Renewable Energy Communities In Central Africa: Towards A Hybrid Model, Tariff Impacts, Energy Justice And Local Governance

Raoul Stephane Biack, B. Ndzana, J. Etame

Abstract

Energy poverty, limited grid reliability, and weak institutional frameworks continue to constrain sustainable urban energy development in Central Africa. This study proposes a hybrid Renewable Energy Community (REC) model integrating photovoltaic, wind, and biomass resources for Yaoundé, Cameroon. A techno-economic framework combining Net Present Value (NPV), Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), sensitivity analysis, and Monte Carlo simulations was developed and coupled with income-based and behavior-based benefit redistribution mechanisms. Household demand profiles were derived from field surveys conducted in Melen and Essos districts and complemented with synthetic datasets for validation. Since Cameroon currently lacks a formal Renewable Energy Community regulatory framework, policy incentives considered in this study represent prospective hypothetical scenarios only. Stochastic financial simulations reveal that the hybrid system yields a robust mean NPV of €6,210/kW under uncertainty, with a competitive LCOE ranging from €102/MWh under High Market Support (HM) to €125/MWh under Low Market Support (LM) conditions. Furthermore, while the behavior-based mechanism (PDM3) optimizes local energy autonomy, the equity-oriented redistribution framework (PDM4) successfully mitigates socioeconomic inequalities by increasing mean individual participant benefits by +24.6%, achieving a +22.1% net community welfare gain, and reducing the Gini inequality coefficient by -28.7% without compromising overall economic efficiency. The proposed framework offers a scalable, data-driven pathway for inclusive and resilient urban energy transitions in Central Africa.

Keywords

Renewable Energy Communities, Hybrid Energy Systems, Net Present Value (NPV), Energy Justice, Benefit-Sharing Models, Urban Sustainability.

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.47238/ijeca.v11i1.306

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