4
0
M25.
People
'
s access to
electricity in 2013
Source JEA Wor/d Energy Ouffook 20!5•
Rural ele<trifi<ation rate in 201S (%)
Missing data _ _ 0-20 20 40 _ _ 40·60 - 60·80 - 80 100
Total populiition wlthout ele<tri<ity in 201 S (millions of peoplt) · Missing data • 10 40 • C · 1 • . 5 • 5 10 • 'C • 20 . 40·60 60 · 100
•
....
• • • •••
e
® • ••
0•
tJl•••
•
•
•
•
-r
o
0•
•
0o
·
0
M28
.
Subscriptions
to
mobile phone
services in 2014
Source WOf 20l5 Cl-'
Mobllt subscriptfoM in 2014
for 100 inhabitant< Total(•t 000)
n
Missingdata - 1·20 • 1000 - 21-40 0 5000 - 41· 60 0 10000 - 61 ·80 0 100000 - 81 · 100 - >100•
, . 0 0•
00
0 00
0 00
0
0M26. Light of the cities
at
night
Sou1ce Ginkgamaps
M27
Global solar radiation
Annual average in kWh/m2
0
Sovrce. Pv'GfS -JRC 2001-2008
MHi11,.: 1 600 Wlhlm'
Low: 100 twh/m'
Figure
lJ
.
Urban and rural electrification.
Rate of connection to
the grid in 2013
Source IEA. World Energy Outlook 20l5
100 90
Mauritius, Tunlsia
s.,.,hetlts •
1
!gypr, Lyt,la,Mor0<<o, Al9ttla
0
80 South Alric.a•
70•
•
••
"
i
60 l: ~ so ~"'
-
a 40 D 30 \. 20•
iO • 0 0 0 8otJWlllll Comoros•
• Ghana---·-···--··--···-··--'-··-···---···---···-··-
,
···
' Equatorial GuineaCentral Afti<an Rfll',lblic
South/
Sudan Sierra leo,ne
\ /
..
10 20
Togo•
•
.
:
Sao T omt and Prin<qle
Nigeria • • Gabon
•
' ' Sw&riland •.
' '.
~•
'.
'..
•
•
14ot11mbique•
•
Zimbabwe • Came~o,n Eritrea•••
'. .
.•
• • Tanunia•
Ethlopia 40 5-0 60 70 80 90 100PHOTOVOLTAICS AND MOBILE TELEPHONY:
DECENTRALISED TECHNOLOGIES SUITABLE
FOR RURAL AREAS
Africa - especially sub-Saharan Africa - is
lag-ging behind when it comes
to
connection toenergy and telephone networks, but this cou/d be an advantage enabling it to direct/y adopt local, adaptable and innovative solutions. The continent cou/d thus become a vanguard in terms of future energy transitions and
decen-tralised services. Mobile telephony is breaking
the isolation of rural communities and the
development of solar energy will facilitate the
diversification of local economies.
• Electricity: major grey
areas primarily concernin
rural populations
Africa is the continent with the lowest electrifi
-cation rates in the world and access to el ectri-city is an obstacle to its development. But this
observation characterises sub-Saharan Africa: while 99o/o of people in North Africa had mains
electricity in 2013, this rate stood at only 32°tt>
(634 million people) in sub-Saharan Africa. ln
eight countries, the rate of access to electri
-city stands at less than 10°/o. with particularly
critical situations in South Sudan. the Central
African Republic and Chad. However. in terms
of the number of people without electricity.
the greatest challenges are in Nigeria (96
mil-lion). Ethiopia (71 million) and DRC (61 million).
Current investments in power grids are not
enough to counter the effect of population
growth. ln recent years. the rate of connection
has increased by only 2.3% per year compared
to 2.7°/o for population growth. Grey areas still
exist and the number of people without elec
-tricity is increasing. Whatever the country, it is
always rural communities that have the lowest
levels of access to electricity. ln sub-Saharan Africa. the rate of connection for rural popu
-lations stands at only 17%. compared to 59%
for urban populations. 17 countries even have
a rate of connection of less than 5% (South
Sudan, the Central African Republic and Chad. as already mentioned. but also Sierra Leone
and Burkina Faso) There is an energy divide
between urban and rural areas in Africa.
• Africa, a future paragon
of p~ otovoltaic energy?
Rural demand for electricity is spatially di
s-persed and relatively low in terms of power. A
rural African person consumes between 165
and 600 kWh per year. compared to around
1 420 kWh for urban dwellers and 6 000 kWh
for Europeans. Consequently. catching up is
a challenge while rural electrification through
connection to the national grid remains
com-plex and costly due to the low population
den-sities still observed in many regions.
However. there is an extensive. abundant
energy resource in Africa: solar energy.
Sun-light is estimated at between 1 600 and 2 500
kWh/m2. which is far more than for any other
continent ln order to capitalise on this energy
resource. photovoltaic systems (PVS) can now
be used to produce electricity in even the most
remote regions. and the potential for
develop-ment is huge.
A rf:>N EMJ0-0 RI..IW. VvffiD
Through the deployment of off-grid micro
-systems and autonomous microgrids. solar
energy can play a key role in rural el
ectrifica-tion. More and more experiments are being
conducted with villages that are fully equipping
themselves (Senegal. Mali) and the distribution
of domestic photovoltaic kits (Uganda). South
Africa and Morocco are the countries that have
installed the largest number of PVS in recent years, with the implementation of proactive
public policies (including the creation of solar
power stations. as in southern Morocco)
But between Morocco and South Africa there
is a whole continent and a plethora of energy
policies for which "good practice" on solar energy should be shared. Africa·s lag in terms of electrification in comparison with the other continents could even be a unique opportunity
to adopta different model. one that is decen -tralised and sustainable. thereby meeting the
needs of millions of rural people while leading
the way towards a possible energy transition.
• Mobile telephony:
connecting rural people in Africa
Africa has become an Eldorado for mobile
phones. While fixed line penetration is very low
- at less than 10% on average - mobile phone
services are booming. The total number of
subscriptions to these services in 2014 was esti
-mated at 920 million. compared to 578 million in
2010, 151 million in 2005 and 15 million in 2000.
This spectacular growth is partially biased by competition between operators. which results in multiple individual subscriptions to optimise
tariffs.
There are. however. considerable differences
between countries and a divide currently exists
between the countries of North and Southern
Africa. where the number of subscriptions
exceeds the number of people, and the other countries of the continent. Sorne countries in
West and Central Africa nevertheless also have
subscription rates of more than 100%. East A fr
i-c a is less well-connected. but is rapidly catching
up.
ln rural areas. the development of mobile
tele-phony is facilitating trade between producers
and sellers on local markets. access to services (health, transport). the functioning of family
networks and population mobility. lt is breaking
the economic isolation of rural people, but it also
has the potential to radically transform rural
eco-nomies with the development ofnew. innovative
information and advisory services, in particular
for agriculture (information on prices. rainfall or
farming techniques), and especially of financial
services. Mobile phone companies are joining
forces with the banking system - or even
deve-loping their own financial services - to provide
options for credit, payments and transfers, even
in isolated areas with highly dispersed popula
-tions. ln this respect. Africa is a leader. and parti
-cularly the countries of East Africa. with the pro-vision of services that have not yet taken off in
many OECD countries. This catch up is
accom-panied by a leap forward in terms of innovation.
