The economic challenge of rural electrification: Community solutions initiative in Africa

Abstract

While many projects address technological innovations in addressing the situation of energy poverty, which has nearly 1.5 billion people with no access to the electric grid, addressing the scale necessary to achieve universal electricity access by the UN targeted date of 2030 remains a significant and often unexamined challenge. A review of the scope of the challenge, as well as major initiatives such as those arising from the UN's declaration of 2012 as the “Year of Sustainable Energy for All,” or the 2013, US led “Power Africa” are systematically presented. Comparisons between more developed efforts in Asia, which have already achieved significant scale, with those just beginning in Africa are examined, as Sub Saharan Africa is shown to be the most challenging obstacle to reaching universal electrification. Particular relevance is thus made for the sustainable business model and expected scope of the IEEE Community Solutions Initiative particularly in Africa.