South and East Sub-Saharan Africa
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RURAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: SOUTH AND EAST SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BY T. C. LITHOLE University of Cape Town A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Cape Town in fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town DECLARATION I, Thifhelimbilu Christopher Lithole, submit this thesis in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Engineerin~/ I claim that this is my original work and that it has 1'1ot been submitted in this or in ·a similar form for a degree at any other University. I T. C. Lithole BSc. (Hons) Energy Studies ___University day of ______ of Cape_ 1997 Town -i- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are some common chabcteristics of rural communities throughout the world. They tend to lack a good econo,~ic infrastructure, essential social amenities, tourist potential, good road infrastructure, literacy, and most importantly, scarcity of sufficient energy supply to meet basic needs, and deteriorating environments due to increasing pressure on available traditional energy resources. Furthermore, rural areas in the developing countries of South and East Sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by high population ratios, low levels of income, concentration of poverty, significant ~?cio-economic disparities relative to urban area, and a high rate rural-urban migration. According tQ.the figure below, the percentage rural population in the region was over 70% in 1993, with Rwanda and Uganda 94% and 88% respectively. Mozambique ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zambia .•,. South Africa ~<;· . Zaire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-..-..-..-..~.................................... ~-..-..-..~~~~l Sudan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uganda .Somalia Rwanda ~-..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;..;.;.;..;..;.;..;..~;..NN;..;..nNNNNN~:t"-..NNN;..;..~-..-..-..-..-..-_.-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..~-,,.-,,.) 0 20 40 60 80 100 Rural Population (%of total) University of Cape Town Rural Population as % of total population for selected countries in the region The availability of adequate and convenient energy is essential in addressing these priorities of rural development. The development of energy resources for rural areas is, therefore, closely linked to the economic, social and environmental concerns of mainstream rural development. Unlike growth-driven energy development for industrialisation and urbanisation, rural energy development must consider social and environmental development. More importantly, it must be people-oriented. The result of the study has indicated that the pace of energy transition from traditional to commercial energy in the rural areas of countries in the region has lagged behind that in urban areas, a similar situation to that existing between developing countries and developed countries. Significant rural-urban inequalities in commercial energy supply and consumption exist. Rural communities still continue to rely heavily on traditional energy, mainly biomass - ii - resources. The per capita consumption of eriergy by these countries was found to be generally low, especially when compared with developed countries, whereas a different situation exist with energy intensity, with developing countries consuming more energy per GDP than developed countries as reflected by the figure below. Tanzania Zimbabwe South Africa Mozambique Kenya Ethiopia Japan USA Norway Germany France Australia 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 kgoe/GDP Energy Intensity of selected developing and developed countries (1993 US$) University of Cape Town Institutions involved in the supply of energy to rural areas have not been successful in keeping data for rural energy demand and supply. This includes government Ministries or Departments, as well as parastatals. Governments are mainly involved in policy issues in most of these countries, with utilities responsible for operational issues, and it appears that the situation will continue like that for a long time, except that some utilities which are parastatals are restructuring with a view to partial privatisation. There is generally a lack of CO-'Ordination between energy institutions and other institutions that are involved in the development of rural areas. The rural energy demand sector can be categorised into households, agriculture, small industries and institutions like schools and clinics. Households, agriculture and small industries depend on commercial and non-commercial energy supplies that include biomass, coal, oil, gas and electricity. Household energy needs are towards cooking, lighting, space heating, and the operation of household appliances and devices; the energy needs of - iii - agriculture consist of direct energy needs for land preparation, cultivation, irrigation, harvest, post-harvest processing, and the indirect energy needs of agriculture such as fertilisers, pesticides, etc. Energy needs in rural industries differ depending on the nature of the business. Patterns show that electricity for households, agriculture and small industries is usually from a grid supply. Non-grid electricity is usually targeted for schools and clinics in isolated parts of the rural areas not reached by the grid. Rural electrification is strongly supported by governments in most countries. In keeping with the desire to ensure the basic needs of the rural population, governments have stressed social rather than financial or economic criteria in assessing the feasibility of rural electrification programmes. This .is largely why most of the state-owned power utilities have incurred substantial technical and financial losses which are exacerbated by high subsidised tariff structures. The future expansion of conventional energy supply is expected to be constrained by lack of financial resources, ~echnical expertise and the effect that they have on the environment. The role of alternative energy systems, including biomass, solar systems, wind and hydro potential are therefore expected to assume an important role in the overall development of rural energy. It is therefore imperative to make rural people conscious of the crucial role that can be played by these energy resources to their benefit. Potential for regional co-operation exists. Coal, gas, oil and electricity are energy resources that are traded at regional level. Interconnections of electricity grids already exist between countries like South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Zaire. University of Cape Town - iv - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of people dedicated their time and effort to the study. The author would like to thank Professor Dutkiewicz, for his supervision and his guidance. The author would also like to thank all members of the Energy Research Institute, who contributed in one way or another to the study. Special thanks also go to Beverley Bailey of the Energy Research Institute, University of Cape Town for her support. The author is also thankful to the World Energy Council (WEC) Rural Energy Steering Committee for their indirect contribution throughout the study. The members of the Steering Committee were: Professor R K Dutkiewicz, ERi, UCT, South Africa Dr Gustavo Best, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UNFAO)_, Rome Mr Jose Malhaes da Silva, WEC Brazilian Committee, Brazil Professor Wang Xiwu, Ministry of Agriculture, P. R. China, Mr Thierry Villaron, World Energy Council, United Kingdom Dr L M Fall, de la Planification et de l"Equipement, Senegal Dr Sibi B.onfils, lnstitut De L'Energie, Canada Mr Fayez Malek, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canada Mrs Jane Ellis, International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris Mr Gerald Leach, The World Bank, United Kingdom The following people also participated in the WEC Rural Energy Steering Committee directly and indirectly: Mr Colin Smallridge, C. G. Smallridge and Associates Inc., Canada Dr Diallo Souleymane, Dakar, Senegal Mr John Denman, International Energy Agency, Paris University of Cape Town The author would also like to thank those people who participated indirectly to the study through the WEC Rural Energy Steering Committee whose names were not mentioned. -v- TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ix LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................x NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................................xi 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. ,.. ....................................... 1 1.1 Background