Date: 4 May 2021
Organizers: Columbia - Global Centers Nairobi, SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate
Description: Affordable and reliable electricity access from renewable energy sources is a prerequisite for the development of sustainable and healthy cities in sub-Saharan Africa.
In light of the growing urban population and the sector’s difficulties in expanding at the same rate, people and businesses increasingly have an incentive to use additional ways to generate electricity to meet their energy needs. If solar systems are starting to be deployed in cities, polluting diesel generators remain the preferred means for tackling grid failures. These phenomena are resulting in increased “tensions” in the region’s electrical sector, between small centralized networks and growing self-consumption. The challenge is daunting as demand for clean, reliable, and competitive electricity is expected to increase sharply, not least for addressing massive air pollution problems, for example from the transport sector.
As African cities projections will account for the bulk of the population in less than 30 years, energy usages in urban areas will be key for the continent’s sustainable energy access and energy transition.
Columbia Global Centers Nairobi, SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate are pleased to hold this joint webinar with leading experts of the sector on the development of clean electricity systems in sub-Saharan cities.
