Unfortunately, more than 589 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) live without access to electricity: only 35 percent of the population in SSA has access, compared with 96 and 78 percent in East Asia Pacific and South Asia, respectively. For most Africans, electric power is inaccessible, unaffordable, or unreliable. The lack of both quality and energy services and access to modern sources of fuel—such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), diesel, and biofuels—traps them in a world of poverty.
This inaccessibility to modern energy in SSA touches all sectors of society—health clinics cannot refrigerate vaccines, students find it difficult to read after dark, and businesses have shorter operating hours. Even Africans with up to date energy sources face unreliable and unpredictable supplies for which they must pay high prices.
Currently, the energy sector of SSA meets neither the needs nor the aspirations of its citizens. Africa’s development challenges will become even more daunting as population growth in many SSA countries is projected to outpace electrification efforts. If current trends continue, electrification rates will grow from 35 to 51 percent, but the absolute deficit of people without electricity will also grow from its 2012 level of 589 million to over 645 million by 2030. Clearly, action is needed to accelerate electrification beyond its business-as-usual pace.
Current uses of biomass fuels in SSA present grave health, environmental, and social concerns. As a result of indoor air pollution and chronic respiratory illnesses from the use of primitive cook stoves, the World Health Organization’s estimates suggest that between 2000 and 2030, 8.1 million premature deaths will occur among children and 1.7 million premature deaths will occur among adult women in SSA.
Examples of the above conditions can be illustrated with many countries. For example, the Republic of Benin, one of the poorest countries in Western Sub-Saharan Africa, has an infant mortality rate of 1 in 5 births before the age of five. It is believed many of these deaths can be prevented if adequate waste treatment and fresh water were available. In many of these countries, the cost of building an electrical transmission, waste water and fresh water infrastructure is cost prohibitive. Sub Saharan Africa does not have an existing infrastructure to service the electrical, waste treatment and fresh water needs of its population. The future for these countries is the adoption of localized and distributed electrical power production as well as waste treatment and fresh water generation. The eRET can fill this gap since the above illustration shows the various applications of its technology. In addition, the eRET has the capability of using its RF emission so that broadband and other communications are possible.
Other countries such as Nepal, where burning of wood and cow dung is prevalent can substitute these fuels for renewable electricity and hydrogen in order to satisfy cooking and heating needs.
Climate change has provoked our traditional attitudes toward these basic commodities. The eRET will smooth the way for that transition to a carbon free world.