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Globally, rural areas suffer from less infrastructure relative to urban areas. Political and development economists have mainly attributed this disparity in infrastructure distribution to governance. The literature has sufficiently discussed the role that rural-urban infrastructure inequality plays in development outcomes such as poverty. However, not much is known about the effect of the rural-urban infrastructure gap on the environment. To contribute to knowledge and policy discussions, we investigate the impact of rural-urban energy access (in)equality on environmental degradation and the role governance plays using data from 47 sub-Saharan African countries from 2000–2020. Evidence from the heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable regression consistent with Driscoll and Kraay's estimation revealed that bridging rural-urban energy access inequality is associated with reduction in environmental degradation. We also documented that the direct effect of the governance-related variables used is mixed. The moderation and marginal effect estimates showed that improving governance quality conditions equality in rural-urban energy access to reduce environmental degradation. From a policy perspective, these findings suggest that the implementation of rural electrification policies supported by a good governance system would play a crucial role in mitigating environmental degradation in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines, based on literature review and data from Africa Energy Outlook 2019, the feasibility of adoption of renewable energy from the ocean for socioeconomic development in sub-Saharan Africa, given the enormous potential the region has for ocean-based sources of energy. The study concludes that mini tidal power plants and salt gradient power are the ocean energy sources most suitable for coastal development. It recommends a gradual reduction in subsidies of fossil fuel-based energy sources in favour of support to renewable energy, building human resources and technical capacity, the establishment of smart partnerships and mobilisation of resources for an effective promotion of ocean renewable energy. It recommends further, that community engagement is needed to assure ownership and acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel forecast-based charging strategy for standalone PV battery systems. • Extension of lithium-ion battery life by keeping the SOC low. • Case-study with 14 standalone PV battery systems in Nigeria. • Longer battery life and cheaper operational costs of systems. • Enabler for green rural electrification. Standalone PV battery systems have great potential to power the one billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity. Due to remoteness and poverty, durable and cheap systems are required for a broad range of applications. However, today's PV battery systems do not yet fully meet this requirement. Especially batteries still prove to be a hindrance, as they represent the most expensive and fastest-aging component in a PV battery system. This work aims to address this by prolonging battery life. For this purpose, a forecast-based charging strategy was developed. As lithium-ion batteries age slower in a low state-of-charge, the goal of the operation strategy is to only charge the battery as much as needed. The impact of the proposed charging strategy is examined in a case study using one year of historical data of 14 standalone systems in Nigeria. It was found that the proposed operation strategy could reduce the average battery state-of-charge by around 20% without causing power outages for the mini-grids. This would significantly extend the life of the battery and ultimately lead to a more durable and cheaper operation of standalone PV battery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural productivity remains pivotal to the sustenance of the economies and livelihoods of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Given the emerging threat of energy and environmental uncertainties globally, this study makes a foray into understanding the link among energy poverty, environmental degradation and agricultural productivity in 35 SSA nations in particular, and the nature of their impacts across the sub-region constituents namely; the Central, Eastern, Western and Southern sub-regional blocs in general. To begin, our identified variables comprised of the following: Energy Poverty Index, derived using the principal component analysis, agricultural value added as a share of GDP served as a measure of agricultural productivity and ecological footprint to represent environmental degradation. Subsequently, the instrumental variable generalized method of moment (IV‐GMM) technique was implemented for the aggregate SSA model, while the IV-two stage least square technique was adopted for the sub-regional estimations for the Central, East, West and South African blocs respectively. Major findings from the SSA model revealed that whereas the index of energy poverty has a significant positive influence, ecological footprint exhibited an inverse and significant impact on agricultural productivity, while the Central, East, West and South African models yielded mixed results given regional disparities in economic development, regional variations in agricultural productivity and an imbalance of available resources. Policy recommendations were suggested to, among other things, transform the energy, environmental and agricultural fortunes of the region. Aggregate energy poverty index has a significant positive influence on agricultural productivity in SSA. Components of energy poverty influences agricultural productivity in SSA as follows: rural electrification (positive and significant), access to clean fuels, RE consumption, and RE output (significant negative), national electricity access and urban electrification (EP2) (no significant influence). Rise in pollution (Ecological footprint) hampers the productivity of the agricultural sector in SSA. Energy poverty index and agricultural productivity have the following relationship in the sub-regional SSA blocs: Central Africa (no significant impact), East Africa (positive and significant), Southern Africa (negative but insignificant) and West Africa (positive but insignificant). Ecological footprint and agricultural productivity have the following relationship in the sub-regional SSA blocs: significantly reduces the productivity of agriculture in the Central African region, significantly stimulates agricultural productivity in the Eastern African region, Southern Africa reveals a mixed result, pollution via environmental degradation hampers the productivity of the agricultural sector in West Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inaccessibility of modern energy in low-income countries (LIC), especially in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region, continues to be a problem in the 21st century. The lack of access to modern energy has led to an inability to implement developmental structures and initiatives. While considerable progress and successes have been realised in the last three decades with increased activities and global commitments from international governments and multinational agencies through electrification projects in the SSA region, SSA countries remain off-track in their efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. This is mainly demonstrated in sparsely populated rural regions where the high cost of centralised power generation, poor transmission and distribution infrastructures and economic factors have been a major barrier to electricity expansion. Although the use of RES (i.e., decentralised or stand-alone systems) have been acknowledged by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to be the least expensive route to improving access, its impact has not been effectively demonstrated regionally. Decentralised RES use in SSA countries have not seen significant uptake and/or enjoyed long-term sustainability owing to a number of factors. Malawi, despite its significant hydropower resources and the favourable proximity of its inhabitants to grid infrastructures, still has one of the lowest levels of access to electricity globally, with 86% of the population having no access to electricity. The country provides a good case study to investigate factors limiting electricity access in SSA countries. This paper explores the main issues that have historically hindered the uptake and sustainable operation of decentralised RES in the country. Recommendations to facilitate a potential improvement in RES use as a pathway to improved universal energy access are then put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New financing in clean energy technologies plays a progressively important role in increasing energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This research investigates the salient social dimensions of clean electricity access with the view to identify the most suitable SSA countries for funding and implementing decentralised renewable energy systems and sheds light on the opportunities for improving social conditions through clean electrification. Our multi-dimensional analysis of social considerations culminates in the Social Clean Energy Access (Social CEA) Index. The composite indicator structure was empirically tested and improved in terms of accuracy and robustness for 35 SSA countries. The Social CEA index captures the status of social factors on health, education, economic development, gender equality, and quality of life related to electricity access. The Social CEA Index strength is assessed by exploring the synergies between electricity access and social development and its progress over time is evaluated through a dimension's breakdown approach in Ghana. • The Social CEA Index allows an effective identification of priorities for action in clean electrification programs; • The innovation of the Index is due to its tailored design focusing on the social dimensions of electricity access; • The country level Social CEA Index depicts an unequal situation in terms of social aspects between African countries; • The focus on the Ghana case shows that electricity is a central dimension to reduce poverty and support economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality in healthcare service is essential in giving rural dwellers a good standard of living. It has been established that many rural locations in Sub-Saharan Africa away from the grid connection have difficulty accessing electricity. The inaccessibility of reliable energy and essential medical equipment was the leading barrier to improved healthcare delivery in these rural locations. The deficiency of basic medical equipment to power essential services due to limited or unreliable electricity access has reduced rural healthcare workers' care capabilities, resulting in higher mortality rates. This paper, therefore, reviews the existing energy solutions for rural healthcare facilities, thereby analysing different approaches and the geographical energy mix and ascertaining the effectiveness of various techniques and energy mix as solutions to effective healthcare delivery in healthcare centres. Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources (HRES) microsystems, like microgrids incorporated with solar panels and battery, is identified to ensure higher and more reliable energy access in rural healthcare centres. At the same time, the adoption of Demand Side Management (DSM) in the HRES deployment in countryside healthcare facilities is reported to decrease the initial cost of installation and improve efficiency. Lastly, in improving energy access, rural electrification planning is achieved through modelling tools related to energy access modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mini-grids are discussed as a cost-effective and sustainable solution to provide electricity to populations lacking access, of which the majority reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Projects struggle to be fiscally solvent, however, in part because electricity demand from rural households is low relative to installed mini-grid generation and distribution capacity, making it difficult to recoup investment costs. This paper explores how productive uses of electricity may increase electricity demand and evaluates impacts of increased electrical load to the technical and economic metrics of mini-grid projects. A full cashflow analysis is completed to evaluate business model efficacy for mini-grid developers and investors for a case study of a township in Sierra Leone. Productive uses of electricity are shown to have minimal improvement to the financial viability of residential mini-grid projects, and subsidies are required to reach financial metrics suitable to attract private investment. Of the productive uses investigated, year-round loads had the most positive impact to payback periods. Seasonal loads offer only small improvements to payback period and internal rate of return because they require extra generation assets to meet peak demand in the high season that are left idle or heavily under-loaded during the low season. Overall, the study finds the most effective way to improve financial outcomes through productive uses is to increase the mini-grid load factor with productive uses of electricity that operate year-round. • PUE interventions that increase mini-grid load factor improve project financials. • Higher load factors better utilized hybrid systems with generator, solar, storage. • PUE type and load profile significantly affects mini-grid design and financials. • Constant-load PUE types improved financials over seasonal loads. • Seasonal PUEs increase capital costs that go largely unused during the off-season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly recommended to incorporate diesel generators into distributed hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) to lower the system's total cost and make the generated electricity affordable. Due to the environmental and economic issues associated with fossil fuel use, biomass power technologies (BPT) appear to be an attractive alternative to diesel generators. The HOMER software was used to model, simulate, and optimise two photovoltaic/wind/battery systems integrated with different BPT (anaerobic digestion or gasification) to satisfy the electrical needs of Babadam, a remote community in northern Cameroon. The results indicated that the anaerobic digester integrated system's overall optimal architecture included a 98.1 kW photovoltaic array, a 30 kW biogas generator, and 200 batteries, with a cost of energy (COE) of $0.347/kWh. On the other hand, the gasifier integrated option is made up of an 81.8 kW photovoltaic array, a 15 kW syngas generator, and 200 batteries and has a COE of $0.319/kW. Additionally, compared to the PV/Wind/Battery system, integrating the biogas (resp. syngas) generator showed a potential COE decrease of 29% (resp. 40%). The sensitivity analysis highlighted the validity of this COE reduction potential everywhere in sub‐Saharan Africa, leading to the conclusion that integrating BPT into HRESs can effectively contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mini-grids are expected to be the least cost option to electrify more than half a billion people living predominantly in isolated communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Providing a high reliability of power supply to satisfy paying customers is vital for the challenging business case of mini-grid owners. Therefore, renewable-based mini-grids of the third generation commonly include either diesel generators or battery storage for backup power supply. Power-to-hydrogen-to-power (P2H2P) is a promising alternative to overcome technical, financial, and social shortcomings of diesel generators and batteries. Previous research highlights the challenging economic competitiveness of P2H2P in specific case studies only. Here, we conduct a model-based techno-economic analysis on an archetypal representative mini-grid to compare the economic performance of P2H2P against the diesel generator and battery storage. We identify key parameters decisive for the competitiveness of P2H2P via sensitivity analysis. Under today's conditions, P2H2P is financially viable in 100 % decarbonized mini-grid systems. Ongoing trends of increased fuel price and P2H2P technology improvements must continue to achieve economic advantages of P2H2P over the diesel generator. However, P2H2P is competitive in locations in which the diesel price is higher than 2.6 USD/l or when P2H2P investment costs drop by >50 %, which is expected beyond 2040. Sensitivity analysis shows that increasing P2H2P system efficiency can substantially benefit the economic performance. Seasonal variations on the African continent are insufficient to create exploitable advantages of P2H2P against the short-term storage of batteries. The results suggest especially larger future PV mini-grids to combine battery storage and P2H2P rather than including common diesel generators or only including batteries when trends towards cheaper and more efficient technologies continue and diesel prices increase. Future work should investigate economic effects of the unique multi-usability of hydrogen on the mini-grid system, such as the usage as clean cooking fuel. • Optimization of a representative mini-grid system including PV, power-to-hydrogen-to-power, battery, and diesel generator. • Techno-economic assessment of the power-to-hydrogen-to-power system, including sensitivity analysis. • A combination of battery and power-to-hydrogen-to-power is the least cost option for 100% decarbonized energy supply. • Technology improvements suggest future mini-grids to include PV, battery, and power-to-hydrogen-to-power backup systems. • Reallocation of fossil fuel subsidies to P2H2P systems may harmonize with sustainable policies and reduce investment barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural electrification of Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia is crucial to end the energy poverty in which around 1 billion people are trapped. Swarm electrification, i.e., the progressive building of decentralized and decarbonized electric infrastructure in a bottom-up manner, tackles rural electrification challenges by quickly providing modern and reliable electricity services to unelectrified communities while fostering local socio-economic development. This paper follows the technological approach of this electrification model and presents the development of a DC microgrid with decentralized production and storage suitable for rural electrification. This DC microgrid aims at interconnecting nanogrids, small collective autonomous power units composed of a solar panel and a lead–acid battery for 4 to 6 households, to increase the electrical services brought to the community and enhance the economic sustainability of this rural electrification model. The design of the proposed microgrid as well as its control algorithm are thoroughly addressed and tested from software simulations and experimental testing to field deployment in Madagascar. Extensive software, experimental and field-tests results are illustrated, and the microgrid design feedback is given. This paper overall validates the proper operation of the proposed microgrid, confirming the technical feasibility of the swarm electrification approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote area electrification is a crucial need in sub-Saharan Africa's drive to attain universal electrification. In Sierra Leone, with a rural population of over 5 million, the electrification rate accounts for less than 10% of the total inhabitants. This paper presents a comparative techno-economic analysis carried out to determine the most feasible of four individual options for off-grid mini-grid power generation system utilizing sources that include: Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV), Diesel Generator (DG), and Battery Storage (BS) system, to provide electricity for a rural and remote village located in the northwestern part of Sierra Leone (longitude 9.1°W and latitude 12.6°N), with an average daily solar irradiance between 4.6 and 6 kWh/m2/day. An assessment of the total electrical load estimated an expected daily consumption of 178 kWh. Simulation, optimization, and sensitivity analyses of each one of the individual power generation systems were carried out using HOMER software. Economic parameters such as Cost of Capital (CC), Net Present Cost (NPC), Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE)), technical parameters (energy production characteristics), and greenhouse gases emissions were compared and analyzed. Key findings from the simulation result indicate that systems consisting of DG only ($29,750) and SPV/BS ($110,131) obtained the least and highest CC, respectively. Similarly, in a respective manner, the highest and least NPC were obtained for systems with DG only ($496,336) and PV/DG/BS ($152,491) over a 25-year project lifetime. Furthermore, the least LCOE was obtained for the system comprising PV/DG/BS ($0.336/kWh). With an expected annual generation of (75,121 kWh), PV/DG/BS was obtained to be the most optimal solution. The sensitivity analysis observed that a reduction in the discount rate consequently reduces the LCOE of such a system. Furthermore, the model accounts for a 90% renewable energy fraction, with a significant reduction in the amount of annual GHG emissions, when compared with a generation system using diesel generator only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last years, stand-alone and / or hybrid photovoltaic systems have spread in rural areas, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Compared to conventional systems (typically diesel generators), these systems can provide a reliable electricity supply at reasonable costs with a low degree of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, this paper focuses on modelling and investigation of an off-grid photovoltaic system (charging station) performance based on a located in Kenya. However, the model can be adapted to any other region and any type of photovoltaic systems module by changing model input data such as solar radiation, air temperature, longitude, latitude, load profile and standard test conditions parameters of the photovoltaic systems module. The modelled photovoltaic system (charging station) will be used to provide reliable and clean electricity for a number of important tasks (e.g. water purification, charging special floatable lanterns and electric bikes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From solar lanterns to home systems and minigrids, distributed renewable energy (DRE) has become increasingly competitive as an alternative to grid extension in household electrification across many parts of the emerging world. We explore how DRE use in Indian households has evolved against the backdrop of massive public investment in grid extension. Using two rounds of the 2015–2018 ACCESS household data from six Indian states, we estimate the impact of household electrification via grid extension on DRE ownership and use. We find that demand for solar microgrids and minigrids has all but disappeared, whereas demand for solar home systems and lanterns as backup solutions to intermittent grid electricity supply continues to grow. Most notably, while grid electrification has increased from 66% to 85%, solar lantern ownership has grown from 1.2% to 5%. The use of DRE as a backup solution to government electrification schemes seems driven by changes in quality of electricity supply. These analyses confirm that intermittent grid electricity supply is key to understanding the solar lantern's continued popularity. The results show that where population density, household income, and government commitment all favor grid extension, the most affordable DRE technologies can still play an important role. These lessons offer insights into the development of solar-based lighting markets in other regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where grid extension continues but grid electricity remains intermittent in supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrification of minibus taxis in sub-Sahara's paratransit sector is yet to take off. It transports nearly 70% of daily commuters in cities with its transformation being prohibited by multiple factors: an already fragile grid network, and energy scarcity in the region. Planning for eventual electrification is complicated by the sector's unique, unscheduled, decentralised, and demand-driven nature. We introduce the concepts of vehicle-day and fleet-day to structure and quantify the relationship between mobility and electricity demand. This relationship is investigated with data from 17 minibus taxis in the city of Stellenbosch, in South Africa. Two scenarios are evaluated: charging at depots only, and also charging at home, with differing numbers of depot chargers. There is a strong dependence of mobility on the number of chargers available; however, this reaches a maximum point where the relationship is no longer linked, suggesting a fundamental change in mobility patterns for further improvement. For the depot-only scenario, only 55% of vehicle-days were successful, while 79% of vehicle-days were successful when charging at home, too. The maximum distance that could be travelled in a day for depot-only charging was 190 km, increasing to 220 km when also charging at home, for a 70 kWh usable battery capacity. • New method introduced for representing the multi-route nature of minibus taxis. • Vehicle-day proposed for mobility and fleet-day proposed for grid impact. • Depot and home charging scenarios simulated with different number of chargers. • Fundamental change in mobility required for higher success rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-use water services (MUS) can enhance the benefits communities receive from the productive use of water. This article uses household surveys, water samples, focus groups and key informant interviews to examine the potential of MUS in northern Malawi. Specific attention is given to the role of existing rural water supply options and knowledge held by an established smallholder rice farmer group. The study finds that expanding MUS requires: (1) forming MUS coalitions between communities, NGOs and business associations; (2) identifying appropriate MUS practices and markets; (3) undertaking community and water availability assessments; and (4) designing services aligned with these assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the pressing challenges to economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is access to electrical power. In Nigeria, there is a large gap in electricity access between rural and urban areas; only about 40% have access in rural areas as compared to almost 60% in urban areas. A potential solution is the use of off-grid solar electricity to meet their needs. This article seeks to assess the tradeoffs involved in using off-grid solar electricity from the perspective of Nigerian households. Given their generally low income levels, the research focuses on the lower end of the market for off-grid solar electricity: solar chargers. It uses choice experiments to measure households' preferences for solar electricity by exploring attributes rural households are looking for in solar chargers. The relationship between households' preferences and off-grid solar electricity was analyzed using a random parameter logit model. Findings indicate that confidence in the quality of the product was the most important variable, and that respondents associated higher priced solar chargers with higher quality. These findings suggest that energy companies making off-grid electricity technology could consider offering warrantees for high-quality products in order to build consumers' trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural electrification-based literature reports a limited modelling knowledge concerning the long-term dynamics of the nexus between electricity access and local development in rural areas of developing countries. This can hinder the achievement of the Agenda 2030 goals related to sustainable access to electricity for all. In order to overcome this literature gap and support the implementation of sustainable long-term rural electrification programmes, this paper builds upon the research on a system dynamics model on the local dimension of the electricity-development nexus developed by the authors by testing it and deriving useful guidelines for supporting future electrification actions in sub-Saharan Africa. All the steps are based on a real case-study as reference, i.e. a hydroelectric-based electrification programme implemented in the rural community of Ikondo, Tanzania, in 2005 by the Italian NGO named CEFA Onlus. The results of the model testing lead to a novel quantitative assessment of the most relevant dynamics affecting the local electricity-development nexus, and it provides a novel discussion on model results when its inputs take on different values, until the extreme ones, and as if the model were tested for different contexts than Ikondo. Policy testing is also performed for exploring model behaviour when subjected to different polices and exogenous decision-making processes. It provides a list of complementary activities to couple with electrification programmes for enhancing their positive impact on rural communities. These results can support the definition of useful guidelines and best practices for rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa, and they advocate an updating of the traditional monitoring and evaluation frameworks commonly used for assessing energy access projects. • A system-dynamics model on the electricity-development nexus is tested. • A novel assessment of the dynamics affecting the rural electricity-development nexus is provided. • Useful lessons learnt for supporting future electrification actions in sub-Saharan Africa are reported. • Complementary activities to couple with electrification programmes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small solar home systems (SHS) have emerged as potential alternatives to grid electrification in rural sub-Saharan Africa, enabling households to make modest investments into their power systems, and to modify those systems according to their changing incomes and power demands. In this work investigate how introduction of rural unelectrified households to basic electricity temporally stimulates increasing power demands. We use survey-gathered data to show that once households get access to basic electricity, they begin to realise its socio-economic benefits and start to desire more luxurious appliances, especially through social pressure and neighbourhood influence. These desires are realised temporally with activities that lead to increasing households' incomes, leading to increasing loads, and thus to the modifications of the originally installed small SHS, to meet those increasing load demands. Eventually, cumulative increasing loads within a given community could lead to extensions of the grid to that area, as total power demands now justify such investments. Basic SHS therefore potentially act as grid-electrification stimulators, leading to eventual grid electrification of a given community; as an electrification policy, developing communities should consider seeding unelectrified areas with SHS to stimulate power demands for eventual grid electrification. • Solar Home Systems (SHS) stimulate increasing power demands. • Increasing power demands stimulate increasing household incomes. • Increasing incomes translate into more appliances and thus to more loads. • More loads lead to larger SHS installations. • Larger SHS stimulate grid extensions to given villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handpumps are heavily relied upon for drinking water in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, but their operation and maintenance remain problematic. This review presents updated and expanded handpump functionality estimates for 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Our results suggest that approximately one in four handpumps in sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any point in time, which in 2015 was roughly equivalent to 175,000 inoperative water points. Functionality statistics for Asia-Pacific countries vary widely, but data gaps preclude a robust region-wide estimate. In spite of data inconsistencies and imperfections, the results illustrate the persistent and widespread nature of rural water supply sustainability concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of today, access to electricity is still unavailable to 1.1 billion people in the world, half of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Projections suggest that this share will increase, leaving millions of people with limited development prospects. Kenya's nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the 2015 Paris Agreement includes a commitment to expand power supply, and in doing so, provide all its citizens with access to electricity. Access in rural areas, where the majority remains unconnected, is planned to be reached through different technologies. These include mini-grids, which are expected to bring multiple sustainable development benefits. However, comprehensive studies looking at synergies and trade-offs between environmental, social, and economic impacts of mini-grids are scarce. Analyzing the expected contribution of mini-grids to targets such as the NDC and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can provide evidence-based decision-support to policymakers, thus promoting well-designed and sustainable rural electrification policies. By using the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) Sustainable Development Methodology, this paper goes beyond the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts resulting from access to modern electricity, analyzing also other environmental and socio-economic implications of 146 solar PV mini grids under construction in Kenya. Using specific targets from the SDG framework, the paper presents a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extent to which mini-grids can contribute to the implementation of Kenya's NDC and to sustainable development priorities. Key policy insights The deployment of mini-grids is expected to lower the GHG emissions of the villages currently without access to electricity by 71%. This contributes to 0.4% of the current NDC target for the power sector, in line with the capacity of the systems analyzed. This action is expected to also bring about positive impacts on electricity access, indoor air quality, healthcare, education and economic activities, which are found to contribute to 16 SDG targets. Apart from the economic investment required, possible negative impacts are associated with the electronic waste generated at the end-of-life of the mini-grids. Accounting for sustainable development impacts of policies can increase support among policymakers for climate action, and ultimately raise ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 17% of the world's population lack access to electricity, the majority being in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Microgrid technologies are a promising solution towards rural and remote area electrification; however, ever-increasing electricity demand remains a big challenge leading to pronounced power outages. Demand-side management is an indispensable tool towards addressing the challenges. This paper employs a mathematical model based on incentives and time-of-use rates to simulate daily power usage pattern of residential customers using data collected from an isolated village Ngurdoto solar microgrid, Arusha, Tanzania. Customer responsiveness on the increase in price was evaluated based on the concept of price elasticity of demand. Using two demand response strategies, namely, load shifting (LS) and scheduled load reduction (SLR), the results reveal that LS can achieve up to 4.87% energy-saving, 19.23% cost-saving, and about 31% and 19% peak reduction and power factor improvement, respectively. SLR method resulted in about 19% energy-saving, 49% cost-saving, and 24% power factor improvement. Thus, the results presented in this study may lead to a more efficient and stable system than the current state in developing countries' utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of the population on the African continent is unable to access basic electricity services, this despite the abundance of renewable energy sources (RESs). The inability to adequately tap into these RESs has led to the continued dependence on nonrenewable energy sources such as coal for electricity generation, and kerosene for cooking and lighting, the resulting use of which is poor health conditions. The use of Microgrids (MGs) is being extensively researched as a feasible means of tackling the challenge of electrification, especially in rural and remote areas. Recent times have seen an increasing number of research works focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is one of the regions with the lowest electrification rates in the world. MGs provide the most suitable means to integrate RESs into the electricity generation process, paving the way towards clean energy for the African continent. This paper presents a review of recent literature on the usage of MG technology for rural electrification, with a specific focus on the applicability of MGs in the SSA context. The paper additionally presents the challenges and opportunities to date. Research findings indicate that SSA has already begun the transition towards clean energy via implementation of RES-based MGs. However, two resonating challenges in the literature are adequate support via policy, and proper planning of project implementation. These two major barriers are needed to be overcome in order to fully utilize MGs for rural electrification in SSA. The key methodology derived from this study is that any effort towards rural electrification requires a sufficient amount of investigation, incorporating both the technological and socio-economic aspects into a suitable design for the target location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several hundred million people in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of being without access to electricity by 2030 despite the ongoing work aimed at achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 7—sustainable energy for all. Based on qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, observation, and participation in Kenya and Senegal between 2010 and 2018, the author aims to explain why the rate of progress is slower than intended. The findings highlight three strong hindrances: lack of affordability due to extreme poverty, mismatch between the village-level outreach of grid-based electricity systems and the geography of settlements, and lack of consideration given to gender inequality. The findings also provide new insights into the ways that decentralized small-scale solar power increasingly meets some of the shortcomings of centralized grids in addressing these three issues, even in rural areas where grids are already present. The author concludes that the ways in which village communities have combined the use of solar-powered energy with grid-supplied energy indicates the importance of the former and the need to intensify efforts to improve solar power delivery models and integrate them fully in energy sector strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a significant proportion of the world's population living in remote rural areas that are geographically isolated and sparsely populated. This study is based on modeling, computer simulation, and optimization of a hybrid powered mini-grid for a remote area of Korr in the district of Marsabit, Northern Kenya. The solar photovoltaic and wind turbine are considered as the two renewable resources for generating electricity accompanied by a battery (B) for storage and a diesel generator as a backup system. HOMER Pro software is used to perform the design and analysis of a proposed hybrid powered mini-grid model. The simulation results generated by the software indicate that the renewable energy sources may be a competitive technology. It has the potential of being a feasible solution capable of providing sustainable and reliable electric power at remote locations provided adequate amounts of renewable energy resources. The most cost-effective system in this study incorporates photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines, a diesel generator, and a battery bank to provide electricity to the community load demand of 5592 kWh/day at a cost of energy of $0.314. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across sub-Saharan Africa many communities lack reliable access to mains electricity, and therefore depend upon unconventional power sources to recharge their mobile phones. Many of these informal recharging centres are powered by a diesel generator or solar panel. Furthermore, many of these same communities are frequently served by broken water pumps. Previous reports indicate that many individuals are prepared to pay a small regular fee to recharge their mobile phone, while their local water point committee lacks sufficient funds to keep their water infrastructure maintained. This paper presents a novel funding strategy aimed at helping communities cover the maintenance costs of their local water supply. This premise was demonstrated using a pilot system in The Gambia which combined a solar-powered community water point with an off-grid smart battery rental hub for everyday electricity needs such as mobile phone charging. The paper presents preliminary field data from this site and explores the wider context surrounding the pilot system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the lowest rate of electricity access and irrigation in the world, at 45% and 5% respectively. The problem is in part due to the low economic viability of rural electrification, particularly through grid extension, lack of low-cost irrigation energy, and limited access to finance for the high cost of irrigation infrastructure. Despite their promising potential, minigrids' deployment has been rather slow in SSA, partly due to the lack of viable business models for the dispersed low-income rural population. In this paper, we present an integrated model that couples a minigrid model with a crop model to explore the nexus potential of joint deployment of minigrids with smallholder irrigation to alleviate barriers to both minigrid scale-up and irrigation adoption. We apply the proposed model to three rural case studies in different geographical contexts in SSA. Our simulation results show the potential of irrigation loads to lower the unit cost of minigrid energy (LCOE) by up to 47%, depending on the quantity of irrigable land and its spatial distribution. A further scenario-based sensitivity analysis of the minigrid with and without aggregate irrigation load shows wide variations in LCOE–between a minimum of $0.24/kWh and a maximum of $1.2/kWh–with changes in the cost of capital and technology cost. Regarding irrigation viability, our model results show that irrigation profitability is a function of a complex interplay of factors, including crop type, soil fertility, infrastructure costs, energy prices, fertiliser application rate, and crop farm gate prices. We further test the effects of pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) business model incentives on the profitability of irrigation with minigrids; our results show that various incentives that alleviate either all or a fraction of upfront capital cost do not only mitigate irrigation adoption barrier but also enhances its profitability on the part of the farmer. Finally, our model results underscore that the economic viability of joint deployment of minigrids with smallholder irrigation depends on the optimal combination of agro-ecological factors of production (location suitability), type of crop (on a descending order, onion, tomato, and potato are the most profitable crops in our model), fertiliser application rate (near-optimal to optimal soil fertility is recommended) and cost scenarios (low cost of capital and technology preferred). In the main, our model and the results thereof highlight the potential benefits of co-planning minigrids and irrigation projects. Our model and results presented in this paper can be used as high-level decision-making pointers on the nexus planning of minigrids with smallholder irrigation farming. • Irrigation loads reduce the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the minigrid by up to 47%. • Irrigation loads achieve minigrid LCOE range of $0.24/kWh to $1.2/kWh. • Pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) business model enhances irrigation profitability for the farmer. • Irrigation profitability depends on soil fertility, costs location, crop type prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of 2022, 675 million people do not have access to electricity globally. The large majority of this underserved population lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mini grids systems play a central role to close this energy access gap. The adoption of latest technologies such as remote monitoring solutions can contribute to strengthen mini grids business case by improving their operation, maintenance and performance. In this study we present the latest trends, opportunities and challenges of remote monitoring solutions for mini grids and we illustrate the potential of this technology in optimizing mini grids operations, making the case for wider adoption in the sector. The analysis is developed assessing primary data collected from seven mini grids developers, covering 49 photovoltaic autonomous hybrid rural mini-grids across seven sub-Saharan Africa countries. To better understand the advantages of remote monitoring solutions we present a classification based on their related benefits compared to manual/local monitoring options. Orientation toward the adoption of remote monitoring solutions by mini grids developers highlights the advantages from a market and from the operational and maintenance perspectives. Through a cost-benefit analysis of remote monitoring solutions, we show that can have a positive impact on mini grids operations, leading to an overall operational expenditures reductions of up to 17 %, with an investment payback time as short as 1 year. Finally, we provide an estimation of operational costs savings at country level by using remote monitoring solutions in future rural electrification efforts. • Interest from mini grid developers in the usage of Remote Monitoring Systems (RMS) is increasing • The use of RMS can reduce mini-grids' operational costs by 6% to 17% • In the best cases, RMS investment payback time can be as short as one year • In Sub-Saharan Africa, using RMS in rural mini grid operations could unlock over 820M USD in OPEX savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A popular theme in the literature is the examination of a variety of factors that contribute to energy poverty, but little is known about the connection between public debt and energy poverty, particularly for developing regions of the world. This study clearly illustrates the nexus between public debt and energy poverty, focusing on thirty SSA nations from the years 2007–2018. In conjunction with disaggregated energy poverty variables such as urban electrification, national electricity access, rural electrification, access to clean cooking fuels, renewable energy utilization and output, a composite energy poverty index was developed using the principal component analysis and estimated in relation to public debt via the Instrumental Variable Generalized Method of Moments approach. Additionally, the effects of a debt threshold are taken into account and their implications for the region's energy poverty are assessed. The main finding of the study reveals that public debt has a positive and significant linear effect on the energy poverty index, national electricity access, urban electrification, rural electrification and access to clean cooking fuels while it reduces renewable energy production and utilization. Thus, our research contributes to the body of knowledge and offers policy recommendations for SSA's targeted reduction in energy poverty through sustainable public debt management. • The influence of public borrowing on energy poverty is examined. • IV-GMM is used to account for potential endogeneity and autocorrelation. • Public debt drives national electricity access and urban electrification. • Public debt reduces renewable energy production and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, 992 million people still do not have access to electricity globally. Most live in rural areas of the developing world. In 2018, the electrification rate for sub-Saharan Africa was only 27%. Furthermore, off-grid systems are projected to provide 65% of the newly electrified population in sub-Saharan Africa. Current estimations show that the average connection cost per technology in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa is 2000–3000 USD for grid extension, 500–1200 USD for a microgrid solution, and 150–500 USD for a solar home system. The most recent studies for real-world microgrids installed in sub-Saharan Africa show that the average split of capital expenditure (CAPEX) spending on distribution versus generation in microgrids is at 50%/50%. This is the result of the significant cost reduction of photovoltaics, batteries, and power electronics, in comparison with the practically stable unchanged cost of poles and cables. Even if the business model is chosen by the investor—usually a pay-as-you-go implementation—there is still the difficult decision to make on whether to go for a microgrid or solar home systems. Taking inspiration from multispecies swarms, a Multispecies Swarm Electrification approach is developed that is able to meet the real-world needs of the developing world in terms of rural electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to water for domestic and irrigation uses remains limited across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas. While the technical feasibility of implementing innovative technologies to improve water supply has been often evaluated, less is known about the drivers that motivate users to pay for obtaining the inherent benefits of improved water supply. In this article, the determinants of the marginal willingness to pay (mWTP) for improved domestic and irrigation water are investigated. For this purpose, a contingent valuation study is performed in rural Rwanda. This study uses survey data from 316 households situated in 8 villages, in which ~20% of the households receive electricity thanks to microgrids powered by solar energy. It is found that the mWTP for improved domestic water supply is influenced by the proportion of children in the household, business ownership, and satisfaction with water quantity and quality. The mWTP for irrigation is determined by respondent education, business ownership and crop area planted. This paper contributes to the literature by allowing a comparison of the determinants of the mWTP for improved domestic water supply to the determinants of the mWTP for irrigation. Another contribution is to examine the mWTP for improved water infrastructure in partially electrified villages. Identifying areas with high marginal benefits from water can guide infrastructure investment and electrification efforts while improving well-being and increasing revenues in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most sub-Saharan African countries have low and unequal access to electricity. • Multi-objective optimisation model integrates grid and off-grid electrification. • Solar energy is the cost-minimal strategy to minimise electrification inequality. • Off-grid electrification is a crucial component of all optimal solutions in Uganda. • Uganda's current official expansion plan is infeasible and would be sub-optimal. While electricity access is lowest in developing countries, the academic literature on generation expansion planning (GEP) has been informed almost exclusively by challenges in industrialised countries. This paper presents the first multi-objective, long-term energy planning optimisation model tailored towards national power systems with little existing power infrastructure. It determines the location, type, capacity and timing of power system infrastructure additions. Specifically, three novel generalisations of standard generation planning are introduced: (1) an expansion of the demand constraints to allow for industrial and household electrification rates below 100%, (2) a minimisation of sub-national energy access inequality in conjunction with minimising system costs considering environmental constraints, and (3) an integration of distribution infrastructure, explicitly including both on-grid and off-grid electrification. Using a specifically designed solution algorithm based on the ε-constraint method, the model was successfully applied to the previously unexplored Ugandan national power system case. The results suggest that while it is cost-optimal to maintain highly unequal sub-national access patterns to meet Uganda's official 80% electrification target in 2040, equal access rates across all districts can be achieved by increasing discounted system cost by only 3%. High optimal shares of locationally flexible on-grid and off-grid solar energy enable cheap sub-national shifts of generation capapcity. This paper strongly challenges the Ugandan government's nuclear energy and largely grid-based electrification expansion plans. Instead, it calls for solar concentrated power as a baseload option in the future and a focus on off-grid electrification which the model selects for the majority of household connections in 2040, even in a high-demand scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The energy conversion chain in a photovoltaic water pumping system was modelled. • Water collection by the inhabitants was included as a model input. • The model was validated by using data acquired on a system in rural Africa. • The accuracy of the model is higher than 95% when using local climatic data. • Accuracy drops of 1–3% when replacing local climatic data by satellite ones. Abstract The low electrification rate in rural sub-Saharan Africa prevents access to energy services which are essential to improve living conditions. One of these energy services is electrified water pumping, which is particularly relevant for these areas where water access continues being a significant challenge. Pumping systems powered by photovoltaic energy have emerged as an interesting solution in off-grid areas. This article presents a model of photovoltaic water pumping system (PVWPS) for providing domestic water to off-grid rural communities. The model simulates the pumped flow rate and the water level in the storage tank from the climatic data (irradiance, ambient temperature) and the profile of water collection by the users of the system. The modelling of the different stages of the energy conversion chain and a method for identifying the unknown parameters of PVWPS are presented in this article. The model is applied to a pilot PVWPS situated in a rural village of Burkina Faso. The comparison between the measurements performed on the system and the model outputs allows to validate the model experimentally. Results indicate that the model permits to accurately simulate the water height in the tank both when climatic data from local sensors and from satellite are inputted in the model. The model could therefore be applied to other off-grid areas to perform techno-economic optimization and size new PVWPS as well as to evaluate the performances of existing PVWPS. The originalities of this work include the consideration of the water collection profile as a model input and the monitoring of a PVWPS in a rural village of Sub-Saharan Africa, an area where no continuous measurements on these systems has been performed, to the best knowledge of the authors. Further, the comparison of the impact of inputting satellite climatic data instead of measured ones on the PVWPS model accuracy is also a novel contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The absence of publicly available up-to-date costs breakdown data on photovoltaic (PV)/hybrid mini-grids in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a barrier that needs to be resolved in order to overcome challenges in rural electrification planning, regulation, life-cycle operation, financing, and funding. The primary aim of this research is to provide better understanding of the cost structures of PV/hybrid mini-grid projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The review on existing literature reveals significant lack of transparency and inconsistencies in PV/hybrid mini-grid costs. This paper aims to support the fact that there still remains a strong need to reduce the gap between current business model concepts and successfully implemented scale-up electrification models. Based on the experience of PV/hybrid mini-grids projects implemented in various rural communities of SSA, we propose a multi-dimensional cost analysis with a standardised break-down of the real costs of installed projects. Subsequently, we assess the main social and environmental implications and we identify barriers that appear to hinder successful PV mini-grid planning and subsequent implementation in SSA. Africa has the unique opportunity to utilize renewable energy as a primary energy source. Indeed, the continent has the potential to bring electricity especially to its rural population by means of PV/hybrid mini-grids. However, the capability of public and private sector investors to pre-evaluate projects is limited by the lack of locally available information on PV/hybrid mini-grid costs or the reliability of data (when available). Multi-dimensional cost analysis of social and environmental impacts from this study highlight that PV/hybrid mini-grids offer a unique opportunity to create a standardised framework for quantifying costs of PV/hybrid mini-grids in SSA, that can support decision-making processes for designing viable business models. Findings show that there is a strong need to minimise the data quality gap between current business model and that of successfully implemented PV/hybrid mini-grids electrification projects. This gap could be mitigated through studying the issues that influence mini-grid costs (both hardware and software). In addition to understanding other factors that can influence project costs such as the market maturity and remoteness of the site, organisation capability, development approach, and level of community involvement. Regarding policy considerations, stronger political will coupled with proactive rural electrification strategies and targeted renewable energy regulatory framework would be essential in order to establish viable dynamic domestic market for off grid renewables. In the presented benchmarking analysis, the experiences of public and private development organisations are synchronized to contribute to the furthest extent possible to facilitate the assessment. Those include the disaggregation of component costs according to their unit in order to make comparison more accurate and include site-specific parameters in the discussion of costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how the 630 million sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) people can be electrified with new government policy, new renewables, and innovative business models. These initiatives are translating the ambitious goals of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) on energy and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 2015 Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise in this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness to electrify the 630 million people within the Paris Agreement. Economic status and willingness to pay for electricity services by the poor are briefly analyzed for four new business models. Cost-effectiveness analyses on technologies are undertaken. The results show that a private investment-based financial model is the most effective and environmentally friendly in rural electrification for the poorest households in SSA. The new policy, new renewable energy technologies, and financing models are shaping contemporary climate strategies that facilitate investment in clean energy, spur community economy, enhance national energy security, and improve global environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrating solar power (CSP) seems to be a promising solution for rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. Small scale CSP plant appears to be most appropriate because it is suitable to the needs of rural communities: most of components can be found to be of low cost in the African market and there are available qualified local human resource to build the systems. A state of art of small scale CSP plants in the range of 1–500 kW e are reviewed in this paper to showcase previous and current works undertaken throughout the world. 35 small scale CSP plants are identified and reviewed in the paper. Technical analysis is conducted on the identified plants to understand their operating principles. The technical analysis highlighted reasons behind the choices made for every component from the solar field to the power block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International engagement in sub-Saharan Africa's power sector is increasing rapidly. Aid is used to directly finance a growing number of foreign companies to implement power projects, accompanied by calls for policy and governance reform. This paper argues that while new and much-needed finance is becoming available, the current approach to foreign support poses several new challenges for broad and sustainable long-term development of the African power sector. They include a focus on creating market opportunities for non-African rather than domestic companies, the difficulty of delivering large-scale rural electrification through the externally advocated market-based approach, economic inefficiencies of current aid spending, and the difficulty of tackling complex, country-specific issues with continental electrification initiatives. To address these challenges, we suggest redirecting public funds towards rural electrification, increasing African ownership, individualising policy interventions and easing the current types of neoliberal conditionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most populations in rural Africa have no access to electricity, in this study, a comparative analysis between grid extension and the implementation of renewable off-grid hybrid power system is carried out. The objective of the study is to determine the best feasible option. Napier, a farming village in the Western Cape province of South Africa was selected as the site for the comparative analysis and HOMER PRO software was used to develop an optimal system using the wind and solar resources of the selected site. The load profile considered in the analysis includes lighting, cooking and hot water demands. The best feasible option is determined based on the Net Present Cost of each feasible scenario. Sensitivity analysis on the current cost and the projected cost of hydrogen storage w conducted to observe the impact of the cost of hydrogen storage on the renewable off-grid system cost of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) products are touted as a leading solution to long-term electrification and development problems in rural parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet there is little available data on the interactions between solar products and other household energy sources (which solar PVs are often assumed to simply displace) or the extent to which actual use patterns match up with the uses presumed by manufacturers and development agencies. This paper probes those questions through a survey that tracked approximately 500 early adopters of solar home systems in two off-grid markets in Africa. We find that these products were associated with large reductions in the use of kerosene and the charging of mobile phones outside the home. To a lesser extent, the use of small disposable batteries also decreased. However, solar home systems were, for the most part, not used to power radios, TVs, or flashlights. We also did not observe adopter households using these solar products to support income-generating activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Improving the performance of diesel generators gives economic and environmental benefits for hybrid microgrids planning. • Better interaction among diesel generators and renewable energy for rural electrification can be achieved using cost optimisation tools. • Including biofuel blends in a cost optimisation tool allows for assessing locally produced fuels for diesel substitution. • PM 2.5 and NO X emissions influence the biofuel selection to be used within hybrid microgrids. • Cost-benefit analysis helps to determine the best microgrid system configuration, considering financial and environmental aspects. Diesel generators (diesel gensets) are widely used within microgrid (MG) and off-grid systems for rural electrification, particularly in developing countries. The sizing and selection techniques during the MG planning stage are a key for maximising cost-effectiveness and minimising environmental impacts. This becomes more important for hybrid mini-grid systems when photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation and other renewable energies are included in the system as special attention is needed to limit the genset's output power, to keep it within the recommended operating range. This paper presents a cost optimisation model, centred on the generatoŕs performance, within diesel/PV/battery MGs, for minimising the MG's operating costs and environmental impact. The model considers fuel consumption equations adapted for castor oil-diesel (COD) blends and two major pollutant emissions (NOx and PM 2.5), which are not considered in other optimisation models. The optimisation was implemented for high, medium, and low electricity demand scenarios, with eight possible system configurations, for the Lindi Region of Tanzania as it belongs to one of the five countries with the lowest electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An economic assessment was done to compare the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of the system configurations. The impact of the fuel price and pollutant emission costs on the fuel selection was investigated using sensitivity analysis. The results confirmed that for specific electricity demand each scenario requires a unique set of diesel generators and the selection is affected by the PV share and the battery energy storage (BES) units included. The best LCOE for the high, medium, and low electricity demand scenarios were 0.43£/kWh, 0.42£/kWh, and 0.45£/kWh, respectively. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the pollutant emission costs have a significant impact on LCOE for the different fuel choices whereas the variation of fuel prices has a minimal effect unless the diesel price increased by 100%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is commonly believed that democracy influences public service provision, comparably few studies have assessed how recent democratisation in developing countries has impacted tangible public service outcomes for economically deprived population shares. Using panel data from 46 sub-Saharan African countries between 1990 and 2010 as well as qualitative country case examples from Ghana, Swaziland, Uganda, Senegal and Rwanda, this paper examines considerable and growing rural electrification variations in terms of political, economic and demographic variables. The analyses suggest that democracy is strongly associated with rural electrification increases and rural versus urban electrification inequality decreases in sub-Saharan Africa. This result is robust to a variety of political, economic and demographic control variables as well as different econometric modelling assumptions. The paper further presents novel multi-variant evidence supporting that contested elections with strong oppositions as well as effective policy implementing institutions may act as intervening institutional mechanisms that explain a part of democracy's association with rural electricity provision. Higher income per capita, national savings and population densities may further foster rural electrification, while high foreign aid shares of GDP and rural population percentages may pose challenges to access equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With insolation levels ranging from 4 to 7 kW h/m 2 /day, the African continent receives a higher amount of solar energy on its surface than the rest of the world. Hence, investments in solar electricity generation projects in African countries have the potential to be economically attractive. This paper reviews the feasibility of off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in SSA, focusing on five major issues in the context of falling system costs: cost-effectiveness, affordability, financing, environmental impact, and poverty alleviation. Over time, solar PV system costs have fallen dramatically across the globe. This is also the case in SSA, yet the costs prevailing in SSA are much higher than the world average owing to political, financial, and technological risks. Solar PV power systems continue to be an extremely costly source of electricity for the vast majority of the rural poor in SSA. The levellized cost of energy for solar PV systems is high, at US$0.83 per kW h. With an annual rate of decrease of PV system costs of 4% and 7.67% it is estimated that it will take from 8.7 to 16.9 years for solar home systems for electricity generation to become competitive with conventional diesel generators. The cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through rural solar PV electrification is in the range 150–626 US$/tCO 2 , which is extremely high compared with the current price of traded CO 2 emission permits or current estimates of the social cost of carbon of approximately 39 US$/tCO 2 . Off-grid solar PV systems are not feasible financially or economically for rural households of SSA unless these technologies are subsidised from abroad. If the policy of a country is to encourage rural electrification, it should carry this out through a systematic expansion of either local or national grids rather than household-level solar PV systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary In Nigeria, the most populated African country, rural electrification is a critical issue because of the low household electrification rate and the poor quality of the grid. This energy poverty has harmful economic and social consequences in rural areas, such as low productivity, lack of income-generating opportunities and poor housing conditions. In this paper, we consider electrification as a technical shock that may affect household time allocation. Using the 2010–11 General Household Survey, we investigate how electrification affects female and male labor supply decisions within rural households in Nigeria. Focusing on husband–wife data, we consider potential dependence in spouses’ labor supply decisions and address the challenge of zero hours of work using a recent copula-based bivariate hurdle model (Deb et al. , 2013). In addition, an instrumental variable strategy helps identify the causal effect of electrification. Our results underline that this dependence in spouses’ labor supply decisions is critical to consider when assessing the impact of electrification on these outcomes. Electrification increases the working time of both spouses in the separate assessments, but the joint analysis emphasizes only a positive effect of electrification on husbands’ working time. In line with the household labor supply approach, our findings highlight that, within the household, the labor supply decisions of one spouse significantly affect those of the other spouse. Thus, if we neglect the effect of electrification on the spouse of the individual examined, we may fail to assess how this individual has been actually affected by this common shock on both spouses. Our results suggest that these within–household relationships promote husbands’ working time at the expense of wives’ working time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow growth in electricity production in the last four decades has left Sub-Saharan Africa region in partial darkness marked by unreliable power supplies and insufficient generating capacity. This has been the greatest barrier to the economic and industrial growth in this part of the world and has left many people, in search of a greener pasture in other regions. In the last few years, Sub-Saharan Africa started to provide opportunities for micro-grid (MG) initiative by bringing electricity access to remote rural and sub-urban communities in the region. The MG concept is seen as a viable energy strategy due to the fact that Africa is endowed with both renewable and non-renewable resources that are primary sources for MG. This paper reviews and discusses the MG idea, recent development of MG, in Sub-Saharan Africa, MG potential and pilot projects across some part of Sub-Saharan Africa. Also, the benefits, challenges and solutions for a successful MG implementation in the region are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A comprehensive review of different willingness to pay (WTP) study methods In rural electrification studies presented. • The paper introduces a common measurement parameter, unit of service, that combines electricity and telecommunications in one service package to establish a link between customers' preferred price and profitability for the service provider. • The paper proposed a methodology for microgrid developers to adequately justify their investment plan and minimize the risks of non-payments. Despite the recent development, electrification of rural sub-Saharan Africa remains a major challenge because of remote locations and the low income of the population in those areas. There is a clear need for novel approaches for addressing this challenge. This paper proposes a new method for analysing the feasibility of microgrid projects based on consumers' expressed willingness to pay for the service in rural sub-Saharan Africa and microgrid project developers' willingness to accept. The paper also introduces a common measurement parameter, unit of service, that combines electricity and telecommunications in one service package to establish a link between customers' preferred price and profitability for the service provider. Further, the proposed methodology is used to analyse a study case located in rural Namibia. The results suggest that there is a price range for the service where a microgrid project can be feasible while satisfying local consumers' willingness to pay for the service. By using the proposed methodology, microgrid developers can adequately justify their investment plan and minimize the risks of non-payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solar/biogas/diesel hybrid system gives a levelized cost of energy of $0.15 /kWh. • Energy cost for a Solar/biogas/diesel hybrid microgrid competes with grid tariff. • Use of biomass in microgrids provide a sustainable rural electrification template. • Electrification of a disadvantaged area to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The idea of sustainable cities and communities is a collective goal that runs across intergovernmental programs, like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the African Agenda 2063 strategic framework. However, with several communities in sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia having no access to electricity, this objective is still a "mirage". Developing a resilient energy system for an unelectrified community should involve a thorough assessment and integration of the local energy resources in a decentralized generation and distribution system. For example, technologies that convert the waste generated in the community into biogas should be a part of microgrid systems. This paper thus proposes a microgrid solution for small communities where a combination of waste-to-energy, battery storage, and solar photovoltaic technologies can provide enough energy needed for the sustainable development of local communities. An unelectrified village in Nigeria has been selected as a case study. The energy demand for the village was carefully analyzed as 574 kWh/day. Techno-economic analysis of the hybrid solar PV/biogas/diesel system fit to serve this load was carried out using hybrid optimization of multiple energy resources software. The optimum hybrid system configuration was found to have a net present cost of $436,943 for 25 years with carbon dioxide emission amounting to 4,070 kg/year, compared to the traditional solar/diesel/battery microgrid which will require net present cost of $655,521 and emit 22,648 kg of carbon dioxide annually. Also, the cost of energy from this system is $0.151/kWh which is similar to the average grid tariff in the region. From the breakeven grid distance analysis, it was noted that the proposed solution is much more economical than grid extension for communities above a distance of 2.78 km to the grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reviews trends in rural electrification over the past 30 years in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it is shown that motivations for rural electrification programs have evolved significantly over the years, following changes in development paradigms. The author finds, however, that knowledge of the impact of this has only marginally improved: low connection rates and weak productive utilization identified in the 1980s remain true today, and impacts on such dimensions as health, education, or income, though often used to justify projects, are largely undocumented. Indeed impact evaluations are methodologically challenging in the field of infrastructures and have been limited thus far. Nevertheless examples of recent or ongoing impact evaluations of rural electrification programs offer promising avenues for identifying both the effect of electricity per se and the relative effectiveness of approaches to promoting it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the importance of renewable energy in sustainable power generation for electricity supply in the sub-Saharan Africa. It states that the region has low electricity access levels coupled with challenges of acute shortages and high levels of unreliability. It mentions the potentiality of hydropower technology which is considered as one of the promising decentralized power generation system for rural electricity supply in the region.

There is a body of literature showing that donor-supported institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are often captured by local elites, but this literature rarely touches upon whether elite capture is contingent on institutions. However, if this is the case, some institutions may provide political leverage for weaker groups, while others may sustain existing or traditional relations of power. The aim of this study of three cases of donor-supported institutions in Burkina Faso is to understand why close relatives of traditional chiefs invest in gaining control over a municipality, while showing only limited interest in gaining control of village groups and the electricity cooperative. The article argues that while local actors are generally attracted by development rents from donor-supported institutions, relatives of traditional chiefs seem to value the symbolic importance of institutions more than economic resources. The study thus enhances our understanding of mechanisms for access to local donor-supported institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the socioeconomic factors which exhibit important effects on Sub-Saharan Africa's rural electrification. It mentions that an econometric analysis and policy survey were conducted to four countries. It states that the policy survey examines the factors through concentrating on Political/institutional, Economic, Social, Technological and Environment (PESTE) factors. Moreover, it adds that the survey demonstrate various issues significant for rural electrification.