Enabling factors for the development of mini-grid solutions in Mozambique: A PESTLE-based analysis

Electricity is crucial for each country's economic and social development. More than half of the population in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) lack access to energy, which has dire consequences for the local population's living conditions, as well as affecting the local economy and increasing poverty. Renewable energy-based mini-grid (REBM) systems are the promising solution to mitigate the issue of energy access in rural areas, however, the expansion of renewable energy (RE) systems and the rate of energy access are both advancing at a slow pace. This study used PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) in the context of Mozambique, a SSA country, to identify the most important categories and factors to support decision-making processes by breaking down existing barriers and hurdles in the energy sector enabling them to plan and implement measures, subdivided in primary, secondary and tertiary for the development of REBM in remote settlements. Even though PESTLE analysis is rather often worldwide applied to the energy sector, its application to the Sub-Saharan context is rare, while its application to the Mozambique energy sector is absent in scientific literature. Besides, within our study, energy experts from different professional backgrounds and nationalities have been interviewed using an online questionnaire: 62 energy experts (48 Africans, and 14 Non-African) from 14 different countries assessed the categories and factors. The experts questioned identified the political category as the most crucial for policy-makers to prioritize, with the top three global weighting factors being, Clear Government policies (plan, regulation, priority, strategy) 5.79%, National financial scheme for RES investments 4.93%, and cost of investment 4.86%. The findings can support policy-makers breakdown barriers in the energy sector, planning and implementing measures for the REBM development, and contribute to achieving the SDG7 target.