Energising Africa
Professor Ogunlade Davidson
The importance of modern energy provision in African development cannot be
over-emphasised, as it is the nucleus of socio-economic development
worldwide. However, large numbers of Africans depend instead on firewood and
charcoal, reflecting the comparatively low level of industrialisation on the
continent. Moving out of this stage requires a substantial increase in
cost-effective and affordable energy sources, while minimising environmental
hazards and ensuring social equitability and sustainability.
For Africa to be competitive, its per capita primary energy needs to be
increased. In comparison with the rest of the world, Africans are among the
smallest consumers of primary energy. In addition, Africa has multiple energy
technologies to satisfy the needs of 30% of the population, in urban areas. The
rural areas, where the remaining 70% lives, have limited energy choices. It must
be a priority for African governments to ensure that the rural majority has
access to the same choices as those who live in urban areas.
Natural resources
Africa's shares of proven reserves of coal, oil and gas at the end of 2000
were 5.7%, 7.1% and 7.4% respectively (BP 2001). Exploiting these reserves at
current rates, they will be depleted in 266, 27 and 82 years respectively as
shown in the figure below. These are above the world average for coal and gas
(227 and 61 years respectively), and below for oil (39.9 years) (BP 2001). It is
worth noting that Africa's share of non-renewable resources will rise as a
result of recent oil and gas finds.
African fossil fuels to production ratio Source: BP (2001)
Africa's huge supply of fossil fuels, presently exploited for exports, has
to be used within the continent because as commodity prices continue to
either fluctuate or decline, returns from such exports either dwindle or
become unpredictable. Developing the downstream end of such resources so as to
boost industrialisation on the continent is crucial.
Developing Africa's fossil resources requires a strategy that reflects the
skewed distribution of these sources, hence different approaches for the
different regions. Northern Africa, with a large share of oil and gas, will
need to exploit these resources, as will western Africa. Central and eastern
Africa will need to include geothermal systems (as in Kenya and Ethiopia) and major hydropower
systems (as in Uganda), as
these are abundant there. Similarly, coal should be included in southern
Africa's sustainable energy system - especially in South Africa, which has
over 90% of the continent's coal deposits. Fortunately, significant
technological progress is being made in developing these resources,
resulting in both improved energy and environmental efficiency.
Renewable energy
In addition, Africa has significant renewable energy options. Being mainly
in the tropics, solar energy is quite pervasive. In addition, agricultural
production can lead to large quantities of biomass, as in Mauritius where these
practices already contribution significantly to their electricity. Wind is available in
selected areas, such as Egypt, Mauritania and Mozambique, but the most available resource
in nearly all countries is hydropower. However, the
technologies for renewable energy are not ideal.
Solar energy devices are generally yet to be cost effective while wind -
where the resource is available - compares well with more conventional
systems. Solar water heaters can prove useful in certain niches such as
rural areas that are far from the national grid. The use of modern biomass
in the industrial, power production and transport industries is supported,
as waste products from agricultural processing are good feedstock for such
systems. But it is worth noting that fossil fuels have dominated the global
energy scene for more than a century and will continue doing so for at least
another generation. Any new energy system will require substantial changes
to the entire energy infrastructure and huge capital requirements, as will
the costs involved in overcoming the obstacles posed by vested interests.
Financing energy investments is particularly challenging because of limited
domestic capacity, which has led to the dominance of foreign financing and
continued influence by donors and multilateral institutions. In recent
years, the most notable prescription from these institutions has been for
Africa to liberalise and privatise the energy sector, as in the cases of
Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Uganda. While
there are advantages in reforming the sector's management, increasing access to
affordable, modern energy for poorer communities has been ignored; so has
maximising indigenous energy resources. As a result, higher energy prices and
energy scarcity have characterised such reforms. A departure from this vicious
cycle is advisable.
The search for solutions
Effective transfer of technologies will require partnerships among major
stakeholders. African governments will have to formulate and implement
measures that will improve the capacities of these countries to better
receive technologies, while governments of technology suppliers will need to
formulate policies that provide incentives for technology suppliers to find
such transfers attractive.
Energy technology leapfrogging can have a positive impact on African
countries as they move towards a more sustainable development. Leapfrogging
involves moving from one technology to another without going through the certain
intermediate stages, such as moving from a traditional firewood stove to one
using liquefied petroleum gas, while ignoring improved charcoal and kerosene
stoves.
But past experience has shown that African governments need to act
collectively in approaching these critical energy issues and must introduce
institutional reforms to facilitate regional joint ventures. Africa's fossil
fuels and renewable energy alternatives are abundant but most of these
reserves are yet to be exploited due to the lack of capital resources,
infrastructure and institutions. African countries can contribute their
abundant energy resources, provided the technological and financial support
systems are available, which will require significant external assistance.
More information:
Professor Ogunlade R Davidson is the Director, Energy and Development
Research Centre, University of Cape Town.
E-mail: ogunlade@energetic.uct.ac.za
References
BP 2001. BP statistical review of world energy, June 2001. London: BP.
Davidson, O R & Sokona, Y 2001. Energy and sustainable
development: Key issues for Africa. In Wamukonya, N (ed)
Proceedings of the African High-level Regional Meeting on Energy and Sustainable
Development. Roskilde: UNEP: 1-20.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 2001. Climate change
2001: Mitigation. Contribution of WG III to the Third Assessment Report.
Metz, B, Davidson, O, Swart, R & Pan, J (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press (for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
UNDP 2000. World energy assessment: Energy and the challenge of
sustainability. Geneva: UNDP.
|
