Rural Electrification in sub-Saharan Africa: A Tier-Study of Electrification Mechanisms and their Practicality

There has been a plethora of papers produced regarding rural electrification. However, few relate different methods of electrification to each other, given different socio-economic and geo-political environments. The Millennium Development Goals, established in 2000, prove that there is a collective desire for global electrification. I studied three methods of rural electrification, national grid expansion, micro-grid implementation, and mimic solutions, and their practicality in different areas. There is no single formula for electrification. Rather, these three mechanisms act as different tiers, and countries and communities can choose what, specifically, works given their economic and environmental situation.