DrWhitney Pailman

Whitney Pailman is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy, where her research focuses on the socio-economic impacts of solar mini-grids as part of the Ayrton Fund-funded Moving IMPACT project. Her research interests span energy access, renewable energy business and financing models, productive uses of energy, urban electrification in informal settlements, socio-economic development, and sustainable energy transitions across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Whitney combines interdisciplinary research and project experience on energy access business models, innovative financing approaches, urban electrification, and clean energy transitions across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa. Prior to joining Imperial College London, she held a British Academy Newton International Fellowship at the University of Exeter, where she led a research project entitled Integrated Business Models for Off-grid Energy Access in Low-income Urban Settlements at the Grid’s Edge. Her fellowship research examined business and financing models for off-grid energy innovations, with particular attention to the intersections between energy access, urban informality, financing innovation, and sustainable energy transitions in underserved communities. Her research has also explored sustainable energy infrastructure financing for 'hardest to reach' communities, considering challenges and opportunities for inclusive energy access across diverse geographical contexts.

Whitney holds a PhD in Energy and Development and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Energy Studies from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Civil Engineering from the University of Johannesburg. Her doctoral research explored integrated business and partnership models for advancing energy access in Kenya and Rwanda.

Whitney has worked across a range of research and development initiatives focused on sustainable energy access and clean energy transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to international interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research collaborations. She has served as a research collaborator for Transforming Energy Access (TEA), an Ayrton Fund research and innovation platform, conducting cross-cutting research on off-grid clean energy financing models to support innovation and the advancement of sustainable energy transitions. This includes research on transitions along the energy access finance continuum, accompanied by a TEA knowledge brief examining financing pathways for scaling clean energy access innovations.

She previously contributed to the Newton Fund-supported Umbane project, which explored solar micro-grid innovation in an informal settlement in South Africa, and has contributed to research and policy-oriented publications and reports, including outputs for the UK Energy Research Centre. Her collaborative research has also examined the social and policy dimensions of off-grid electrification in urban informal settlements. At the University of Exeter, she also co-led engaged and participatory research with off-grid informal settlement communities, supported by the Exeter Engaged and Participatory Research Fund, alongside solar micro-grid urban innovation pilots supported through Open Innovation Platform funding.