An insightful article on how a team from Rocky Mountain Institute is working in sub-Saharan Africa to address barriers to sustainable electricity access.
 

ELECTRIFICATION CHALLENGE 1

• Grid electricity can be costly

RECOMMENDATION 1

• Deploying aggressive, utility-led energy efficiency programs
• Investing in solar-plus-diesel hybrid systems to replace the pure diesel rental systems currently on the grid
• Prioritizing investment in transmission and distribution loss reduction and congestion reduction

ELECTRIFICATION CHALLENGE 2

• Off-grid market growth is slow

RECOMMENDATION 2

• Addresses any affordability gap between off-grid products and the citizens who need them through financing or subsidy
• Increases awareness of off-grid products and their use in areas of the country that will not be connected to the grid in the next five years by establishing a clear off-grid plan for the country and a national off-grid awareness campaign to educate consumers
• Develops consistent and supportive policies for quality products, incentives, and imports
• Supports scaling enablers, such as capital deployment and workforce training, by setting up effective debt facilities and education programs

ELECTRIFICATION CHALLENGE 3

• Energy planning is incomplete and uncoordinated

RECOMMENDATION 3

• Developing an on-grid integrated resource plan to harness new, lower-risk, and lower-cost technologies that also considers off-grid opportunities
• Driving a coordinated off-grid program with clear roles and responsibilities for all players, including substantial and continuous involvement of the private sector
• Avoiding distraction from new support that does not clearly fit into the plan

 
You should go read the whole article here.