The Future of Electricity Generation and Distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The energy crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa, a result of underdeveloped and inefficient electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, has left over 630 million people in the region without access to electricity as of 2015. Previous efforts to address the issue of electricity accessibility in the region solely focused on enhancement of the national grid, with little to no efforts made toward exploitation of the vast renewable energy resource endowment that the region enjoys. The cost of renewable energy development has been perceived as being more expensive relative to the national grid and thus not economical to exploit. Given that there are limited studies to support this cost perception, this thesis seeks to quantify the cost comparisons for the national grid and renewable energy - mostly solar energy resources - for universal access to electricity by 2030. Contrary to the above perceptions, fi ndings presented in this thesis show that for the same number of households connected to electricity in 2030, the investment cost required for solar home systems and solar minigrids are 50% and 38% cheaper than the investment cost of the national grid, respectively.