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.
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