Bringing electricity supply to several hundred million of the world’s poorest would require investments of $21.3 billion by 2030.
This is according to the Global Association for the off-grid solar energy industry, which said the sum is six times larger than what it has managed to attract in investments so far, as Bloomberg reported.
The annual sum that needs to be spent on opening access to electricity to those without it would come in at about $3.6 billion over the period.
“Access to finance remains a significant challenge for the off-grid solar industry,” GOGLA said in a new report, as access to electricity actually worsens instead of improving.
In 2022, the number of people without access to electricity rose for the first time in 20 years, to 685 million. This is the latest data available, the report noted.
The great majority of people without access to electricity live in sub-Saharan Africa and the numbers are rising. In 2010, 50% of those lived in the region. By 2022, this has risen to 85%, the industry association also reported.
The cheapest way to provide electrification to these no-access areas is off-grid solar, according to GOGLA, but it needs financial support from other entities. Per the organization’s proposal, a mix of debt, subsidies, and equity would do the job.
Africa has long been seen as a perfect destination for wind and solar investors but there have been obstacles. Lacking grid infrastructure is perhaps the biggest of these, along with poverty that makes it hard for many to afford electricity supply.
Currently, the World Bank and the African Development Bank are working on a plan to bring electricity to 300 million across Africa by 2030. The two have promised to provide $30 billion for the project, raising another $90 billion from other investors.
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