Based on simulations,  Researchers found that total electricity demand for the Sub-Sahara grid would be approximately 700 TWh/yr for 2030 and 800 TWh/yr for 2040. They noted that hourly demand on the grid would range from 40 to 120 GW. The system also showed costs ranging from approximately a half-trillion dollars to just under 3 trillion. 

Energy in Africa is a scarcer commodity than in the developed world – annual consumption is 518 KWh in Sub-Saharan Africa, the same amount of electricity used by an individual in an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD – example is the U.S.) country in 25 days. More than 500 million people live without electricity.  

Getting affordable electricity to the sub-Saharan population is a multifaceted challenge. Demand is expected to increase but the supply shortage already results in frequent blackouts. People are forced to use expensive and inefficient generators which run on fossil fuels.If sub-Saharan Africa is to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all and goal 13 to combat climate change and its impact, electricity should not only be affordable and reliable, but also from clean energy sources. 

Inga 3 hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DR Congo $80BN Grand Inga Dam Project will provide 40% of energy supply in Africa.

The ultimate goal is to construct a complex capable of energy supply for the entire sub-Saharan region with a cumulative output capacity 42 GW electricity generation. Upon completion, the project would be the world's largest power plant and would generate more electricity than the world’s two biggest hydropower plants, Three Gorges in China and Itaipu in South America, combined. But it halted in 2013.

Ranked as the 2nd longest in Africa and the 3rd discharged volum in the world 

Inga 3 hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DR Congo's $80BN Grand Inga Dam Project will provide 40% of the energy supply in Africa.

The ultimate goal is to construct a complex capable of energy supply for the entire sub-Saharan region with a cumulative output capacity of 42 GW of electricity generation. Upon completion, the project would be the world's largest power plant and would generate more electricity than the world’s two biggest hydropower plants, Three Gorges in China and Itaipu in South America, combined.