Bringing Power and Progress to Africa in a Financially and Environmentally Sustainable Manner
Power and progress: the sustainable electrification of Africa
One of the most critical challenges to adequately addressing the global threat of climate change is determining how to sustainably electrify Africa, home to nearly a fifth of the world’s population and where 600 million people lack access to reliable power. To better inform decision-makers, Institute for Sustainable Energy (now the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability) researchers have synthesized a growing body of research examining the potential cost and largest obstacles to electrification without a substantial increase in fossil fuel consumption.
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AUTHORS
Richard Stuebi, Edem Adukonu, Peishan Wang, Ted Zhang, Xin Yue, Justin Ren
Key Takeaways
- To achieve a minimal level of universal energy access across Africa will require at least a $20 billion investment in infrastructure every year. The need is substantially larger for greater energy access, leading to a capital requirement of nearly $1 trillion spread over the next few decades.
- The mix of coal power and renewable energy sources on the continent will shape the trajectory of the globe’s carbon emissions. Despite the growing supplies of renewable energy sources major plans are underway to add coal-powered electricity in many African nations.
- Weak transmission grids between African countries make it difficult to effectively develop new large power projects, leaving many to rely more heavily on smaller renewable sources such as solar and wind. New energy storage technologies will also support an increasing trend towards renewable energy generation assets.
- The development of the electricity sector will be different for rural and urban regions in Africa. Urban areas will leverage the existing grid and invest in targeted upgrades, while rural areas can take advantage of new distributed energy technologies and business models to launch entirely new microgrids that have lower capital requirements—at lower risk to investors.
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