Electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa — Case for renewable energy sources microgrid

Abstract

Universal electricity access is a discourse that is essential for the overall socio-economic development of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 56.9% of her population (589 million people) is without access to electricity, a situation that has affected the socio-economic development of the region. Meeting universal electricity access through grid extension has faced challenges such as high cost of transmission grid extension, transmission losses, CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions and high operation and maintenance cost of transmission lines. This paper assesses the potential of renewable energy sources against grid extension in Sub-Saharan Africa to meet her electricity demand, even in the face of a growing population. Renewable energy technology microgrids is proposed as a better solution for universal electricity access in unelectrified areas where the cost of grid extension exceeds the cost of a microgrid, which is the case for most rural areas. Using microgrids with renewables will further reduce the risk to life caused by CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.