Shedding light on vulnerability: intersectional energy planning for development

To plan equitable sustainable development interventions, the needs of the most vulnerable in society must be assessed. However, in technical development spaces such as energy systems planning, intersectional needs assessment is often seen as impossible due to a lack of practical methods which use quantitative and categorical data. This study therefore develops a framework for intersectional needs assessment to inform development interventions and applies it in the context of energy planning. It operationalises Collins’ matrix of domination to illuminate the intensity of energy and development needs across vulnerable groups. The framework synthesises acute and chronic vulnerability factors relevant to developing contexts, taking inspiration from both pressure-and-release and social ecology models. It is illustrated through a case study application to a dataset of needs and demographics collected in Siaya County, Kenya. Salient findings in the case study context include: a high prioritisation of solar PV systems by low-trust widowed people; a high prioritisation of money amongst disabled people, who may struggle with energy affordability; and a high prioritisation of motorcycles amongst those with no occupation, pointing towards a need for financial inclusion in the e-mobility transition. Energy-enabled water technologies (e.g., irrigation) are also found to be more highly prioritised during climate shocks than in daily life. The case study results illustrate how the framework can illuminate differences in needs both across and within vulnerable groups.