Boosting Africa’s development with renewable energy

renewable energy - cleanbuild

Boosting Africa’s development with renewable energy

Erratic power supply coupled with power shortages continues to stall Africa’s development — the persistent power outages causing businesses to shut down and leading to millions in losses.

African countries are endowed with substantial sources of renewable energy — hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc., but wind and solar energy are always dependent on the weather. That is why a greater part of these countries rely heavily on hydropower fueled mainly by dams.

However, water levels have been low due to drought as a result of climate change, affecting power supply from the dam and causing heavy economic losses.

Meanwhile, the continent’s energy demand is estimated to grow even though over half of its population already does not have access to energy. And energy is key to development.

How can Africa advance its infrastructure development and invest in science, technology, and innovation when there is no stable, reliable, and efficient energy?

Africa’s energy sector is dominated by the government and it has led the sector to perpetually suffer from factors such as high distribution losses, lack of revenue due to unpaid bills, and poor tariff structure — leaving utility companies without funds to invest in transforming the energy sector.

Since Africa has an abundance of renewable energy sources, it is in a position to adopt innovative and sustainable technologies and play a leading role in shaping the continent’s sustainable energy future.

An indication of the potential that renewable energy has in Africa is evidenced in the unchangeability of the fundamentals of renewable energy expansion despite the COVID-19 pandemic – the growth is expected to surge and constitute almost half of Africa’s power generation growth by 2040.

As countries seek to transition from coal, crude oil, and natural gas to cleaner power sources, the question then is whether or not Africa’s development can be underpinned by renewable energy alone.

Africa can develop without exploiting its fossil fuel resources because renewable energy has the potential to close the energy gap in Africa. But for that to be possible, better market conditions are very essential.

Conditions like a more conducive environment for renewable energy development which requires political will, policies to attract investments, as well as the necessary investments from the private sector to develop renewable energy will serve as catalysts for the growth of the sector.

From a cost perspective, access to affordable and clean energy from small and decentralized renewable power generation trumps large fossil-fueled power stations as it becomes a viable opportunity for remote energy users.

For renewable energy to thrive in Africa, governments need to focus on developing financial solutions to make renewable energy affordable, both for end-users and supporting industries.

Related Post