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Less than 15% of rural areas of Cameroon have access to grid electricity. Only 53% of the population has access to grid electricity. Notwithstanding, Cameroon has a huge hydropower potential which could be harnessed. Mini grids, powered by pico and micro hydropower plants, are a relatively new rural electrification strategy in Cameroon. Several of such mini grids have been realized in the mountain regions of the country. Some of these systems have been more successful than others. This paper aims to share the experiences of community-based pico and micro hydropower schemes for rural electrification in Cameroon. The paper provides insight to the challenges that three of such mini grid systems powered by pico and micro hydropower plants had encountered and it attempts to identify issues related to their performances. The study was based on personal experience, field visits, participant observations, interviews and focus group discussions with key members of the beneficiary communities and documentations from the local NGO which implemented the schemes. Key findings of this study relate to the description of the main aspects about: planning of a robust system design, organizational aspects, like social cohesion at all levels of scheme management, community leadership and ownership of the system and involvement of the beneficiaries at all stages of the project cycle. These aspects were particularly addressed within the context of rural communities in Cameroon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving sustainable energy development in a region requires rational use of energy resources and technologies, and the development of appropriate policies. Three concerns are therefore required to achieve these issues: (i) to acquire a picture of the local current energy situation, (ii) to measure the state of development and the progress towards a sustainable energy system, and (iii) to have energy decision- and policy-makers fully aware of the implications on sustainable development of selected policies. It is in this perspective and in the frame of activities on sustainable energy for all and access to energy in developing countries carried out by the UNESCO Chair in Energy for Sustainable Development, that we developed this review. The objective of this paper is to depict the current energy situation of Africa by using the most up to date data, describing it as far as the concept of sustainable development is concerned, and to see if and how energy policies promoted by local players fit with this asset. We assess the energy situation of Africa by combining (i) data, mainly by the International Energy Agency, about national energy balances for primary and electric energy, the Energy Development Index and energy resources, with (ii) a more comprehensive analysis of the African energy system, accomplished by the Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development. An overview of the energy-related policies and action plans developed by different local players in the African continent is also carried out with the goal of providing remarks by coupling such plans with the above mentioned energy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]