Analysis of the application of solar energy in the S.A.D.C. region. A potential solution for energy access in remote rural areas.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain the current situation of renewable energy’s application in remote rural areas of the Southern African Development Community (from now on referred to as SADC) region. The aim is to demonstrate the advantages of using renewable energy sources, in this case the sun, in order to deal with the energy access challenge of remote rural communities. This thesis rationale for choosing the African continent is because it faces an enormous energy challenge. But also as important, is the fact that more than half of the global population growth between now and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa, as the continent has the highest rate of population growth1. Its growing population and economic development are creating an increasing demand for energy which in turn calls for an increase in energy supply and consequently a transformation of Africa’s economy. Therefore, energy is not only fundamental for Africa’s socio-economical development, but also because it will set the ways in which the whole continent manages a great amount of its energy demand which can have tremendous global environmental repercussions. Since the energy supply sector is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gases emissions, Africa’s energy access strategies will have great significance for our Climate Change generation. More specifically, in order to do a more accurate analysis this paper has chosen a geographical focal point, namely the SADC region. The choice of this region is because of the SADC institution’s regional focus on development and intergovernmental integration...