Solar energy in sub-Saharan Africa

Latest Articles

11/10/2024
SolarAid / UNSW Sydney

Of the 375 million solar energy kits that have been sold and distributed to off-grid populations around the world by the formal off-grid solar sector since the early 2000s, more than 250 million are estimated to have fallen into disrepair.

In OGS market smaller domestic firms playing a crucial role in reaching remote areas

09/10/2024
The World Bank / GOGLA
Article

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the OGS market is characterized by a diverse landscape, where both large companies and small domestic firms coexist. While large OGS companies have a broad reach, their products are often distributed through local partners.

The counterfeit components delaying Africa’s energy transition

05/10/2024
FairPlanet
Article

By just looking at a picture sent to his iPhone of a large solar battery, Phillip December could tell why his client was having problems with his solar system. “The battery is fake. Get another one if you can,” he wrote.

Solar photovoltaic manufacturing in Africa: Opportunity or mirage?

02/10/2024
Africa Policy Research Institute
Article

The new industrial age, fueled by the manufacturing of several mineral-intensive transition technologies, offers potential opportunities for industrialization and structural transformation, particularly in mineral-rich developing regions such as Africa.

The industries fuelling the climate crisis are draining public funds in the Global South

01/10/2024
ActionAid
Article

The world’s money is flowing in the wrong direction. The climate crisis is really about money: too much money is fuelling climate change, too little money is going to climate solutions, and extractive money flows are locking economies deeper into climate-destructive spirals that deepen inequality.

In Nigeria’s Off-Grid Communities, Solar-Powered Electricity is Improving Primary Healthcare Delivery

28/09/2024
Arinze Chijioke
Article

Augustine Joseph was fully aware of the dire power supply situation in Fish Town when he arrived to establish a healthcare centre in November 2021. Fish Town, located in the coastal Bayelsa State, is an oil-producing community that had endured decades without any government or privately-sourced electricity.

Powering Africa: new model compares options for off-grid solar in 43 countries

25/09/2024
Hamish Beath
Article

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 80% of the global population without electricity access, is unlikely to reach the United Nations’ goal of access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.

Replacing Old Technologies or Creating New Markets?: The Pros and Cons of Two Paths to Impact for Productive Use of Energy

23/09/2024
Daniel Waldron, Chris Emmott, Yash Vardhan Gaddhyan and Ruth Wairimu
Article

Transformative technologies may start by making us more efficient, but it’s when they are embedded in new business models that they fundamentally change the way that we live and work. For instance, trains began as “faster horses” aiming to displace wagons, and ended up enabling modern industry.

The insanity of cheap electricity in Zambia

20/09/2024
Michael Chishala
Article

Any one of us given a choice between cheap power available for only 3 hours every 2 days versus electricity that is 5 times more expensive but available 24/7 will take the expensive power any day.