Standardized Baseline Assessment for Rural Off-Grid-Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa

Two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa lives in scarcely populated rural areas without access to an electric grid. In many of these regions grid connections are prohibitively expensive. The development of decentralized energy generation facilities is often the most viable option to secure access to energy.

This report defines approaches for the development of standardized baselines in CDM projects on off-grid power generation in sub-Saharan Africa. Standardization allows for baseline establishment and additionality demonstration for project types in a defined geography, rather than on a project-by-project basis. Standardization thereby facilitates access to climate finance or carbon markets.