Powering the growth of Sub-Saharan Africa: The Jazz and Symphony scenarios of World Energy Council

•Assessment of World Energy Council's World Energy Scenarios for Sub-Saharan Africa•Hydro, gas, biomass and solar are among the key options to electrify the region.•Annual investment expenditures in power infrastructure exceed $55 billion.•Energy equity is likely to remain a challenge beyond 2050 without additional effort.•266 million in “Jazz” and 400 million in “Symphony” lack electricity access in 2050.

The energy sector of Sub-Saharan Africa today faces major challenges with total installed electricity generation capacity less than 100 GW and 590 million people lacking access to electricity. We analyse two long-term explorative scenarios, developed together with the World Energy Council, to assess the policy and technology mixes required to achieve long-term energy equity, energy security and environmental sustainability in the region. We find that more than $55 billion in investments is required in power infrastructure annually until 2050. Access to electricity increases from 31% of the population in 2010 to more than 80% in 2050, but the region remains well behind than the rest of the world. The analysis suggests that a one-size-fits-all solution does not exist: the policy makers need not only to address the design and implementation of suitable energy policies, but also to create an investment climate to mobilise domestic and foreign capital and innovation.