Setting the Pace for a Sustainable Energy Transition in Central Africa: The Case of Cameroon

Abstract

Sustainable energy systems form an indispensable component of sustainable development especially in developing economies. Understanding the system wide techno-economics of sustainable energy systems therefore becomes critical in shaping the energy system mix within a region or country. This paper explores progressive and optimal pathways towards a fully sustainable energy system for Cameroon by 2050 in power, heat, and transport sectors as a representative case study for the Central Africa region. Six key scenarios are modelled with the LUT Energy System Transition Model to capture key policy and sustainability constraints. Results from the study show that, the optimal least cost technology combination for a fully sustainable energy system for Cameroon with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 is dominated by solar PV (86%), complemented by hydropower (8%) and bioenergy (5%). These results show that a fully sustainable energy system for Cameroon is feasible from both the technical and economic perspectives, if policy commitment is oriented towards these low-cost energy solutions. The results of this research provide a reliable reference for planning transitions towards a 100% renewable energy-based energy system in countries within the Central Africa region.

On the History and Future of 100% Renewable Energy Systems Research

“…Experience for Europe clearly shows that a NUTS1 level can be managed, as shown by Sassa and Trutnevyete [430], in demonstrating even a NUTS3 resolution for six Central European countries in power sector overnight simulations applying a soft-linked EXPANSE-PyPSA model. A similar experience with the LUT-ESTM for countries such as Chile [216], Ghana [205], Cameroon [431], and Nepal and Bhutan [432] clearly indicates that a NUTS1 equivalent level may be achievable globally, as the average size per sub-region is about 2.9, 5.5, 3.8, 3.9 million inhabitants for Chile, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nepal and Bhutan, respectively. Even the NUTS2 level may be possible in the long-term, as indicated in the case of Finland, which has been modelled into five NUTS2 regions as well as in seven regions with the LUT-ESTM [433].…”

A bibliometric review of grid parity, energy transition and electricity cost research for sustainable development

“…The topical theme of the Top cited documents revolve around the following areas: Critical reviews papers on grid parity and energy transition research [ 21 , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] ], City wide analysis of grid parity and energy transition issues [ 49 , 50 ], global case studies [ 51 , 52 ], and country-wide analysis of grid parity attainment issues [ 11 , 14 , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] ] as seen in Table 5 . Table 6 provides details of the highest co-cited documents.…”

“… 2011 Empirical 51 15 12 Manjong, N·B., A.S. Oyewo, and C. Breyer, Setting the Pace for a Sustainable Energy Transition in Central Africa: The Case of Cameroon. IEEE Access [ 55 ]. 2021 Empirical 1 14 13 Sareen, S. and H. Haarstad, Bridging socio-technical and justice aspects of sustainable energy transitions.…”

Afforesting arid land with renewable electricity and desalination to mitigate climate change

“…The financial and technical parameters of all energy system components used in this research up to 2050 are varied according to specific data sources and presented in ref. 60 . These parameters include the capital costs, operating costs, lifetime and efficiency values.…”

“…The financial and technical parameters for the desalination and energy system can be found in ref. 60 , the irrigation system details are provided in Supplementary Data 1 and the land costs are provided in Supplementary Fig. 13.…”