Solar is best suited to power over 200,000 African schools

From the newsletter

A new report by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre shows that over 200,000 schools in Africa lack access to electricity. Solar could sustainably electrify all schools but would require a $2.1 billion investment. This is an urgent need, as approximately a quarter of the world's school-aged children currently live in Africa.

• Africa is home to over 310 million school-going children at both primary and secondary levels. As the continent where most people born this century will be educated, the lack of basic infrastructure, such as electricity is a big concern.

• According to the report, electrifying schools in Nigeria and Ethiopia alone would grant access to over 97 million students who are currently attending school without electricity.

More details

• Access to education in Africa remains a challenge, with many still unable to attain even basic literacy skills. While progress has been made in expanding educational opportunities, significant disparities persist. According to the World Bank, the average adult literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 68% in 2023, notably lower than the global average of 86%. However, several countries have made significant strides in improving literacy rates. Seychelles leads the continent with 96%, followed closely by Equatorial Guinea at 94%. On the other hand lowest literacy rates are in Niger at just 22%, South Sudan and Chad with rates of around 35%.

• At the same time, access to electricity remains low. Roughly half the population is electrified, but school electrification rates lag behind the national average and is even worse in rural areas. In Nigeria, while 55% of the population has access to electricity, only about 35% of schools do. Ethiopia has an electricity access rate of 51% for its population, but only 27% for schools. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a national electricity access rate of 20% and a mere 17% of its schools are estimated to have access.

• Extending the grid to reach rural areas is expensive and logistically challenging.  Decentralised solar energy is a more suitable option, as it can be easily deployed and scaled when required. Although generally cheaper than grid electricity, solar power requires high initial capital for the procurement of panels. Given their size and financial constraints, many schools cannot afford this and would require financing.

• Fortunately, the solar industry has developed appropriate business models to address this challenge. Last week, the Ugandan government launched a tender for bids to supply electricity to 45 secondary schools through an "energy-as-a-service" model. In this model, schools don't invest in the energy infrastructure but instead pay for the electricity they consume. This model can be applied in schools, residential and commercial areas as well, benefiting those who urgently need clean power but cannot afford the upfront costs.  

• The rapidly growing population of African schools could significantly impact electricity demand in the future. The study estimates that total PV system power capacities for baseline demand range from 1 kWp for small rural schools to nearly 20 kWp for larger institutions. In this scenario, the required battery storage capacity ranges from nearly 1 to 40 kWh. The overall cost of connecting all schools in Africa will double from the baseline of $ 2.1 billion.

Our take

• African schools stand at a critical juncture where the direction of their future hinges on the steps taken now. Education is rapidly evolving from physical classrooms to digital platforms, with ICT becoming the core pillar of content delivery. Although still nascent, AI is growing rapidly and will undoubtedly shape the future. All these advancements require electricity to function, leaving African schools with no choice but to get connected.

• However, most African governments are burdened with debt and cannot afford to build costly energy infrastructure. Inviting the private sector to participate is a viable solution. Uganda and Kenya are already doing this by providing mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems for schools and rural communities. To date, Kenya has over 500 mini-grids, primarily located in rural areas.

• The formulation of targeted policies will be key to the success of connecting schools to electricity. Tax incentives and subsidies should be provided to the private sector to make the market more attractive. The market opportunity of $2.1 billion is big and this could double with increased consumption demand with Africa projected to account for a third of school-aged children by 2050.