This analysis builds on the first edition of the’ ‘Beyond Fire’ report, providing updated cost and performance data for the assessment of electric cooking in off-grid settings. The report looks at cooking with electricity via both stand-alone solar home systems, as well as mini-grids, and finds that although several barriers still need to be overcome, including most importantly the upfront cost of electric cooking solutions, the economics of electric cooking are increasingly attractive. Electric cooking could well be a game-changer in many countries, reducing stress on surrounding ecosystems and forest resources while also mitigating indoor air pollution, which is responsible for approximately 4 million premature deaths each year around the world.
