The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa
Summary. Hybrid renewable energy systems using encroacher bush biomass can provide affordable electricity to rural off-grid communities in Southern Africa while simultaneously addressing bush encroachment. Off-grid PV/biomass/battery systems achieve the lowest costs and zero emissions, though grid-connected systems dominate where cheap electricity exists. Over 70% of households can afford medium-power appliances. Sustainable biomass harvesting could electrify 1.35 million people across Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa using less than 1% of encroached land.
Cite this article
James, S. D., Killinger, M., Mutanga, C. N., Pirard, R., Einax, M., Huber, M., & Bader, T.. (2025). The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136
James, Stuart Daniel, et al. “The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136.
James, Stuart Daniel, Markus Killinger, Chiedza Ngonidzashe Mutanga, Romain Pirard, Mario Einax, Matthias Huber, and Tobias Bader. 2025. “The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136.
@article{james-2025-hybrid-renewable-energy-community-approach,
title = {The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa},
author = {Stuart Daniel James and Markus Killinger and Chiedza Ngonidzashe Mutanga and Romain Pirard and Mario Einax and Matthias Huber and Tobias Bader},
journal = {Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136}
}
TY - JOUR TI - The hybrid renewable energy community approach (HyRECA): Synergising electricity access with bush encroachment mitigation in rural Southern Africa AU - Stuart Daniel James AU - Markus Killinger AU - Chiedza Ngonidzashe Mutanga AU - Romain Pirard AU - Mario Einax AU - Matthias Huber AU - Tobias Bader JO - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition PY - 2025 DO - 10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.rset.2025.100136
- Countries
- Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
- Regions
- Africa
- Categories
- energy, climate-and-environment, regional-innovation-systems, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-05-01