Selection of renewable energy technologies for Africa: Eight case studies in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.04.016

Renewable Energy

Volume 36, Issue 11, November 2011, Pages 2845-2852

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2011.04.016 Get rights and content

Abstract

Renewable energy technologies need to be implemented to improve the current lack of access to energy on the African continent. However, the implementation of renewable energy technologies in Africa often fails, or the technologies are found to be unsustainable in the longer term. Previous research determined eleven factors that should be taken into account for the selection of sustainable, renewable energy technologies in Africa. The purpose of this research was to confirm and build upon these findings by means of eight case studies that were conducted in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. Various individuals from implementing agencies, as well as end users of the various technologies, were interviewed, while secondary data were gathered in the form of project reports and other documentation. The analyses of the data confirm the importance of the eleven factors that were previously identified. A final set of thirteen factors that should be used for the selection of renewable technologies are proposed.

Highlights

► Eight case studies of RET implementations in three African countries described. ► Investigates validity of eleven factors previously identified in a Delphi study. ► Presents thirteen factors that must be consider for RET selection in Africa.

Introduction

The majority of the population in sub-Saharan Africa lives in rural areas and most of the people spend 5%–20% of their monthly income on fuel [1]. Currently, 23.6% of the total population in region have access to electricity while only 8.4% of people in rural areas have access to electricity.

The use of renewable energy resources is advocated to improve this situation because: renewable energy technologies are modular and require low initial investment, which can be incrementally expanded; the use of renewable energy technologies would imply less dependence on fossil-based fuels, which need to be imported in most cases and are subject to external price fluctuations; and the diversification of energy generation contributes to energy security provided that efficient, affordable and cost effective technologies are selected [2]. Furthermore, since renewable energies are those obtained from a natural, recurring and continuous outflow of energy in the existing natural environment, they have the obvious advantage of inherent sustainability and the absence of carbon emissions [2].

The general success rate of World Bank financed electric power projects is 68%, while the success rate of such projects in the sub-Saharan Africa region is estimated to be only 36% [3]. The authors believe that one of the reasons for this low success rate is that the factors that need to be taken into account during the selection of a renewable energy technology in Africa have not been investigated in depth.

Section snippets

The state of technology development in Africa

Technology management in developing countries is very different from that in developed countries. In developed countries the emphasis is on the control and utilisation of technology, as well as offsetting the undesirable consequences of technology. In developing countries on the other hand, because of the lack of skilled resources, the emphasis is on technology selection and transfer to achieve rapid economic and social development [4]. Technology transfer for sustainable development has,

Results

A summary of the data from all the case studies is shown in Table 3. The table lists the abbreviation for each factor as shown in Table 1 in the first column and all the sources of evidence for each case in the first three rows. The tick marks in the table indicate which source of evidence is applicable for the different factors.

The interviews conducted were transcribed. Pattern analysis was used the used to determine whether the interviews and secondary documentation supported the factors that

T1: Ease of maintenance and support over the life cycle of the technology

Ease of maintenance and support over the life cycle of the technology was found to be very important in all the examined cases. The main reason for this is that if the technology is not in working condition, the users will simply abandon it and return to their traditional methods [31], [32], [33].

Ease of maintenance and support is ensured in the various cases by implementing the following:

Quality installations. Poor quality undermines end user confidence in technology [31], [32], [33], [34].

Conclusions

The case studies conducted in three developing sub-Saharan African countries have confirmed that the propositions by Barry et al. [17], [18] are important. The wording of one of the factors has changed and two new factors have also been added to the list. The thirteen final factors identified during the case studies are shown in

Table 4, and have been described in this paper.

The authors believe that the use of these thirteen factors in the selection of technologies for energy projects would

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Selection of renewable energy technologies for Africa: Eight case studies in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

The state of technology development in Africa

Results

T1: Ease of maintenance and support over the life cycle of the technology

Conclusions

Technology in Society

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

Energy Policy

Energy Policy

Geoforum

Energy Policy

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Technical paper: energy sector reform and pattern of poor: Energy use and supply a four country study

Energy for sustainable development: policy options for Africa

Technology transfer: the seven "C"s for the successful transfer and uptake of environmentally sound technologies

Science and technology partnerships and poverty alleviation in Africa

International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development

Institutional deficiencies and capacity building constraints: the dilemma for environmentally sustainable development in Africa

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World

Renewable energy technologies for poverty alleviation. Initial assessment report: south Africa

The use of the focus group technique in management research: the example of renewable energy technology selection in Africa

Journal of Contemporary Management

Determining the most important factors for sustainable energy technology selection in Africa

South African Journal of Industrial Engineering

Case study research: Design and methods

The world factbook - Rwanda

National adaptation programs of action to climate change (NAPA)

National domestic biogas program

Performance assessment institutional biogas systems in rwanda: Report

The world Factbook - Tanzania

Tanzania Ministry of energy and minerals

About TaTEDO

The world Factbook - Malawi

ProBEC saving energy for a better future

Contributions to the Theory and Practice of technology selection: The Case of Projects to Ensure a Sustainable Energy Base for Africa

Promotion of alternative energy sources project (PAESP)

ProBEC study on the impact of rocket stoves in school kitchens