Godfrey Omulo
Thursday, March 21, 2019
- Sub-Saharan Africa is rich in energy resources but very poor in energy supply.
- Our domestic and industrial energy status is way below the global average estimates yet we have the largest amount of clean and renewable energies.
- A severe shortage of essential electricity infrastructure is undermining efforts to achieve more rapid social and economic development.
- If Sub-Saharan Africa can start unlocking its vast renewable energy resources, sustainable energy status can be achieved by 2040.
- A modernising and more integrated energy system allow for more efficient use of resources and brings energy to a greater share of the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
In recent years, a lot of attention has been drawn to the negative impacts of fossil fuels and contributions to climate change. Last week, youths from more than 100 countries went on a climate strike demanding urgent action from global leaders to reduce emission. But have you ever wondered what alternatives there are to fossil fuel? In this post, the first of the series, I share with you some insights on renewable energies. I do this in the context of Africa where despite the abundant renewable energy sources, their potential remains untapped.
Renewable energy is an expanse term. However, at its core, it is used to characterise energy resources which can be replenished after a portion is used or consumed either through natural or a recurring process in a finite amount of time. The major forms of renewable energy include hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and biomass. These various forms of renewable energy hardly exist uniformly in all parts of the world. By the virtue of her geographic positioning, Africa harbours various forms of renewable energy. This is besides the fact that Africa is also rich in non-renewable energy resources (fossil fuel and natural gas) with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone being home to 30% of the world’s oil and gas depositories discovered in the last decade (OECD, 2014). Africa is categorised into Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern and Central regions and they vary in renewable energy potentials depending on a country’s location, size and natural resource endowment. These regions have different and unique energy strategies together with coordinated regional energy interconnectivity and knowledge sharing. The most recent development in the energy sector is the introduction of renewable energy auctions by countries like South Africa, Zambia and Uganda whereby multi-national companies support the countries in maximizing energy prices in relation to policies and procurement. With this background, one would easily conclude that Africa’s energy status is self-sufficient. But is this certainly the case?
There is a widespread scarcity of modern energy supply across many African countries. In the whole of SSA, it is estimated that only 290 million (29%) ) out of 1 billion people have access to electricity. This 29% is bound to increase given the steady population growth in Africa. This should however not be the case. Because the potential to power Africans incoming population and labour boom with clean energy for an economic dividend is unrestrictive. And this is why:
Hydroelectric power, the commonest energy source for both commercial and domestic use, remains largely unexploited despite the modern advancement in its generation. Overall Africa’s hydro-electrical energy accounts for only a fifth of her energy supply, a value that is less than 10% of the projected potential. The current hydropower generation in Africa is estimated at 283 Gigawatts compared to the projected potential of approximately 1 200 Terawatts hours (TWh) per year. This amount of energy generation is equivalent to 8% of the global energy potential and more than three times the current electricity consumption of the entire SSA.
Africa is greatly advantaged with solar energy. The continent’s average bright sunlight days are more than 320 per year. The continent receives irradiance levels approximated at 2 000 kWh per square metre (kWh/m2) per annum, an amount that is twice the average level of European countries like Germany. All regions of African have high solar irradiation potential except the Central which receives high amounts of rainfall and cloud cover annually. Generally, solar energy is harnessed by two main ways: as photovoltaic solar (PV) or concentrated solar power (CSP). Depending on the solar irradiation in a given country, both PV and CSP can be classified from limited suitability (below 1000 kWh/m2/year) to excellent (2500-3000 kWh/m2/year). Africa’s solar energy potential if harnessed can transcend the continent’s electricity demand and the excess can be used to feed a world in dire need of clean energy. For example, to generate the current SSA’s energy demand (352 TWh), only 0.023% of Africa’s land (a total of 7000 km2) is required for 200 GW PV solar erection. This dream can surely be realized but only after the current high generation costs in SSA ($175 per KWh) are reduced to the world’s average electricity generation cost and grid requirements. However, this is in sight. With countries like Ghana (155 MW Nzema plant) and South Africa (150 MW of project) taking lead in solar energy generation and others like Mozambique, Sudan, Nigeria and Ethiopia having made commitment to scale-up their production to at least 100 MW per annum, there is a will and wherever there is a will, there is way. But we need to accelerate our efforts.
Figure 2: Photo Voltaic and Concentrated Solar Panel resource potential for Africa after applying restriction criteria
Wind energy is another important source of renewable that is unexploited in Africa. Suitability of wind power generation is determined by wind speed at a height of 80 m. Africa’s wind energy potential range is highly suitable or excellent (7 m/s and greater) depending on the position of different countries. The current wind energy production in SSA is less than 200 MW compared to the estimated potential of more than 1200 GW. In the entire SSA, Somalia has the greatest onshore wind energy potential, followed by Sudan, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Madagascar and Kenya (AfDB, 2013). On the other hand, offshore wind energy potential varies across different countries with Madagascar being the highest followed by Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola and South Africa respectively. Committed investments by governments (for example Kenya government plans to generate up to 400 MW of wind energy by 2020) can make a great difference wind energy harnessing.
Another potential lies in bioenergy which can be harnessed from plants. Bioenergy has been a dominant source of energy in SSA especially as a source of fuel for domestic and industrial use. Modern techniques of using solid biomass for heat and power generation are also on the rise. Thermochemical conversion processes of biomass to generate biofuels are also progressively adopted in SSA. It is important to note that approximately one-third of SSA is forested and the estimated biomass potential is 130 billion tonnes as of 2010 even though with restricted deforestation this capacity reduces greatly. With a proper balance between agricultural land and forests, SSA biomass can be harnessed to produce high amounts of energy, for example, 40% of Cameroon’s electricity and around 325 MW of SA bioenergy can be generated from biomass. The value of biomass energy in SSA offers an opportunity for landscape restoration and employment creation on marginal lands. Beyond this, it presents an added value for improving biodiversity conservation by reducing pressure on natural forests and greatly promoting carbon sequestration. Researchers note that if 75 million hectares from 18 sub-Saharan African degraded land can be restored, a total of six exajoules (EJ, 1018) can be generated. This sufficient to meet the current global electricity demand (25,000 terawatts hours) and the future projected 38,700 terawatts hours by 2050.
Even though geothermal energy constitutes a small portion of Africa’s power supply, it attracts commensurate potential as well. Geothermal resources are majorly concentrated along the East African Rif Valley of Kenya and Ethiopia. Being the area with the highest geothermal power depositories worldwide, it has an estimated potential of between 10 GW and 15 GW, an energy capacity that can sustain entire East Africa’s electricity demand. With rare energy sources like geothermal which is the second-largest source of power supply in Kenya and Ethiopia and powered by solar photovoltaics, small hydropower or wind, more than two-thirds of African rural areas can be connected to the mini-grid and off-grid systems by 2040.
Conclusion
Stable energy supply leads to a decrease in the cost of technology which in turn attracts renewable systems compared to the costly diesel generators. The transformational change can only come when everyone does their honest role and this calls for the governments to set the right priorities. Concerted actions of additional investment in the energy sector, deeper regional cooperation and integration and better management of resources and revenues and good governance can make us attain this change. We must say No to corruption and use our valuable resources to serve our people. The successful harnessing of only a third of African renewable energy potential would put her in a position to meet her energy demands and have more to export. Our nations, leaders, elites, researchers, youths and the general public must rise to action and do something! We owe the next generation a better continent than what inherited.
Sustainable development goals addressed in this article
