ABSTRACT
Solar energy is one of the most universal energy sources, capable of providing modern energy to even the farthest corners of Africa and the Middle East —corners where the grid struggles to reach because of the low population density. Urban and rural families have increasingly adopted a range of small-scale household and community level solar photovoltaic power solutions. A combination of factors has led to countries not extending the grid to cover their entire population. While some countries in Africa such as Algeria and Tunisia have achieved more or less universal grid access, extending the central grid to remote, low- population-density areas is relatively expensive. While price decreases have led to massive increases in the number of people across Africa being able to adopt some type of solar energy access solution, the size of the residual challenge remains immense.
