Energy plays a crucial role in improving the lives of poor people, and in underpinning efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Yet 1.6 billion people still rely on fuelwood and open fires for cooking, and two billion have no access to electricity. This paper is a summary of a review of Ashden Awards winners, commissioned by the Department for International Development (DFID) and carried out by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). It has shown the potential for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), both for-profit and not-for-profit, to provide low-carbon energy access (LCEA) to poor households at significant scale, using improved stoves, biogas systems, solar home electrical systems, lanterns, water pumps, and better built homes. the review highlights a number of findings and emerging themes.

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