Over half a billion Africans lack access to electric power. As one of the biggest drivers of economic growth, energy is vital to development across Sub-Saharan Africa and yet many are being left behind.
However, new technologies in energy storage and accessibility are changing the continent’s fortunes. As many countries across Africa are not burdened with an ageing energy network, the continent can whole heartedly embrace the clean energy revolution and move to rapidly develop low-carbon and low-cost energy systems.
Central to this transition is small-scale renewable energy combined with storage. Africa has no shortage of daytime sunlight and rooftop solar panels can generate clean energy to be stored in batteries for use at night.
Energy storage-as-a-service models can make it work
The potential for the technologies is vast, but substantial investment is required to meet the continent’s energy needs. The price of solar panels and batteries remains substantially too high for most households. That’s where ‘energy storage-as-a-service’ (ESaaS) can play a huge role.
ESaaS financial models effectively allow off-grid families to rent batteries, solar panels and appliances, such as a fridge, TV or light, for less than $10 a month. This innovative approach is making comprehensive and traditionally costly off-grid energy offerings affordable.
Mobile pay networks are also fundamental in enabling pay as you go (PAYG) schemes such as ESaaS to flourish. As mobile network operators improve connection services across the continent, more Africans can access digital payment capabilities enabling them to make the monthly payments for these clean technologies more easily.
By embracing innovative solutions such as ESaaS, off-grid communities across Africa have the opportunity to rapidly develop a decentralised, low-cost and low-carbon power supply. Under such a network, traditional fossil fuel alternatives – such as kerosene – can be eliminated from the African home, minimising the risk of harm to the user through hot spillages or toxic gasses, and preventing damaging emissions from seeping into our atmosphere.
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