STUDENT FELLOWS

Setu Pelz is a Ph.D. Candidate in Energy Economics at Europa Universität Flensburg and a researcher within the Off-grid Systems research field at the Reiner Lemoine Institut (RLI) in Berlin, Germany. Setu is interested in energy access measurement, modelling and planning in developing economies. His research project focusses on the development of an Inclusive Energy Access Planning Toolbox – a set of data collection, analysis and modelling tools to support existing efforts for multidimensional energy poverty assessment, energy access planning and policy development. This work relies solely on open source software and tools such as OpenDataKit, OpenStreetMap and QGIS among others, and uses R and Python for data analysis, modelling and visualization. The research is being conducted with an initial focus on Nepal where the decentralization of responsibilities and budgets towards municipalities will require the decentralization of capacities in energy planning. In this context, the research is directly linked to a transition process currently underway.

Setu holds a double degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. After completing his studies in 2010 he joined the renewable energy industry, gaining experience as an engineer in the onshore and offshore wind energy sector, first in Australia and later in Europe. In 2015, Setu left his career in the wind industry to work with startups in the energy access sector, initially in sub-Saharan Africa and later in Southeast Asia. In 2017 Setu joined the Off-Grid Systems research field at RLI where he combines his PhD research with developing dynamic energy demand profiles in rural energy access projects.

As an ISEP student fellow, Setu works with ISEP collaborators on energy access measurement and evaluation in India.