Climate Technology Centre & Network Progress Report 2020

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Technology in action

Togo builds its national renewable energy market

Back to clean energy targets
As with many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Togo struggles with very low rates of access to clean and modern energy, especially in rural areas where only 7% of the population has access to electricity. However, the government has set an ambitious goal to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, 50% of which is to be generated by renewable technologies. The country’s new electrification strategy integrates both grid expansion and off-grid technologies, including a target to build 300+ PV mini-grids and electrify 555,000 households with solar home systems by 2030.

To help achieve this vision, the Organization for the Environment and Sustainable Development in Togo requested technical assistance from the CTCN to gather and analyse information on the national renewable energy market, relevant technologies, and financing models. The Republic of Korea’s Kyungpook National University Institute for Global Climate Change and Energy offered to conduct pro-bono research to support the project, which included a pre-feasibility study on the techno-economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of solar systems in rural communities in Togo.

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Informed by an analysis of the local solar resource and existing and latent power demand, on-grid solar energy systems and a PV/battery hybrid system were analysed for four villages in both the Northern and the Southern parts of Togo, namely the Malfakassa, Hahomegbe, Koumbogou and Kablive communities. All sites were deemed feasible for the hybrid PV/battery systems. The study indicated a financing pathway for the on-grid systems, in partnership with the Togolese Agency of Rural Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER), and identified the roll out of solar home systems, financed by a Pay-As-You-Go model in areas hosting scattered households (Kablive and Koumbogou), as the optimal solution.

The CTCN’s technical assistance also highlighted the need for awareness raising among household consumers on the importance of using energy efficient appliances powered by PV technologies, by communicating the cost for every kWh of energy consumed in a simple and easily understood way. The project resulted in the development of a concept note for the Green Climate Fund to finance a solar hybrid mini-grid system in Kablive.

“PAYG Solar kits offer great opportunities to get electricity. These affordable lamps are well designed for the farmer´s communities and we will be pleased to have affordable equipment thanks to this project.”

— Kobona Komna Chief of Kablive village

This technical assistance advances:

Togo’s Nationally Determined Contribution which identified the energy sector as a priority for reducing GHG emissions by 11.14% relative to the baseline scenario.

Sustainable Development Goals

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