Rural Africa Looks Beyond the Grid | Renewable Energy World Magazine Article

Rural Africa Looks Beyond the Grid | Renewable Energy World Magazine Article

LONDON -- In picking South Africa for last year's meet-up, the COP-17 climate change talks prompted some inevitable grumbles. Why was the global climate change industry holding its jamboree in a country that, despite its commitment to renewables, pumps out so much CO2?

In fact, South Africa’s coal-heavy energy mix held out some powerful attractions for COP-17 delegates. Attendees could risk substantial lifestyle compromises by picking anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa, where the IEA found that electricity consumption of 791 million people totalled 40 TWh in 2010  — the same as New York State’s 19.5 million inhabitants. Even in South Africa, about 30% of the population still relies on biomass and paraffin for their energy needs. Across the entire region, though, the IEA estimates that only 30.5% of the population has access to electricity  – with the excluded 585 million overwhelmingly based in rural areas.