Africa’s most advanced economy is investing heavily in renewable energy to counter chronic electricity deficits, which have forced state-owned utility Eskom to impose controlled frequent power cuts to prevent the grid from collapsing. We call on all progressive formations, including the renewable energy sector to consolidate forces and campaign strongly for renewable and green energy, instead of Nuclear.
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The government has previously announced a series of renewable energy projects that would add over 1,000 MW of power to the constrained grid.
Renewable energy sources could supply almost a quarter of Africa’s power needs by 2030, more than four times the current levels, according to a report published Monday by the worldwide Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Solar resources are abundant across the continent, while biomass and hydropower potential are more plentiful in the central and southern regions.
Wind is primarily of interest to the north, east and south, while the Great Rift Valley in the east has significant geothermal potential.
“Renewable electricity expanded at its fastest rate to date, 130 GW (gigawatts), in 2014 and accounted for more than 45 percent of net additions to world capacity in the power sector”, says the report.
The report comes as a Bloomberg study revealed on Tuesday that wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in Germany and the United Kingdom, even without government subsidies.
Roughly 50 percent of the energy from the recommended options would be through biomass-based heat applications. Work has also begun on a national biomass action plan, it explained.
Switching to modern renewable energy cooking solutions would also lower the use of traditional cooking stoves by more than 60%, saving US$20 to US$30 billion annually by 2030 as a result of the reduction of health issues from poor indoor air quality.
“Tapping into renewable energy resources is the only way African nations can fuel economic growth, maximise socio-economic development and enhance energy security with limited environmental impact”, said Mr. Amin.
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“This will create jobs and grow skills, … reduce costs and will substantially increase social acceptance”. The effort is a part of IRENA’s REmap 2030 program, which provides a roadmap to double the share of renewable energy in the world’s energy mix by 2030. “It’s a question of a couple of months”, Omphi Aphane, deputy director general in the energy ministry, told Reuters at a Cape Town renewable energy conference, referring to the solar park. “The onus is now on Africa’s governments to create conditions to accelerate deployment, paving the way for Africa’s unfettered, sustainable development”. The continent’s economic growth is picking up speed but energy shortages are a problem.
