Energy in Africa
[5] Akin Iwayemi, a professor at University of Ibadan in Nigeria, suggests that there is potentially a “strong feedback relationship between the energy sector and the national economy.”[6] Determining socio-economic indicators in Africa include population, population density, land area, proportion of citizens living in an urban setting, and Gross Domestic Product (GNP) per capita.
[12] Overall rates of access to energy in Africa have held constant since the 1980s, while the rest of the developing world has seen electrical grid distribution increase by 20%.
[15] According to the periodical African Business, “Poor transport links and irregular power supplies have stunted the growth of domestic companies and discouraged foreign firms from setting up manufacturing plants in the continent.
Additionally, one of the greatest challenges in an effort to create sustainable development in Africa is that many countries with exportable resources are land-locked without a system of transportation.
[16] Perhaps a confounding variable of these trends is that less than 1% of the electricity generated in the Africa originates from renewable resources, as the White Paper on Energy Policy proclaims.
[21] The publication Energy Economics estimates that replacing South African coal power with hydroelectric imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo could save 40 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
[22] The African Energy Policy Research Network calculates that biomass from agricultural waste alone could meet the present electrical needs of 16 south eastern countries with bagasse-based cogeneration.
[6] In addition, South Africa alone possesses the sixth largest coal reserve on the planet, after China, the US, India, Russia and Australia.
[16] To provide an example, implementation of biodiesel technology has potential for the creation of jobs, as well as consequent economic development in disadvantaged rural communities.
[26] Other challenges include the lack of food security and limited water resources, for these factors are necessary for life and therefore take priority over energy initiation.
[16] The country of South Africa alone possesses the sixth largest coal reserves on the planet, after China, the US, India, Russia and Australia.
Specific renewable resources in South Africa include solar, wind, hydro power, wave energy, and bio-energy.
Despite recent improvements and the sub-Saharan African off-grid solar industry's rapid expansion over the past ten years, some 600 million people in the region still lack access to power.
[30][31] The Africa Society portrays that promotion of sustainable use of natural resources is occurring in Kenya and in Uganda; Kenya and Uganda are “improving community-based wildlife management, strengthening forestry and environmental management, and enhancing integrated coastal zone management…[this] reduces conflicts between communities and protected areas by promoting access rights, revenue sharing…,” etc.
[16] “The USAID supports local actions in the Pangani, Bagamoyo, and Mkuranga districts that promote sustainable coastal and marine resources management through co-management for near-shore fishery areas, small-scale enterprise development, marine culture, and coastal tourism.”[16] There is also an essential push for geothermal power in East Africa, given the arid climate.
[28] Norway also supports the replacement of kerosene lamps with alternatives facilitated from solar power in Kenya, access to energy in Ethiopia's rural areas for job growth and a better standard of living, and Liberia's implementation of a climate plan.
[28] Nigeria is currently a dumping ground for electronic products, which leach toxic metals and substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, antimony, and trioxide into water sources.
[6] “In Guinea, West Africa, the US is making significant input in the area of environmental protection.”[16] These progressive steps will improve agricultural production technologies and exchange trade opportunities.
[6] The publication Energy Economics estimates that replacing South African coal power with hydroelectric imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo could save 40 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
[16] “USAID will contribute approximately $48 million to partnership through its successful Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE)…goal is to improve forest governance, develop sustainable means of livelihood for 60 million people who live in the Basin, reduce the rate of forest degradation and loss of biodiversity through protected area management, improve logging policies, and achieve sustainable forest use by local inhabitants.”[16] The utilization of solar water heaters and biodiesel resources in South Africa within recent years reveals that renewable energy can significantly diminish poverty, for the implementation of clean energy systems has led to improvement in health, and general welfare of the people.
[18] There are also several other factors or occurrences in Africa that lead to inequality, such as one's location of residence (urban vs. rural), one's access to food, water, and energy, and one's freedom to achieve well-being.
[35] Energy can facilitate the development of schools, and help teachers gain access to a wide variety of teaching mechanisms, such as potentially computers.
According to the Forum of Energy Ministers of Africa, most rural customers can't even afford the install costs of the most basic single phase circuit with an electrical socket.
Of 17 high-profile African energy management contracts, four were cancelled before they even reached full term, five were not renewed after only one cycle, and five more were dropped in later years.
[26] Plans for the promotion of harvest to create bioethanol are underway, the South African Bureau of Standards is developing pricing models to enable economic growth.
[28] Moreover, the United Nations Development Program and UN Capital Development Fund recently initiated a global Clean Start program, which will enable millions of impoverished people both in Africa and in Asia to shift out of energy poverty by creating microfinance opportunities to encourage poorer individuals to purchase and utilize electricity.
[28] Twenty-five countries in Africa have joined this global task: Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Another project currently undergoing feasibility exploration would install hydroelectric facilities on the Zambezi river, potentially generating 2,000–2,500 MW.
[41] Regional energy trade would save an estimated US$5 billion annually in emergency generation costs, yielding a 22% rate of return even at 5% deflation.
[41] Energy economist Orvika Rosnes estimates that fair regional pooling in the least developed countries could actually generate money in less than one year, with a 168% annual return on investment.
