Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets

Low energy access in sub-Saharan Africa has motivated the implementation of over 60 international electrification initiatives in the region. The US-led Power Africa initiative is one of the largest such efforts. Its central targets are to install 30 GW of additional capacity and create 60 million ne...

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Main Author: Trotter, P
Format: Journal article
Published: Elsevier 2019
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author Trotter, P
author_facet Trotter, P
author_sort Trotter, P
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description Low energy access in sub-Saharan Africa has motivated the implementation of over 60 international electrification initiatives in the region. The US-led Power Africa initiative is one of the largest such efforts. Its central targets are to install 30 GW of additional capacity and create 60 million new connections to double electricity access by 2030. While Power Africa has received praise for its early achievements, an analysis of its targets and the rationale behind them reveals attributional, developmental and technical issues: Power Africa lacks a clear definition which criteria have to be met before African electrification projects can be counted towards fulfilling Power Africa's targets, the targets themselves appear to be too low to deliver on Power Africa's promises, and they exhibit several technical inconsistencies. Crucially, this paper argues that contrary to the Trump administration's intention to reduce its funds, Power Africa's targets and efforts need to be increased to meet the initiative's own ambitions.
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spelling oxford-uuid:a978eae4-41fa-49a9-8e95-d8a8b686cb2f2022-03-27T03:08:42ZAmbitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targetsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a978eae4-41fa-49a9-8e95-d8a8b686cb2fSymplectic Elements at OxfordElsevier2019Trotter, PLow energy access in sub-Saharan Africa has motivated the implementation of over 60 international electrification initiatives in the region. The US-led Power Africa initiative is one of the largest such efforts. Its central targets are to install 30 GW of additional capacity and create 60 million new connections to double electricity access by 2030. While Power Africa has received praise for its early achievements, an analysis of its targets and the rationale behind them reveals attributional, developmental and technical issues: Power Africa lacks a clear definition which criteria have to be met before African electrification projects can be counted towards fulfilling Power Africa's targets, the targets themselves appear to be too low to deliver on Power Africa's promises, and they exhibit several technical inconsistencies. Crucially, this paper argues that contrary to the Trump administration's intention to reduce its funds, Power Africa's targets and efforts need to be increased to meet the initiative's own ambitions.
spellingShingle Trotter, P
Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title_full Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title_fullStr Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title_full_unstemmed Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title_short Ambitions versus policy design: addressing issues of the Power Africa initiative's quantitative targets
title_sort ambitions versus policy design addressing issues of the power africa initiative s quantitative targets
work_keys_str_mv AT trotterp ambitionsversuspolicydesignaddressingissuesofthepowerafricainitiativesquantitativetargets