Powering Social Infrastructure in Sierra Leone: Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools

The report identifies a significant energy access gap in Sierra Leone's education sector, where only 22.5% of schools have electricity. It proposes a phased roadmap (2023-2029) to electrify 9,596 schools, estimating a total financing need of $90 million for secondary schools alone. The document advocates for a shift from traditional grant-based equipment ownership to service-based or hybrid delivery models to ensure long-term sustainability and operation and maintenance.

• Electricity access in Sierra Leone's schools is critically low and has remained static, with only 22.5% of the 11,034 schools connected to the national grid. Access varies by school level, with 86% of primary schools and 63% of pre-primary schools lacking electricity, while 45% of senior secondary schools have no access.
• The government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) aims to increase installed electricity capacity from 160 MW in 2022 to 850 MW by 2030, with a target for renewable energy to contribute 80% of that capacity.
• There is a total market opportunity to provide robust power solutions to 9,596 schools. This includes 8,545 schools with no power, 781 on-grid or genset-powered schools requiring backup, and 243 schools with existing solar PV that are under-electrified.
• Electrifying all 1,745 secondary schools in need of reliable energy would require a total investment of $90 million, comprising $70 million in Capital Expenditure (CapEx) and $20 million in Operational Expenditure (OpEx) over 15 years.
• Current electrification efforts suffer from a lack of formal inter-ministerial coordination between the Ministry of Energy (MoE), Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), and Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), leading to ad-hoc interventions and duplication of efforts.
• The document recommends moving away from the 'Traditional equipment ownership model', which relies on donor grants and often lacks long-term sustainability, toward 'Service-based' or 'Hybrid' models where private sector ESCOs manage the design, installation, and maintenance over 10-15 years.
• A three-phase roadmap is proposed from 2023 to 2029: Phase 1 (2023-2024) focuses on structuring and feasibility; Phase 2 (2024-2026) involves development and demonstration including the electrification of 2,500 schools; and Phase 3 (2026-2029) aims to scale up to the remaining 7,069 schools.

APA

Severi, L., Kabir, H., Kim, J., & Yillia, P. T. (n.d.). Powering Social Infrastructure in Sierra Leone: Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools. Sustainable Energy for All. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2023-03/Sierra%20Leone%20Roadmap%20-%20Education_ES_FINAL050323.pdf

Chicago

Severi, Luc, Hannah Kabir, Jaryeong Kim, and Paul T. Yillia. Powering Social Infrastructure in Sierra Leone: Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools. Sustainable Energy for All, n.d. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2023-03/Sierra%20Leone%20Roadmap%20-%20Education_ES_FINAL050323.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Severi |first1=Luc |last2=Kabir |first2=Hannah |last3=Kim |first3=Jaryeong |last4=Yillia |first4=Paul T. |title=Powering Social Infrastructure in Sierra Leone: Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools |publisher=Sustainable Energy for All |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2023-03/Sierra%20Leone%20Roadmap%20-%20Education_ES_FINAL050323.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{severindpowering, author = {Severi, Luc and Kabir, Hannah and Kim, Jaryeong and Yillia, Paul T.}, title = {{Powering Social Infrastructure in Sierra Leone: Market Assessment and Roadmap for Schools}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2023-03/Sierra%20Leone%20Roadmap%20-%20Education_ES_FINAL050323.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }