Empowering quality education through sustainable and equitable electricity access in African schools

IF 38.6 1区材料科学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Joule Pub Date : 2025-02-19 DOI:10.1016/j.joule.2024.12.005

Magda Moner-Girona , Fernando Fahl , Georgia Kakoulaki , Do-Hyung Kim , Iyke Maduako , Sándor Szabó , Godwell Nhamo , Benjamin K. Sovacool , Daniel J. Weiss

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Abstract

Africa’s schools will educate the majority of the 21st century’s working population, influencing the global economy. Through combined spatial analysis techniques on over 500,000 schools, we estimate a 2 billion EUR cost to power unelectrified schools with decentralized solar photovoltaic systems. Given the positive effect on children’s food security and the growing need for digitalization, ensuring clean electricity access includes both electricity demand for internet connectivity and electric cooking. Our analysis reveals that 32% of African school-aged children live near unelectrified schools, with the nearest electrified school often too far away. The electrification of these facilities would reduce education-seeking trips by an average 45 min by motorized transport or 6 h on foot. This significant time savings, combined with the broader benefits of decentralized energy, can significantly enhance educational access, economic development, and environmental sustainability in Africa.

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通过在非洲学校提供可持续和公平的电力供应，加强优质教育

非洲的学校将为21世纪的大多数劳动人口提供教育，影响全球经济。通过对50多万所学校的综合空间分析技术，我们估计用分散式太阳能光伏系统为未通电的学校供电的成本为20亿欧元。考虑到对儿童食品安全的积极影响和对数字化日益增长的需求，确保清洁电力供应包括互联网连接和电烹饪的电力需求。我们的分析显示，32%的非洲学龄儿童住在没有通电的学校附近，最近的通电学校往往离得太远。这些设施的电气化将使寻求教育的路程平均减少45分钟的机动交通或6小时的步行。节省大量的时间，再加上能源分散带来的更广泛的好处，可以显著提高非洲的教育机会、经济发展和环境可持续性。

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来源期刊

Joule Energy-General Energy

CiteScore

53.10

自引率

2.00%

发文量

198

期刊介绍： Joule is a sister journal to Cell that focuses on research, analysis, and ideas related to sustainable energy. It aims to address the global challenge of the need for more sustainable energy solutions. Joule is a forward-looking journal that bridges disciplines and scales of energy research. It connects researchers and analysts working on scientific, technical, economic, policy, and social challenges related to sustainable energy. The journal covers a wide range of energy research, from fundamental laboratory studies on energy conversion and storage to global-level analysis. Joule aims to highlight and amplify the implications, challenges, and opportunities of novel energy research for different groups in the field.