Giving Compass' Take:

• Payce Madden at Brookings goes over reports and figures of energy access in Africa, where there are gaps, government interference and otherwise. 

• How can donors play a role in building momentum on driving climate solutions that center on alternative energy sources?

• Here's an article on financing Africa's green energy revolution.

On December 5, 2019, Afrobarometer released a report on Africa’s progress toward reliable energy access. The report uses findings from national surveys in 34 African countries to analyze gaps in energy access, grid reliability, and government performance.

As Figure 1 shows, on average, 42 percent of households in the 34 African countries surveyed are not connected to an electric grid. Of the households that are connected, an additional 14 percent have a connection that works half or less of the time, indicating major gaps in both energy access and reliability. However, the African countries surveyed are highly heterogenous: Access is nearly universal and highly reliable in Mauritius, Morocco, and Tunisia, but more than three-quarters of households in Burkina Faso, Uganda, Liberia, and Madagascar do not have a connection to an electric grid. Reliability is also a major issue in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Malawi, where over one-third of households have a connection that works half or less of the time.

Read the full article about energy access in Africa by Payce Madden at Brookings.