In 2009, Western Sahara’s electricity consumption was just 228 kWh per person—about 6% of the global average of 3,853 kWh per person, or roughly one-seventeenth as much. Recorded low-carbon electricity generation was zero. However, the supplied figures do not provide a fossil-fuel breakdown or information about electricity imports, so they do not establish the full consumption mix. Such low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, refrigeration, water services and business activity. Expanding clean electricity supply could improve living standards and support greater electrification without adding the climate and air-pollution impacts associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Western Sahara?

The available figures do not show electricity consumption growing to new highs in Western Sahara. Consumption in 2009 was 74 kWh per person below the record of 302 kWh reached in 2002—a decline of about a quarter from that peak. This comparison does not establish whether consumption fell every year, but it does show a substantial shortfall relative to the previous record. Low-carbon generation also showed no progress against its recorded benchmark: it remained at zero kWh per person in 2009, unchanged from the record reported for 2000. Both figures underline the need for electricity expansion, especially clean generation.

Suggestions

Western Sahara could prioritize solar electricity, drawing lessons from sunny, dry regions such as the United Arab Emirates, with 14 TWh of solar generation, and the US state of Arizona, with 24 TWh. Spain’s 68 TWh of solar and 58 TWh of wind generation also offer useful examples for combining these clean sources. Coastal wind development, stronger electricity networks and storage could complement solar expansion. Nuclear electricity should also be considered through long-term regional planning and electricity partnerships: the United Arab Emirates generates 32 TWh from nuclear, demonstrating its contribution alongside solar in an arid region. These examples illustrate possible approaches, rather than production targets directly transferable to Western Sahara.

History

The supplied historical information is very limited: no year-by-year changes in low-carbon electricity generation were included. The only historical benchmarks provided are zero low-carbon generation per person in 2000 and again in 2009. Consequently, the data show no improvement between those two reference points, but cannot establish what happened in individual intervening years or distinguish trends by technology. The absence of recorded clean generation at both benchmarks highlights the importance of beginning sustained low-carbon electricity development.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade