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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1352-659X

AccessType

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Year Degree Awarded

2023

Month Degree Awarded

February

First Advisor

Jay Taneja

Second Advisor

David Irwin

Third Advisor

Prashant Shenoy

Fourth Advisor

Nathan Williams

Subject Categories

Power and Energy

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to aggressively pursue universal electricity access to drive economic development, improved health, literacy, food security, and gender equality. However, increasing electricity supply and household connections is only one important step towards achieving economic transformation. Countries in the region must also strive for increased use of energy services, not only by households but also for income-generating productive uses and community facilities. Unfortunately, unlike the other regions in the world, increasing electricity access rates in sub-Saharan Africa have not been met with complementary growth in electricity consumption density. Therefore, contrary to the energy efficiency zeitgeist in industrialized regions, countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to increase their electricity consumption density for income-generating purposes to grow their economies and, as such, for consumers to realize the full benefits of electrification. The body of my thesis works evaluates strategies to advance inclusive economic growth and human development by stimulating electricity use from clean energy technologies while improving the sustainability of electrification programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, I evaluate strategies in three key domains in sub-Saharan Africa: electricity supply, transportation, and agriculture. These strategies seek to either facilitate organic consumption growth or target the conversion of existing fossil fuel-based technologies into electric for income-generating purposes and improved livelihoods. The results of this body of work could be useful in informing policy frameworks in the region aimed at making progress toward achieving multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/32632505

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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