Understanding the Clean Energy Transition with Community-Driven Decentralised Renewable Energy projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa

The report examines community-driven decentralised renewable energy (DRE) projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa, arguing that local participation is essential for a successful clean energy transition. It identifies six key benefits of this approach, including energy security, local green job creation, and productive uses of renewable energy (PURE). The document details 12 case studies—three in Germany and nine in Africa—highlighting a variety of technologies such as solar PV mini-grids, micro-hydropower, and solar-powered desalination. It categorises barriers into social, financial, and technical pillars and provides targeted recommendations for public and private stakeholders to scale these models, emphasizing the need for gender-inclusive approaches and innovative financing.

• Community-driven DRE projects provide six primary benefits: energy security in remote areas, stimulation of productive uses of renewable energy (PURE), improved energy efficiency and lower bills, increased project ownership, local investment cycles, and the creation of skilled green jobs.
• The report identifies three main categories of barriers to DRE implementation: social barriers (e.g., gender inequality and limited awareness), financial and business barriers (e.g., limited funding and lack of sustainable business models), and technical barriers (e.g., lack of data and managerial skills).
• In Germany, the 'Energiewende' (Energy Transition) has enabled citizens to become prosumers through cooperatives and wind/solar farms, with over 50% of electricity produced from renewable energy in 2020.
• Gender inequality is a significant social barrier in Sub-Saharan Africa, necessitating a 'gender lens' in project design to ensure women's equal participation in economic activities and DRE management.
• Case studies in Africa demonstrate that DRE solutions can be successfully integrated with local needs, such as the 'Solar Giraffe' in Mozambique for phone charging or solar-powered desalination in Ghana providing 2,500 litres of drinking water per day.
• Financial sustainability remains a critical challenge; the report recommends innovative financing, such as guarantee funds to cover capital costs for productive use appliances and the 'Key Maker Model' to integrate anchor customers.
• Technical sustainability depends on capacity building for local communities and the implementation of regular monitoring and data collection to adapt solutions to community needs.
• To ensure long-term viability, DRE projects should be designed for grid compatibility so they can be integrated when national grid expansion reaches the area.

APA

Mohapatra, D., Moyo, S., Jaeger, J., & Lecoque, D. (2022). Understanding the Clean Energy Transition with Community-Driven Decentralised Renewable Energy projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa. Alliance for Renewable Electrification. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Understanding-the-Clean-Energy-Transition-with-Community-Driven-DRE-Projects.pdf

Chicago

Mohapatra, Deepak, Sandisiwe Moyo, Jens Jaeger, and David Lecoque. Understanding the Clean Energy Transition with Community-Driven Decentralised Renewable Energy projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa. Alliance for Renewable Electrification, 2022. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Understanding-the-Clean-Energy-Transition-with-Community-Driven-DRE-Projects.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mohapatra |first1=Deepak |last2=Moyo |first2=Sandisiwe |last3=Jaeger |first3=Jens |last4=Lecoque |first4=David |title=Understanding the Clean Energy Transition with Community-Driven Decentralised Renewable Energy projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa |publisher=Alliance for Renewable Electrification |date=March 2022 |url=https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Understanding-the-Clean-Energy-Transition-with-Community-Driven-DRE-Projects.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mohapatra2022understanding, author = {Mohapatra, Deepak and Moyo, Sandisiwe and Jaeger, Jens and Lecoque, David}, title = {{Understanding the Clean Energy Transition with Community-Driven Decentralised Renewable Energy projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {Alliance for Renewable Electrification}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Understanding-the-Clean-Energy-Transition-with-Community-Driven-DRE-Projects.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }