Dr. Xavier Lemaire is a Senior Research Associate at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources in the United Kingdom. He completed his PhD and an EU Marie Curie fellowship on territorial identities and nature conservation and development projects in French Guiana and Guyana. His career spans more than two decades as both a practitioner and researcher on clean energy policies and regulation, energy access and the analysis of infrastructure projects, with a focus on countries in the Global South. 
Dr. Lemaire served as principal investigator on a five-year research project on energy democracy and the politics of energy transition in African countries, with a particular focus on the empowerment of energy communities and how civil society can influence energy choices.
Asked what lessons have been learned about scaling decentralised renewable energy systems in underserved regions, Dr. Lemaire said the answer lies beyond technology and funding.
“To ensure the long-term sustainability of rural electrification projects, efforts to scale decentralized renewable energy and expand access must be supported by robust institutional and regulatory frameworks,” he said.
On how energy access initiatives can move beyond simply building infrastructure to ensure communities genuinely own and sustain these systems over time, he was equally direct.
“Sustained community ownership of rural electrification projects requires meaningful involvement at every stage of development, rather than superficial, tick-box consultation processes,” he said.
