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The Benefits of Decentralized
Power Generation in Africa
Decentralized power facilities, sources that generate electricity much
closer to the consumers, are touted to be vital in improving Sub-Saharan
Africa’s power supply situation. We take a close look at their benefits.
The advantages of Decentralized
Power Generation.
It has been highlighted, time and again, that
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to close to a billion
people without access to reliable electricity. The
region’s electricity challenges may be attributed to
several factors, most notably to insufficient
connectivity particularly in rural areas, and
intermittent power supply.
A recent study by Afrobarometer, a pan-African
research network, illustrates that only 45% of rural
areas enjoys access to the electric grid across 36
African countries considered. In fact, countries
like Burundi, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Niger,
Guinea, Liberia and Mali have extended the
electricity grid to only a third or less of their
territories. The inadequate grid extension and
connectivity is stark in the West and East African
countries, and in a number of Southern African
countries, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia,
Mozambique and Malawi.
But, even as various areas in Sub-Saharan Africa
are connected to national power network, they are
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Construction Leaders • April 2017
still not guaranteed to receive a constant reliable
supply of electricity. For instance, 14% of
grid-connected consumers in South Africa, 44%
in Zimbabwe, 33% in Zambia, 23% in Botswana,
19% in Namibia and 15% in Kenya, say they still
suffer from regular power outages and load
shedding. This can be largely attributed to
inadequate power generation, high transmission
losses, and limitations in power distribution.
A case for Decentralized Power
Decentralized power generation systems can help
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa alleviate their
present power generation and transmission
challenges. Several technologies can be
implemented as a decentralized power generation
system, including solar, wind, hydro, and
temporary power plants running on diesel or gas.
Decentralized power generation systems will
prove beneficial on several levels to Sub-Saharan
African countries. Below are some of the highlight
advantages of decentralized power generation
technologies: