Unattainable proximity : Solar power and peri-urbanity in central Burkina Faso
Cantoni, Roberto (University of Sussex)
Svenningsen, Lea Skræp (Københavns Universitet)
Sanfo, Safiétou (WASCAL Competence Center)

Data:	2021
Resum:	In the community of Zagtouli, close to Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, lies West Africa's largest solar power plant. This is a 33 MW, on-grid, photovoltaic plant. Operational from late 2017, it produces electricity for Burkina Faso's public energy company, SONABEL. The electric grid built between the plant and Ouagadougou crosses Zagtouli in its middle: however, electricity connections throughout the community are markedly non-homogeneous. In particular, most of the southern half of Zagtouli suffers from a condition known in the literature as 'under-the-grid': namely, close to the grid but unable to connect to it. The benefits stemming from the presence of the nearby plant, therefore, remain unattainable for a large share of the local community. Drawing on an ethnographic investigation of energy practices and uses conducted in Zagtouli, we employ the theoretical framework of energy justice to analyse the connection between local justice issues and national electrification strategies. We claim that the national preference for on-grid, centralised plants may not adequately respond to the need for a more just local energy distribution; and that for peri-urban areas that are not planned to be fully connected to the grid in the short term, smaller-scale, decentralised solutions may be more appropriate to achieve full electricity access.
Ajuts:	European Commission 690462
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Burkina Faso ; Energy justice ; Renewable energy policy ; Solar energy ; Under-the-grid communities ; SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy ; SDG 13 - Climate Action
Publicat a:	Energy policy, Vol. 150 (March 2021) , art. 112127, ISSN 0301-4215

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.112127

Postprint 39 p, 346.0 KB

El registre apareix a les col·leccions:
Articles > Articles de recerca
Articles > Articles publicats