Plumbing Africa May 2019 | Page 10

8 Tackling Africa’s energy deficit It is no secret that Africa has an energy deficit. Despite being home to 15% of the world’s population, Africa still only accounts for 5% of the world’s global energy use. Renewables will become increasingly important for patching Africa’s energy deficit. This is a fact that can be attributed mainly to Africa’s industrial development dramatically lagging behind that of Asia, Europe, and America, but to this day, the continent also has vast regions that do not have access to a power grid at all. This has led to Africa consuming per capital three times less energy than the global average. Yoven Moorooven, CEO of global energy and utility firm ENGIE Africa, lays out the problem of and solutions to tackling Africa’s energy deficit. In a recent statement, Moorooven says that only 37% of Africans have access to electricity, while rural access rates are approximately only 30% of those in urban areas. Further, while such statistics highlight the instability of the continent’s energy networks, the rise in demand that is expected to occur in the coming decades poses an even greater problem for the region — an issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. “Energy demand is growing fast in Africa because of the rate of population growth, expected to almost double by 2050,” he states. “This will represent a challenge for the private and public sector and they must demonstrate a capacity to rightly address the energy supply shortage.” Developing the continent in line with potential future growth and demand is going to be a massive challenge. According to the Brookings Institution, there will be nearly 350 million new African city dwellers by 2030. A billion more people are expected to live in African cities by 2063. “This rapid urbanisation, combined with the continental infrastructure deficit, will make life in African cities expensive and will cause a slowdown in economic growth,” Moorooven explains. May 2019 Volume 25 I Number 3 “Equally, there’s a real risk that climate change will put a massive extra strain on these cities. For example, the rise in temperatures will see the need for air conditioning going up and in turn, demand for better electricity infrastructure.” No city in the world is safe from these problems of massive urbanisation and increased demand, but Africa’s underdeveloped energy infrastructure adds to the continent’s woes when it comes to matching these challenges. “Another issue is connectivity,” Moorooven continues. “Outside northern Africa and South Africa, transportation and distribution networks remain the weakest link in Africa’s energy industry. “The development of large centralised power plants and increased penetration of renewable energy will create new opportunities in transmission and distribution. However, since a large portion of Africa’s population lives in remote and rural areas, receiving power from the grid could still be decades away,” he says. Despite this, Moorooven notes there has been notable progression in tackling these problems, evident in the development and implementation of off-grid solutions in remote areas. “In the years to come, we foresee off-grid and dispatchable renewables playing a major role in helping to cater to the energy requirements of all Africans,” Moorooven reveals. Additional aid will come in the form of alternate sources of energy, which Africa’s climate looks absolutely prime to exploit. With substantial rivers, more sunlight than elsewhere on the planet, and a vast coastline, Africa looks perfectly placed to take advantage of hydroelectric, solar, and wave energy technologies. www.plumbingafrica.co.za