IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v67y2014icp10-19.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Addressing the current remote area electrification problems with solar and microhydro systems in Central Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Kenfack, Joseph
  • Bossou, Olivier Videme
  • Voufo, Joseph
  • Djom, Samuel

Abstract

Situated at equator level, Central Africa is a wetted area, sunny and not that windy. The region owns important renewable energy potential, namely solar, hydro and biomass. For a number of reasons, this important potential is still suffering from poor development. The main cause of the poor use of renewable energy is the poor commitment and dedication of governments who have not taken the necessary measures to boost enough decentralized and renewable energy. Thermal plants are hence unfortunately heavily used where other alternatives are possible. The purpose of this paper is among other things aiming at showing how solar and hydro energy sources of Central Africa are currently developed and addressing the problems faced. The work also addresses the issue of filling the gap between the abundant solar and hydro resources and its poor development compare to the rest of the world. Based on some case studies in Cameroon, actions to sustain ongoing initiatives and promote their development are suggested. This paper also addresses the problems actually faced and recommends actions for mitigation for a significant improvement of energy infrastructure in remote areas. In such areas, the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency are very important for poverty alleviation. From lessons learned, suggestions will be made to help the countries of the region develop a vision aiming at developing adequate clean energy policy to increase the status of solar and microhydro energy sources and, thus, better contribute to fight against climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenfack, Joseph & Bossou, Olivier Videme & Voufo, Joseph & Djom, Samuel, 2014. "Addressing the current remote area electrification problems with solar and microhydro systems in Central Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 10-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:67:y:2014:i:c:p:10-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2013.11.044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148113006228
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2013.11.044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mandelli, Stefano & Barbieri, Jacopo & Mereu, Riccardo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2016. "Off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries: Definitions, classification and a comprehensive literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1621-1646.
    2. Njoh, Ambe J. & Etta, Simon & Ngyah-Etchutambe, Ijang B. & Enomah, Lucy E.D. & Tabrey, Hans T. & Essia, Uwem, 2019. "Opportunities and challenges to rural renewable energy projects in Africa: Lessons from the Esaghem Village, Cameroon solar electrification project," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1013-1021.
    3. Kenfack, Joseph & Nzotcha, Urbain & Voufo, Joseph & Ngohe-Ekam, Paul Salomon & Nsangou, Jean Calvin & Bignom, Blaise, 2021. "Cameroon's hydropower potential and development under the vision of Central Africa power pool (CAPP): A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Trotter, Philipp A. & Maconachie, Roy & McManus, Marcelle C., 2018. "Solar energy's potential to mitigate political risks: The case of an optimised Africa-wide network," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 108-126.
    5. Adjei, E.A. & Amoabeng, K.O. & Ayetor, G.K.K. & Obeng, G.Y. & Quansah, D.A. & Adusei, J.S., 2022. "Assessing the impact of hydro energy project on poverty alleviation: The case of Bui Dam in Ghana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    6. Trotter, Philipp A. & McManus, Marcelle C. & Maconachie, Roy, 2017. "Electricity planning and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1189-1209.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:67:y:2014:i:c:p:10-19. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.