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Significance
Home solar panels are providing electricity to households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that otherwise may not link to grids in the near-to-medium term. Just as households managed to bypass formal financial penetration through the introduction of mobile money and landline telephones by the proliferation of mobile phones, home solar systems are poised to offer affordable electricity as costs drop.
Impacts
Off-grid solar power will improve the health of households that move away from burning fuels for energy.
Growth in electricity could improve economic growth while also providing benefits not captured by GDP.
While home solar panels could reduce carbon emissions, large-scale power projects will play a bigger role in overall emissions.
Keywords:
Africa,
AF,
Ethiopia,
Kenya,
Nigeria,
Tanzania,
Uganda,
economy,
industry,
electricity,
energy,
infrastructure,
renewable energy,
aid,
health
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2017
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