Conference article

Energy is essential for economic development in Africa. The current electrification figures show that countries in sub-Saharan Africa are facing major challenges in reaching positive economic growth and supplying basic energy services to rural communities. Prior to this study a comprehensive framework of factors to select renewable energy technologies did not exist. The purpose of this research was to develop such a framework and to validate it by means of empirical analyses. A triangulation of methodologies including a literature analysis; focus group; Delphi study and case study was used to determine the framework of factors. This paper presents the final framework that includes both the thirteen criteria and measures to be used for the selection of renewable energy technologies in Africa. The paper further recommends the critical documentation that must be created for each competing technology.

Renewable energy technology selection; Developing countries; Sustainable energy; Selection criteria; Framework of factors