The majority of Niger’s population faces a widespread lack of access to electricity. Although the country lies in the Sahara belt, exploitation of solar energy is so far minimal. Due to ongoing fossil fuel exploration in the country, this fuel might dominate the future electricity supply. Today, Niger imports the most of its electricity from Nigeria. There is a need to expand electricity generation and supply infrastructures in Niger. When doing so, it is important to choose a proper set of electricity generation resource/technology that fulfils sustainability criteria. Thus, the objective of this work is to analyze a methodology in order to assess different energy technologies for Niger. A multi-criteria decision approach was selected to assess the most accessible energy system for the country. For this purpose, indicators were developed and weighted for ranking electricity generation options. Altogether 40 indicators are selected under six dimensions (availability, risk, technology, economics, environment and social) to assess eight different alternatives, considering the aggregated results and corresponding scores under each dimension. A merit list of technology and resources for electricity generation presented in this work could support the stakeholders in their decision-making for further projects implementation in the country.

Remote rural populations do not often have the luxury of viable multisource electricity generation systems. Considering fossil fuels for remote populated areas is not often a viable option due to the fuel transportation costs and the population’s socioeconomic status. Extending the grid is often economically prohibitive. This paper proposes possible ways in which Mali could increase the rate of population with access to electricity by 2050 using Low Emission Analysis Platform (LEAP) and geographical information tools. The current energy situation is assessed, and multiple demand and supply scenarios are created to find the most viable option in environmental and economic dimensions. A minimum of 50% reduction of biomass consumption in the residential sector and a maximum of 71% was achieved through the combination of grid extension and decentralized solar PV. Solar PV becomes the preferable option when enough time for the effects of electricity on income is given. When these effects are not present, solar PV is still a better option, as the amount of biomass replaced with electricity is reduced.

Historically, agriculture has been a large contributor to the global green house gas emissions due to the use of fossil fuel-powered machinery during the production cycle. In recent years, there has been a pressing need to replace fossil fuel consumption given the increasing threats associated with climate change. This paper presents a review of the latest studies published in the field of energy in the agricultural sector, with a specific focus on Brazil. Based on the research trends observed over the last few years (2012-2020), findings tend to point towards improving current practices rather than studying alternatives to fossil fuel consumption, with recent publications (2020-2021) continuing this trend, primarily via market- and indicator-based studies. As reported in the reviewed literature, tobacco production has the largest energy demand, while wheat, sugarcane, and eucalyptus production have the greatest ethanol production potential. Both rapeseed and jatropha production share greater biodiesel production potential than soybean. Of the 14 crops considered in this study, four had a negative energy surplus: tobacco, orange, rice, and cotton.

Mali is endowed with significant untapped renewable energy potentials paradoxically the country is identified as an energy-poor nation characterized by very high dependency on imports of petroleum products and heavy reliance on biomass (wood-fuel and charcoal). Access to electricity remains very low, with significant disparities across urban and rural remote areas. The gap between the electricity demand and supply keeps increasing yearly, and power shortages get frequent and longer, especially during dry periods from March to June. The energy demand increase, due to of population grow and rapid urbanization (causing more use of fossil fuels resources in the energy mix) bears the unsustainability of the country’s current energy supply. The challenge for the country is then to meet this growing energy demand with a sustainable energy supply system. In the present work, Analytical Hierarchy Process technique is applied to perform Multicriteria Decision Making analysis to identify and assess the most sustainable long-term energy supply options in Mali considering technical, environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The current situation and five alternatives of energy supply based on the country’s current and future energy supply and climate change policies are proposed for assessment. Results show that the highest priority indicators by stakeholders’ survey are under economical dimension followed by the technical ones. The best scenario considers deploying renewable energy to up to 42% of the energy mix as the sustainable option for energy supply. Adopting such scenario requires measures as a strong political will to subsidize renewable energy equipment in order to make them affordable and also policies that encourage the use of renewable energy (such as lower taxes and duties). The suggested framework gives decision-makers, authorities, practitioners, and researches an effective tool for the country future energy planning.