Solar energy in sub-Saharan Africa

Latest Articles

14/01/2025
The Guardian

The call by stakeholders in the health sector for government to provide solar electric grids to power public hospitals cannot come too early. Health care institutions have not been spared of power-related problems afflicting virtually all other sectors; and the result has been catastrophic, given their life or death circumstances.

Electrifying Rural Africa: The Role of Decentralized Power Generation

12/01/2025
NJ Ayuk
Article

Think about a time when your electricity went out. As you sat in the dark, maybe you wondered how long it would be before you could power up your computer again. Or perhaps you considered what you could make for dinner that didn’t require cooking.

The Case for a Fully Integrated Energy Transition Utility and Bundled Energy Services

10/01/2025
Tam Alex
Article

Imagine a world where electricity isn’t simply a product, but a transformative force — a gateway to education, healthcare, commerce, industry and comfort. In this world, energy access companies don’t just provide solar home systems or mini-grids;

Empowering Women and Transforming lives with Solar Energy

08/01/2025
Hans India Digital
Article

Women are often considered the backbone of families but their access to economic independence, education and health and hindered by many factors, particularly in rural areas. One such factor hindering their freedom to grow is the energy sector.

Solar irrigation: A game changer for climate resilience in agriculture

05/01/2025
CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa
Article

There is a rapidly growing trend towards adopting solar-powered irrigation systems as a critical adaptive strategy by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The El Niño phenomenon has intensified food and water insecurity across southern Africa, including Zambia, resulting in an increase in the adoption of solar-powered irrigation pumps.

Experts urge targeted skilling for vocational institutes to increase renewable energy access

17/12/2024
Kenneth Kazibwe
Article

Targeted skilling is being recommended to vocational training institutes as part of the on-going endeavour to increase access to renewable energy for Uganda’s large population.

The need for solar-powered schools and hospitals in Nigeria

16/12/2024
Mohammed Dahiru Aminu
Article

Nigeria’s energy crisis has long been a glaring impediment to the development of its essential institutions, particularly schools and hospitals. In recent months, the news has been dominated by reports of public universities like Ahmadu Bello University and others being unable to pay their electricity bills, leading to power disconnections.

Structural crises that African countries face in their energy transitions

13/12/2024
Just Transition Africa
Article

Mainstream thinking about ‘development’ commonly presumes all societies of the world are moving along the same track, with some countries in the lead and many others — particularly African countries — lagging behind with the hope and ambition of eventually ‘catching up’.

Subsidy and Synergy: How Philanthropy Can Complement Impact Investing More Effectively

10/12/2024
Asad Mahmood and Nanno Kleiterp
Article

The original goal of impact investing was to build out the spectrum between philanthropy and commercial investment. But then the arrival of commercial private equity firms pulled all the energy from the sector toward the commercial end of the spectrum, like metal filings to a magnet.