RE2nAF: geographically based tool for exploratory analysis for off-grid electricity production options in Africa

DG JRC has been developing mapping applications to support national governments and agencies to decide which energy technology options would better deliver their goals of rural electrification. The JRC method takes into account the diversity of energy resources, coupled with the existing grid, transport infrastructure, hydropower resources, the current diesel and photovoltaic costs, to map the current least-cost electricity option for rural electrification. So far, geographical datasets have been made publicly available (www.afretep.net) and several published papers and conferences have facilitated the spread of the results to the interested stakeholders. The next step is to make the methodology accessible through and easy to use tool: RE²nAF.

RE²nAF enables geographically based exploratory analysis for off-grid electricity production options in Africa. It overlays population features (settlements), infrastructure (transmission electricity grids, roads), national boundaries together with renewable energy resources.

RE2nAF is completely Web based and requires no specialized software or plug-ins.

The first version, which will be soon updated to include users’ feedback, new datasets and tools, can be visited in http://sunbird.jrc.it/re2naf.html