CLEAN ENERGY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Clean Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Strategy

Clean Energy In Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Rural areas continue to be home to majority of the population in Africa. The importance of providing modern energy to rural areas cannot, therefore, be overemphasised. Despite numerous efforts by Governments and donors in the region to promote solar photovoltaics (PVs) for rural electrification (almost every country in the region has had a rural electrification PV project), access to modern energy in rural Africa continues to be woefully low. In addition to being unaffordable to the rural masses, solar PV has the limitation that it can only be used for lighting and powering low-voltage appliances. This article reviews emerging trends in the rural energy sector of sub-Saharan Africa, and discusses the limitations of over-reliance on solar PV. It suggests possible options that could have greater impact on rural clean energy development. For the majority of rural households in the region, biomass fuels will continue to be the dominant fuel of choice. Efficient technologies for the use of biomass would, therefore, ensure that scarce biomass resources are effectively utilised, and reduce the negative impacts of biomass use on women and children's health. Solar thermal, windpumps, micro-/pico-hydropower and cleaner fuels such as kerosene and LPG, have not received adequate attention from policy makers. These energy options could significantly improve the performance of rural small- and micro-enterprises. This article argues that rural energy policies that emphasise a broader range of renewables and target income-generating activities are likely to yield greater benefits to the rural poor than the current policies that rely on the solar PV option.



Introduction

In spite of the rapid urban growth that Africa has experienced over the last 20 years, the majority of Africans still reside in rural areas. Although this distribution is likely to change in the not-too-distant future, rural Africa continues to be home to the majority of Africans (see brief regional profile). This is particularly true of sub-Saharan Africa, as shown in Fig. 1 (UNDP, 2000). It is estimated that 68% of inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa reside in rural areas (World Bank, 2000a). Provision of modern energy services to this large segment of Africa's population is therefore of paramount importance. In addition, the bulk of rural inhabitants are poor, with irregular income flows.

[Fig. 1: Percentage of population in rural areas, 1998]

Methodology

For the purpose of this research, qualitative and quantitative analysis shall be applied using historical and survey approach. Secondary historical and current data drawn from various sources shall be utilized for the analysis.

Energy use in rural Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is the least electrified region of the world; with rural electrifications levels that are routinely below 5% (see Table 1). With the bulk of the region's poor residents in dispersed rural settlements, conventional grid electrification is considered too costly for most of rural Africa. The dispersion problem is more acute in Eastern and Southern Africa where in contrast to the village settlement patterns of West Africa, the majority of rural population resides in dispersed ...