Citation: Justo, C.D.; Tafula, J.E.; Moura, P. Planning Sustainable Energy Systems in the Southern African Development Community: A Review of Power Systems Planning Approaches. Energies 2022, 15, 7860. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15217860 Academic Editors: Alfeu J. Sguarezi Filho, Jen-Hao Teng, Kin-Cheong Sou and Lakshmanan Padmavathi Received: 20 September 2022 Accepted: 19 October 2022 Published: 23 October 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). energies Review Planning Sustainable Energy Systems in the Southern African Development Community: A Review of Power Systems Planning Approaches Constantino Dário Justo 1,2 , José Eduardo Tafula 1,2 and Pedro Moura 1,2, * 1 Energy for Sustainability Initiative, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal 2 Institute of Systems and Robotics, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal * Correspondence: pmoura@isr.uc.pt Abstract: Southern Africa has a huge potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. However, electricity access remains a key policy issue for most member states, with a global average access to electricity of only 54% in 2019. This low electrification rate is a strong motivation for member states to increase renewable energy use and improve access to electricity for all. The goal of this paper was to present a literature review of methodologies, energy plans, and government programs that have been implemented by the Southern African Development Community member states to address the region’s low average electrification rate and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The study presents the most commonly used methodologies for the integration of renewable energies into electrical systems, considering the main grid and distributed generation systems. LCOE minimization methodologies and software options, such as GIS, HOMER, LEAP, and EnergyPLAN, are the most common among the identified studies. The traditional method of electrifying by expanding the grid has not contributed to the eradication of energy poverty in rural areas. Therefore, to improve electricity access in Southern Africa, it is essential to consider off-grid solutions based on renewable energy sources. Keywords: renewable energy; electricity access; generation expansion planning; low electrification; sustainable energy 1. Introduction Humanity is currently facing several global challenges, and one of them, given its urgency, is the guarantee of future growth in the energy sector, to ensure electricity access in a secure, sustainable, sufficient, and affordable way for all [1]. In that regard, the United Nations (UN) has defined universal access to electricity as one of its Sustainable Develop- ment Goals (SDGs) to be reached by 2030 [2]. Being recognized as a key driver of human and economic development [3], SDG 7 calls for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for everyone [4]. Moreover, in developing countries, higher energy access is associated with higher literacy rates, improved health care, enhanced employment opportunities, and higher productivity, combating global poverty in general [3]. Never- theless, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) [5] at least 770 million people worldwide still live without access to electricity, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and developing countries in Asia. In addition, due to the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many vulnerable people from these countries have lost the ability to pay for electricity, also leading to energy poverty problems [5]. Estimates point to more than 100 million people, mainly located in SSA and developing Asia, being in extreme poverty in 2020, with more than 200 million people falling into poverty [6]. Hence, it is important to highlight that, in addition to the low electrification rate in such countries, which hinders many households from connecting to the electrical grid, other households, Energies 2022, 15, 7860. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15217860 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies