Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective

Description

This book evaluates off-grid solar electrification in Africa by examining how political, economic, institutional, and social forces shape the adoption of off-grid solar technologies, including how issues of energy injustice are manifested at different levels and spaces. The book takes a historical, contemporary, and projective outlook using case studies from pre- and ongoing electrification communities in non-Western countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Malawi, Tanzania, and Nigeria. Beyond the diverse nature of these countries in terms of their geographical location in West, East, and Southern Africa, each offers a different experience in terms of colonial history, economic and institutional infrastructure, social and cultural context, and level of adoption of off-grid solar technologies.  Notably, the book contributes to the off-grid solar and energy justice scholarship in low-income non-Western contexts. It examines various approaches to energy justice and does so by engaging with Western and non-Western philosophical notions of the concept. It takes into consideration the major principles of Ubuntu philosophy with the adoption of off-grid solar technologies, hence enriching the energy justice framework. Finally, the book interrogates the degree to which the social mission that catalysed the expansion of the off-grid solar sector is being undermined by broader structural dynamics of the capital investment upon which it is reliant. It also argues that the ascendance of off-grid solar electrification in Africa is transformative in that it enables millions of people without access to or facing uncertainties linked to centralised grid energy to have access to basic energy services. Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors Acronyms List of Figures List of Tables 1 Energy Justice and Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: Trends, Narratives and Contestations 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Off-Grid Solar and Energy Justice: A Conceptual Framework 1.3 About the Book 1.3.1 History and Politics of Off-Grid Solar Electrification 1.3.2 Manifestations of Energy Injustices 1.3.3 Enabling Uptake: Constraints and Opportunities References Part I History and Politics of Off-Grid Solar Electrification 2 Off-Grid Enterprise: A Critical History of Small-Scale Off-Grid Solar in Sub-Saharan Africa 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Branded Off-Grid Solar in Africa: A History 2.2.1 Origins: 1960s to 2007 2.2.2 Emergence: 2006 to 2012 2.2.3 Boom: 2012 to 2016 2.2.4 Wobble: 2016 to 2021 2.3 Past Reflections—Future Trajectories References 3 At the Margins of the Grid: The Politics of Off-Grid Electrification in Senegal 3.1 Introduction 3.2 A Political History of Off-Grid Electrification in Senegal 3.2.1 Before 1998: The Predominance of Senelec, the National Electricity Company, for Rural Electrification 3.2.2 The 1998 Reform: The Fragmentation and Privatization of Rural Electrification, with the Emergence of New Actors and Regulations 3.2.3 The Bumpy Implementation of the Mosaic of (Off-)Grid Electrification A Clunky Start for the Concession Model Small-Scale Initiatives and ERIL Projects: Innovative Solar Projects Within Unfinished Regulations 3.2.4 The Fragmented Landscapes of Rural Electrification 3.3 Energy Justice for Rural Electrification Implementers: Highlighting Systemic Vulnerabilities for Small and Medium Senegalese Companies 3.3.1 Self-Electrification Through Stand-Alone Solar Systems: A Flourishing Market Weakening Energy Justice The Market for Household Solar Systems: A Political Response for the Supply of ‘Essential Goods and Services’ The Challenging Development of Off-Grid ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BoP) Markets in Senegal 3.3.2 Competition in Local Markets: When Senegalese Wholesalers Challenge Transnational Companies 3.3.3 Villagers Claiming Energy Justice 3.4 Towards Harmonization: The End of the Rural Electrification Patchwork? 3.5 Conclusion Annex 1 Annex 2 References 4 A Decade of Change: Off-Grid Solar Energy in Rwanda 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Rwandan Context 4.3 Outline of the Chapter 4.4 A Decade in the Rwandan Energy Sector: Stakeholders and Policy Milestones 4.5 The Technology Ecosystem, Quality Standards and Focus on the End-User 4.6 Getting to Grips with Affordability 4.7 Getting to Grips with Justice and Equity 4.7.1 Procedures, Distributions and Recognitions 4.8 Where to From Here? References Part II Manifestations of Energy Injustices 5 The Dark Side of the Sun: Solar Home Systems and Their Injustices in Africa 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Methodology 5.2.1 Search Parameters 5.2.2 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 5.2.3 Data Extraction and Analysis 5.3 Manifestations of Injustices 5.3.1 Affordability, Limited Capacity of Solar Home Systems, and Intra-Household Dynamics 5.3.2 Product Design and Post-Acquisition Support 5.3.3 Regulatory and Enforcement Issues 5.4 Conclusion References 6 Framing Energy Justice: Perspectives from Malawi’s Off-Grid Solar Market 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Malawi’s Energy Landscape—The Growing Role of Off-Grid Solar Products 6.3 A Tale of Two Tiers: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Off-Grid Solar Markets 6.4 Energy Injustice in Malawi’s Off-Grid Solar Market 6.4.1 Quality and Affordability 6.4.2 Consumer Literacy and Protections 6.4.3 Off-Grid Solar Repair and E-Waste 6.5 Advancing Energy Justice in Malawi’s Off-Grid Solar Market References 7 Gender Differentiation, Equality and Equity in Off-Grid Solar Usage in Rural Tanzania: A Fraying Thread? 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Energy Justice 7.3 Off-Grid Solar 7.3.1 Productive Uses 7.3.2 Payment Schemes 7.4 The Rise of Energy Justice Through Energy Access 7.5 Methodology 7.6 Results 7.6.1 Study Area and Socio Demographic Characteristics 7.6.2 Overall Energy Landscape: Electricity, Solar, Kerosene, Etc. 7.6.3 Low Quality Products 7.6.4 Primary Use 7.6.5 Equal Benefit 7.6.6 Solar Is Productive, but Rarely Generates Income 7.6.7 One-Time Cost and the Burden of Frequent Payments 7.6.8 Solar Home Systems Are Not Reaching the Lowest Incomes 7.7 Discussion 7.8 Conclusion: A Fraying Thread? References 8 On-Grid and Off-Grid Electrification in Kenya: Who Are Left Behind and Why? 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Research Methods 8.3 A Brief Socio-Technical History of Off-Grid Solar PV in Kenya 8.4 An Energy Justice View of On-Grid and Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Kenya 8.5 Distributional Justice in Access to Electricity in Kenya 8.5.1 Grid Connectivity in Kenya—Looking Behind the Numbers 8.5.2 Off-Grid Solar Electricity in Kenya: Beyond Sales Data 8.5.3 Overlap Between On-Grid and Off-Grid Electricity Access 8.5.4 Significant Differences Within Communities—Distributional Justice at the Local Level 8.6 Recognition Justice 8.6.1 Recognition of ‘Underserved’ Geographical Areas 8.6.2 Recognition of the ‘Underserved’ People also Outside the ‘Underserved’ Counties 8.6.3 Recognition of the Importance of ‘Solar Lanterns’ 8.6.4 Recognition of the Un-Electrified People in Electrified Areas 8.6.5 Recognition of the Importance of Solar Electricity in Grid Areas Barriers to Combining On-Grid and Off-Grid Solutions in Rural Electrification 8.6.6 Recognition of Heterogeneity in Supply of Solar Home Systems 8.7 Procedural Justice and Participatory Processes 8.7.1 Experiences from a Participatory Process on Off-Grid Solar Power 8.7.2 A Study on Participation and Outcomes in Large Power Projects 8.8 Strategies for Overcoming Challenges to Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Kenya 8.9 Conclusion References Part III Enabling Uptake: Constraints and Opportunities 9 Solar Home Systems in Rural Landscapes: Examining the Forces Shaping Solar Home Systems Adoption in Southeast Nigeria 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Overview of Nigerian’s Rural Energy Landscape 9.3 Conceptual Framework 9.4 Methodology 9.5 Contextualizing the Study 9.6 Results 9.6.1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Respondents 9.6.2 Knowledge of SHS by the Respondents 9.6.3 Willingness to Adopt the SHS 9.6.4 Socioeconomic Factors in Adoption 9.6.5 Perceptions and Beliefs Affecting Adoption of SHS 9.6.6 Gender Issues in Adoption of SHS in Off-Grid Rural Enclaves 9.7 Discussion 9.8 Conclusion References 10 Assessing Enablers and Barriers to Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Urban Ghana 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The Dynamics of Electricity Supply and Consumption in Ghana 10.3 Literature Review: Barriers and Enablers of Off-Grid Solar Technologies Adoption 10.4 Research Hypothesis 10.5 Research Methodology 10.5.1 Case Study, Sampling and Data Collection 10.5.2 Data Analysis Technique—PLS-SEM 10.6 Results of Data Analysis 10.6.1 Demographic and Socio-Economic Characteristics 10.6.2 Access to Grid Electricity 10.6.3 Descriptive and Reliability Analysis 10.6.4 Measurement Model Estimation Discriminant Validity Estimation of Structural Model Structural Model Assessment Validation of Hypotheses 10.6.5 Model Constructs and the Adoption of Off-Grid Solar Electrification Technologies 10.7 Conclusion and Recommendations References 11 Off-Grid Solar Electrification on the Rise in Africa, but Where to? 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Understanding Country-Level Comparisons of Off-Grid Solar Electrification 11.2.1 Renewable Energy Policy Diffusion 11.2.2 Application of Energy Justice Theorizing 11.3 Concluding Reflections: Renewable Energy Transformation or Renewable Energy Injustice? References Index