Report

Renewable Energy & the United Nations: A Green Spark for Peace in South Sudan

South Sudan demonstrates the potential for the UN to work with a wide range of stakeholders and support new clean-energy projects and sustainable peace

By Eugene Chen Co-Author • Flora McCrone Co-Author • David Mozersky Contributing Author

In Peacekeeping

February 6, 2023

South Sudan’s future – and relief from its cycle of conflict – is linked to its reliance on fossil fuels, with limited but possible options for charting a new course. South Sudan’s energy sector is deeply embedded in the country’s conflict dynamics, from the economy’s near total dependence on oil production and the accompanying patronage systems to the reliance on imported diesel for access to electricity.

Creative solutions could help South Sudan break this cycle, and in at least one area – renewable energy – unique opportunities exist for the government and its international and national partners to support the development of a new, more sustainable, and widely accessible electricity infrastructure.

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Executive Summary

This report looks at the question of electricity access in relationship to South Sudan’s conflict and the unique options to help harness renewable energy as a tool for peace and development across the country. South Sudan is the least electrified country in the world; according to the World Bank, only 7.2 percent of the population has access to electricity. The recent civil war destroyed most of the existing limited electricity infrastructure, including the few projects that had been developed in the immediate pre- and post-independence periods. In Juba, there has been some modest progress in expanding electrification in the capital, but effectively nowhere else. Despite being an oil-producing state, South Sudan has no domestic refining capacity. Virtually all access to electricity comes from generators that rely on imported diesel. This energy dependence requires hard currency, which is a drain on the government’s limited cash reserves. To reach end users, the distribution of diesel fuel and other goods must pass through dozens of checkpoints manned by various armed groups across the country, adding costs for security and access. The result is that this reliance on diesel fuel, and by extension the access to electricity, is a core component of the country’s fossil-fuel dependency and economy. A weak economy and volatile currency further hampers investment in electricity projects, creating a situation where there is little progress in advancing energy access in South Sudan, and little reason to expect the status quo to change.

One possibility for South Sudan’s electricity sector is to work with the energy transition objectives of the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, which present new and unique opportunities to unlock a series of clean energy projects across the country. This approach is also a creative way to support peacebuilding. Since 2005, the UN has had a peacekeeping mission in what is now South Sudan, with the current iteration, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), deployed since independence in 2011. The mission is one of the largest in the world, with an annual budget of $1.12 billion as of July 2022. With a presence across most of the country, UNMISS is almost entirely dependent on diesel generators for power, spending approximately $32 million per year on diesel for the generators alone, and representing roughly 20 percent of total electricity consumption in the country. In support of the climate goals set out in the UN Secretariat Climate Action Plan (UNSCAP), the mission has stepped up its efforts to look at renewable-energy solutions for its field bases. UNMISS aims to partner with private sector solar developers through power purchase agreements (PPAs), contracts that, through a mission’s commitment to purchase energy at an agreed price and term, enable project developers to finance and build power plants. This approach leverages the purchasing power of the UN and could potentially unlock new projects in South Sudan. For example, the mission recently issued a request for information for a PPA-driven solar project in Malakal to meet its own power requirements, with the potential to eventually expand to cover other off-takers, including local communities. The mission has also initiated a pilot solar project for its Tomping base in Juba. UNMISS is looking to replicate these projects elsewhere where possible. In Rumbek, for example, the mission is initiating discussions to connect to the grid through a new government-led electrification project, but it is not yet clear how much of this project would include renewable energy. 5 Ideally the local population would also benefit from such projects as they come on line, but at the very least such projects should be able to serve local communities following the eventual departure of UNMISS and the transition of the UN configuration in South Sudan. The wider international community and national government must become partners to take full advantage of such arrangements.

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