Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector

The document identifies seven key intervention areas in the clean-energy sector: electricity generation, transmission and distribution, on-grid access, off-grid access, clean cooking, knowledge sharing, and policy reform. While utility-scale renewable generation has grown significantly, transmission bottlenecks and affordability constraints for end-users remain critical hurdles. The brief argues that while energy access is a necessary enabler for economic growth, it does not guarantee it, necessitating user-focused designs and long-term policy reforms to ensure sustainable impacts.

• Utility-scale renewable energy capacity has seen substantial growth in sub-Saharan Africa, with installed wind and solar photovoltaic capacity increasing by a factor of 16 between 2013 and 2023, excluding South Africa.
• Electricity transmission and distribution act as a major bottleneck for clean-energy expansion and overall system viability due to reliability issues and energy losses in poorly maintained networks.
• On-grid electricity access has reached high connection rates in some countries, such as 75% in Kenya and 85% in Ghana, but faces challenges from high connection costs and low consumer willingness to pay.
• Clean-cooking adoption in sub-Saharan Africa has not kept pace with population growth, largely because stove designs often ignore user preferences and there is a fundamental conflict between stove efficiency and affordability.
• Off-grid energy solutions are vital for remote areas, particularly in East African markets like Kenya and Uganda, but many private-sector providers struggle with profitability because low-income consumers cannot sustain regular payments.
• Policy reforms are essential for ensuring that energy investments achieve their intended benefits, but these interventions are often hindered by a lack of local trust and a focus on formal structures over actual functionality.
• Reliable energy supply is considered a necessary but not sufficient condition for macroeconomic growth; it contributes primarily by reducing energy costs and minimizing outages.

APA

Duma, D., Bruder, M., & Hilgert, A. (2025). Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/insights-for-development-interventions-in-the-clean-energy-sector-in-sub-saharan-africa.pdf

Chicago

Duma, Daniel, Maximilian Bruder, and Annika Hilgert. Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/insights-for-development-interventions-in-the-clean-energy-sector-in-sub-saharan-africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Duma |first1=Daniel |last2=Bruder |first2=Maximilian |last3=Hilgert |first3=Annika |title=Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/insights-for-development-interventions-in-the-clean-energy-sector-in-sub-saharan-africa.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duma2025insights, author = {Duma, Daniel and Bruder, Maximilian and Hilgert, Annika}, title = {{Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/insights-for-development-interventions-in-the-clean-energy-sector-in-sub-saharan-africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }