Sub-Saharan Africa' s energy sector can be improved to unlock a better life for its citizens. This report describes one of the most poorly understood parts of the global energy system, offers an authoritative study of its future prospects - broken down by fuel, sector and sub-region - and shows how investment in the sub-Saharan energy sector can stimulate rapid economic and social development across the region.
Increasing access to modern forms of energy is crucial to unlocking faster economic and social development in sub‑Saharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Africa Energy Outlook, a Special Report in the 2014 World Energy Outlook series. More than 620 million people in the region (two-thirds of the population) live without electricity, and nearly 730 million people rely on dangerous, inefficient forms of cooking. The use of solid biomass (mainly fuelwood and charcoal) outweighs that of all other fuels combined, and average electricity consumption per capita is not enough to power a single 50-watt light bulb continuously.
The report:
- Explores how quickly modern energy might be brought to the huge population currently deprived of it
- Highlights key actions in the energy sector that can unleash more rapid economic and social development in sub-Saharan Africa
- Evaluates the role of renewables in the region's energy future, and how important mini- and off-grid solutions can be in providing access to electricity
- Examines how existing and emerging oil and gas producers can maximise the value of their resources for economic development
- Identifies the benefits that greater regional integration of the energy sector can bring, as well as mapping the future role of sub-Saharan Africa in the global energy system
