Empowering communities: Benefits of Local-Driven Solar Energy Growth in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa
Background
On January 31, 2025, the World Bank, in collaboration with The African Development Bank and other global investors, provided a loan of 35 billion dollars to expand electricity access throughout the African continent. The loan occurred in tandem with The African Energy Summit and Mission 300, a collaborative initiative aimed at providing accessible and affordable energy to half of Africa’s population currently without power. Half of the loan was allocated to clean energy initiatives including solar and wind, one of the many indicators of a global push away from fossil fuels. Solar photovoltaics (Solar PV) energy is the third largest renewable contributor on earth, and currently constitutes just over five percent of total electricity generation. It will likely become the largest contributor by 2029 as the renewable market expands and implementation prices drop.
But where does Africa fall into this equation? The continent is a hotbed of solar resources, with uncovered deserts and savannah grasslands spanning multiple countries; its solar potential remains largely untapped. Despite containing around 60 percent of the world’s solar resources, it only accounts for a miniscule fraction of global solar energy production. The challenge with solar power, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, stems from inadequate investment, unreliable grid infrastructure, and deep-rooted economic and social challenges facing local communities. High demand for energy is met with an overall lack of local solar developers while measly revenues and government-controlled production impact those who do choose to take on solar projects. As African countries seek to develop a more sustainable energy base, they must balance the energy needs of their people with the adjustment pains of solar deployment.
Tunisia
Compared to other countries on the continent, Tunisia benefits from a higher access to electricity. Nonetheless, only three percent of its energy stems from renewable sources, and even though the needs of its people are met, much of the petroleum and natural gas that Tunisia uses is imported from Algeria. Accordingly, Tunisia has aimed to achieve energy independence from fossil fuels—and from Algeria—through renewable sources like solar power. However, past and recent trends in green energy production are fraught with red flags that could jeopardize Tunisia’s future goals.
For instance, the Elmed Project is a developing plan for an undersea connector that would link Tunisia’s power grid to a European network, developed by Tunisia and Italy, to integrate their electrical markets. The project will go into effect by 2030, but its objectives focus more on the collaboration between the two countries rather than the benefits for Tunisian citizens. This development raises concerns about Tunisia’s past history of energy reliance on other states and of the equity in the union between the EU, the Tunisian government, and local citizens. While Elmed and similar enterprises are supposed to present a win-win situation for countries on both sides of the Mediterranean, there are concerns that European involvement in facilitating renewable energy in Africa is largely governed by self-interest. Additionally, the transition toward renewables has been skewed by the fact that greater benefits are granted to international investors and buyers instead of local developers and communities, in order to maximize profit in the country. Tunisia’s openness to foreign programs tends to exclude local companies and Tunisian developers, and could be used as a precautionary example for other countries relying on foreign partnerships to fuel solar innovation.
Kenya and Tanzania
As Tunisia attempts to navigate the murky waters of international alliances, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle with a lack of dependable electricity in general.
For Tanzania, solar success has risen and fallen. The American-based company Husk began a small-scale project to bring power to rural communities in the country through individual mini-grids, and found short-term success in the village of Matipwili with both businesses and residents. Despite positive attitudes, the project ultimately failed, highlighting the country’s issues with poor revenue production and government-controlled markets. Husk ended up losing their money and closing its doors, leaving those who had paid for solar energy with nothing. The energy that Husk provided was replaced by a centralized state-run system that transported power to the city over a distance, which, according to the residents, proved much more expensive. While the price to produce solar voltaic technology is falling, the main costs are due to the installation of the mini grids on infrastructure. Despite its initial failure, however, the situation in Matipwili supports the idea that individual solar could eventually be the best choice for many.
Smaller projects have seen greater success in Kenya, which is becoming one of the leaders in solar mini-grids on the continent. “Kenya has deployed mini grids to serve communities that are not connected to the main grid,” stated Mr. Davis Chirchir, Cabinet Secretary for Kenya’s Roads and Transport. “Currently we have about 62 mini-grids that are fully operational and 28, which are under construction. We hope to deploy more mini-grids to close the energy access gap and ensure universal access to electricity by 2030.”
One organization driving small-scale energy transformation is SunCulture, a solar tech company based out of Nairobi that has provided over fifty thousand rural farmers with solar powered irrigation, a notably off-grid energy source. The solar based irrigation systems combat water shortages from prolonged dry seasons in the region due to climate change, leading to flourishing crops and livestock. “This is something that will change your life like it changed mine,” claimed Josephine Waweru, a fifty-two- year-old farmer located in the town of Sagana. With SunCulture technology, she has been able to integrate fish farming and potatoes into her production. As one of the success stories of SunCulture, Josephine and other recipients have cited how the technology was able to save them time, money, and led to an increase in their overall incomes. While it is undeniably still difficult for companies to achieve growth in the solar energy sector, solar offers high environmental, social, and economic payoffs, especially for remote and underserved regions where energy access is limited. Since rural Sub-Saharan Africa already contends with a scarcity of electricity, ambitious initiatives remain vital.
Conclusion
The answer for many communities may rest in local innovation. The outreach of large, centralized power plants can be limited, especially for rural families. Green energy startups and entrepreneurial businesses that have the opportunity to provide energy to individual communities and households, and have the potential to serve as a primary example for equitable, localized solar growth throughout the continent. As initiatives such as Mission 300 continue to emerge in wake of the global energy transition, ensuring that money and resources are used effectively is crucial. Investors and politicians will shake hands and money will pass from organization to organization, but the continent is only wealthy in energy if it is used for small-scale communities first.
Small-scale success in rural Kenya and Tanzania serves as a global example of how to effectively harness solar power, so as to not leave anyone behind. The situation in Tunisia, as well as other North African countries facing similar problems is something to keep an eye on as the world pushes to exploit its full renewable potential—the transition from fossil fuels cannot be inequitable. There exists a bright future for solar power in Africa that could create not only electricity but jobs and flourishing economies if governments take extra care in choosing methods that put the energy needs of their people first.