Africa
Rethinking Minigrid Design: Capturing Savings Through Capacity Utilization
Distributed minigrids are an increasingly attractive approach across sub-Saharan Africa for providing power to rural and underserved communities (as we explain here and here). As with any electricity system, the financial viability of a minigrid depends on capacity utilization, the extent to which the installed capacity of the…
Minigrids in the Money
In sub-Saharan Africa, hundreds of millions of people (about 65 percent of the population) live in communities that lack access to electricity. As a key enabler of economic development, the lack of energy access stymies broader efforts to grow local wealth and improve quality of life. Understandably, to address this…
Improving Rural Electricity Service
Download the Report: Improving Rural Electricity Service: Adding Value Under the Grid Traditionally in sub-Saharan Africa, electrification efforts have emphasized the hundreds of millions of people who live off-grid, with no electricity at all. The “formula” for electrification usually includes expanding supply, extending the grid, making…
Closing the Circuit: Fostering end-use demand for rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa
Download the Report: Closing the Circuit: Stimulating End-Use Demand for Rural Electrification Imagine a world in which Internet service providers connect more and more households to high-speed Internet, giving them the ability to watch all the shows available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other content providers. Yet those households…
Reliable and Affordable Electricity for Nigeria: Growing the Minigrid Market
The vast majority of Nigerians today lack access to reliable and affordable electricity. From factories to schoolrooms, the power situation hampers development throughout Nigeria, especially in rural areas of the country. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group and RMI’s new report, Minigrid Investment Report: Scaling the Nigerian Market, discusses the…