## Multispecies Swarm Electrification for Rural Areas of the Developing World  
**[PERSON]** and **[PERSON]**  
Department Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens,  
75 Iera Odos Street, 11855 Athens, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS]; Tel. : +30-210-529-4209  
Received: 18 September 2019; Accepted: 18 September 2019; Published: 24 September 2019  
Today, 992 million people still do not have access to electricity globally. Most live in rural areas of the developing world. In 2018, the electrification rate for sub-Saharan Africa was only 27%. Furthermore, off-grid systems are projected to provide 65% of the newly electrified population in sub-Saharan Africa. Current estimations show that the average connection cost per technology in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa is 2000-3000 USD for grid extension, 500-1200 USD for a microgrid solution, and 150-500 USD for a solar home system. The most recent studies for real-world microgrids installed in sub-Saharan Africa show that the average split of capital expenditure (CAPEX) spending on distribution versus generation in microgrids is at 50%/50%. This is the result of the significant cost reduction of photovoltaics, batteries, and power electronics, in comparison with the practically stable unchanged cost of poles and cables. Even if the business model is chosen by the investor--usually a pay-as-you-go implementation--there is still the difficult decision to make on whether to go for a microgrid or solar home systems. Taking inspiration from multispecies swarms, a Multispecies Swarm Electrification approach is developed that is able to meet the real-world needs of the developing world in terms of rural electrification. **Keywords:** rural electrification; multispecies swarms; microgrids; solar home systems  
Today, 992 million people still do not have access to electricity globally [1]. Most live in rural areas of the developing world. In 2018, the electrification rate for sub-Saharan Africa is only 27% [1]. Microgrids are becoming a key player for cost-effective and reliable electrification of rural areas, and it is projected that one-third of the total investments toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) of the United Nations for universal access will be targeting microgrids, powered mainly by renewables [2]. Furthermore, off-grid systems are projected to provide 65% of the newly electrified population in sub-Saharan Africa [3]. At the same time, solar home system market in Africa is booming--in the first half of 2018, 2.70 million products were sold with corresponding revenues of 107.50 million USD, a \(\sim\)260% increase from the first half of 2017 [4]. The projected growth of this market is estimated at 1.3 billion USD by 2024 [5]. Pay-as-you-go and solar-as-service business models are becoming the major driving models for this market [6]. Current estimations show that the average connection cost per technology in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa are 2000-3000 USD for grid extension, 500-1200 USD for a microgrid solution, and 150-500 USD for a solar home system [7]. It has to be highlighted, though, that measuring access can pose many difficulties for rural electrification since different systems (either microgrids or solar home systems) will provide different peak load, energy, etc. The multi-tier framework proposed in the Global Tracking Network of Sustainable Energy for All is a comprehensive approach on how to measure access [8]. When comparing the cost between different solutions, the provided energy access tier has also to be taken into consideration. Finally, the most recent studies for real-world microgrids installed in sub-Saharan Africa show that the average split of capital expenditure (CAPEX) spending on distribution versus generation in microgrids is at 50%/50% [9]. This is the result of the significant cost reduction of photovoltaics, batteries, and power electronics, in comparison with the practically stable unchanged cost of poles and cables.