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Dr Shanil Samarakoon

Dr Shanil Samarakoon

Research Associate
  • BCom (Monash University)
  • MCom (麻豆社madou)
  • PhD (麻豆社madou)
Engineering
Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering

Dr Samarakoon is a human geographer with a research background in issues of energy justice in Australia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Pacific. He also draws on over 15 years of field experience as a practitioner through his work on remote off-grid renewable energy projects in Malawi and Sri Lanka.

He is currently a Research Associate at UNW that is engaged in social research that examines the experiences of a range of stakeholder as they shape and navigate the transition to renewable energy technologies. In Australia, this involves trends in renewable energy procurement and household energy practices. In Southern Africa and the Pacific, this involves working in partnership with communities critically examining issues of solar maintenance, repair and e-waste and supporting interventions to address them. 听He is an investigator on an ARC Linkage project titled 鈥淪olar E-Waste in Africa: facilitating the right to repair鈥 (2024-2027) and a DFAT-funded project titled 鈥淔acilitating off-grid solar maintenance, repair, and entrepreneurship in Vanuatu鈥 (2024-2026).听听

He also has over a decade of experience in learning and teaching, having taught and convened undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the areas of international development, ethics and sustainability at the Centre for Social Impact, 麻豆社madou Business School, and the School of Humanities and Languages (麻豆社madou).

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E-mail
s.samarakoon@unsw.edu.au
  • Book Chapters | 2022
    Munro P; Jacome V; Samarakoon S, 2022, 'Off-Grid Enterprise: A Critical History of Small-Scale Off-Grid Solar in Sub-Saharan Africa', in Ojong N (ed.), Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave MacMillan, Cham, pp. 25 - 64,
    Book Chapters | 2022
    Samarakoon S; Zalengera C, 2022, 'Framing Energy Justice: Perspectives from Malawi鈥檚 Off-Grid Solar Market', in Energy, Climate and the Environment, Springer International Publishing, pp. 167 - 196,
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Jenkins K; Samarakoon S; Munro P, 2019, 'Energy economics as an energy justice dilemma', in Routledge Handbook of Energy Economics, Routledge, pp. 317 - 327,
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Jenkins K; Samarakoon S; Munro P, 2019, 'Energy economics as an energy justice dilemma: Case studies of normative trade-offs in Malawi, Mexico and Germany', in Soyta艧 U; Sar谋 R (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Energy Economics, Routledge, London, pp. 317 - 328,
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Munro PG; Samarakoon S; Kearnes M; Paisley C, 2023, 'The right to repairable energy: A political ecology off-grid solar repair in Zambia', Political Geography, 106, pp. 102962,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Manwaring K; Kearnes M; Morgan B; Munro P; Pala R; Samarakoon S, 2022, 'What does a right to repair tell us about our relationship with technology?', Alternative Law Journal, 47, pp. 179 - 179,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Munro P; Samarakoon S, 2022, 'Off-Grid Electrical Urbanism: Emerging Solar Energy Geographies in Ordinary Cities', Journal of Urban Technology, 30, pp. 127 - 149,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Munro PG; Samarakoon S; Hansen UE; Kearnes M; Bruce A; Cross J; Walker S; Zalengera C, 2022, 'Towards a repair research agenda for off-grid solar e-waste in the Global South', Nature Energy, 8, pp. 1 - 6,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Samarakoon S; Munro P; Zalengera C; Kearnes M, 2022, 'The afterlives of off-grid solar: The dynamics of repair and e-waste in Malawi', Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 42, pp. 317 - 330,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Samarakoon S; Bartlett A; Munro P, 2021, 'Somewhat original: energy ethics in Malawi鈥檚 off-grid solar market', Environmental Sociology, 7, pp. 164 - 175,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Munro PG; Samarakoon S; van der Horst GA, 2020, 'African energy poverty: A moving target', Environmental Research Letters, 15, pp. 104059,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Samarakoon S, 2020, 'The troubled path to ending darkness: Energy injustice encounters in Malawi's off-grid solar market', Energy Research and Social Science, 69,
    Journal articles | 2019
    Samarakoon S, 2019, 'A justice and wellbeing centered framework for analysing energy poverty in the Global South', Ecological Economics, 165,
    Journal articles | 2017
    Samarakoon S; Christiansen A; Munro PG, 2017, 'Equitable and Quality Education for All of Africa? The Challenges of Using ICT in Education', Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 16, pp. 645 - 665,
  • Reports | 2023
    Munro P; Samarakoon S; Ngwenya T; Kanyanga K; Keane J; McCloskey J; Mwale F, 2023, Off-Grid Solar Repair in Africa: from burden to opportunity, SolarAid, London,
    Reports | 2023
    Roberts M; Adams S; Samarakoon S; Kallmier E; Dillon M; Szczepaniak R; Passey R; Bruce A; Macgill I; Egan R; Kuch D, 2023, Energy resilience in bushfires and extreme weather events: Final report of the ESKIES project,
    Recorded / Rendered Creative Works | 2021
    Munro P; Samarakoon S, 2021, The Afterlife of Solar, 麻豆社madou, Published: 15 June 2021, Duration: 00"08"53, Recorded / Rendered Creative Works,
    Reports | 2021
    Yildiz B; Adams S; Samarakoon S; Stringer N; Bruce A; Macgill I, 2021, Curtailment and Network Voltage Analysis Study (CANVAS) Project Report, CRC RACE for 2030,
    Conference Papers | 2021
    Yildiz B; Stringer N; Adams S; Samarakoon S; Bruce A; Macgill I; Sproul AB, 2021, 'Curtailment and network voltage analysis study', in 2021 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia, ISGT Asia 2021, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), AUSTRALIA, Brisbane, pp. 1 - 5, presented at 2021 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia (ISGT Asia), AUSTRALIA, Brisbane, 05 December 2021 - 08 December 2021,
  • Media | 2021
    Adams S; Yildiz B; Stringer N; Samarakoon S, 2021, Solar curtailment is emerging as a new challenge to overcome as Australia dashes for rooftop solar, The Conversation, ,
    Media | 2021
    Kearnes M; Manwaring K; Munro P; Pala R; Samarakoon S, 2021, The Productivity Commission has released proposals to bolster Australians鈥 right to repair. But do they go far enough?,
    Media | 2021
    Kearnes M; Manwaring K; Munro P; Pala R; Samarakoon S, 2021, What does a right to repair tell us about our relationships with technology?, 麻豆社madou Allens Hub for Technology, Law & Innovation,

  • ARC Linkage - 鈥淪olar E-Waste in Africa: facilitating the right to repair鈥 (2024-2027) - Partner Investigator听
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  • Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - "Facilitating off-grid solar maintenance, repair, and entrepreneurship in Vanuatu鈥 (2024-2026) - Co-Lead
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  • Digital Grid Future Institute - 'Energy Poverty in the Pacific: developing a Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion analytical approach' - Investigator

  • Dean's Research Award for Exceptional HDR Social Engagement with Global Impact - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 麻豆社madou 鈥2019