WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

1.3 Northern Africa
Hussein Elhag, African Energy Commission, Algeria
Introduction to the region
Northern Africa is an ensemble of seven countries
including Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia
and Western Sahara. Five of these countries currently
use hydropower, including small hydropower.
The climate is an important factor. Morocco, Algeria,
and Tunisia comprise of desert areas and contrasting
coastal mountainous areas. Egypt’s Nile Valley and Delta
interrupt its desert plateau and the Nile River flows
through Sudan. Libya does not use any hydropower,
particularly since it is mainly covered by desert and flat
terrain. Libya, as of September 2012, has no plan to
develop hydroelectric power and any plans to develop
have so far not been materialized. 1
Due to its climate and desert conditions, this region has
abundant solar power potential often suppressing any
incentive to invest in hydro technology. The North
African region contains one of the major initiatives
called DESERTEC. The Desertec industrial initiative (Dii)
is a coalition of companies that would like to build a vast
network of solar and wind farms across North Africa and
the Middle East to provide 15 per cent of Europe’s
electricity supply by 2050. 2 Plans for the first phase of a
solar farm of 500 MW in Morocco were well advanced
by the end of 2012. 3
Table 1
Overview of countries in North Africa
Country
Total
population
(million)
Rural
population
(%)
Electricity
access
(%)
Installed
electrical
capacity
(MW)
Electricity
generation
(GWh/year)
Hydropower
capacity
(MW)
Hydropower
generation
(GWh/year)
Algeria 37.367 56 99.3 11 332 45 170 282 560
Egypt 83.688 57 99.6 24 726 139 000 2 800 12 863
Morocco b 32.309 43 97.0-98.0 6 344 22 851 1 700 3 631
Sudan c 34.206 60 35.9 1 268 4 323 550 7 250
Tunisia d 10.732 33 99.5 3 598 14 866 ~ 70 300
Total 198.302 - - 47 268 226 210 5 402 24 604
Sources:
a. The International Journal on Hydropower and Dams 4
b. Morocco Agence Nationale pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables et de l’Efficacité Energétique 5
c. Reegle 6
d. Tunesia Société Tunisienne de l'Electricité et du Gaz Energies Renouvelables 7
Note: South Sudan attained its independence on 9 of July 2011, therefore the Sudan 2010 hydropower production data includes data from South Sudan.
The countries of North Africa facing the Mediterranean Table 2
Sea are currently enjoying the highest electrification
rates in Africa, some of which above 99 per cent, thanks Country
to the rich gas and oil resources in the region. However,
these countries are likely to run out of hydrocarbon
resources by 2050 and are therefore cautiously tapping
on other energy resources mainly solar, wind and
nuclear. Despite the promising future of renewable
energy businesses in the region, most of these countries
have taken solid steps towards developing nuclear
energy for power generation. Egypt has planned to start
the construction of its first nuclear power plant and it is
expected to enter into operation by 2020. Algeria,
Morocco and Tunisia have similar ambitious plans.
Small hydropower definition
Apart from Tunisia and Morocco, the other countries do
not have any official small hydropower definition. In
Morocco, only hydropower plants below 12 MW are
considered as renewable energy (table 2). 8
79
Classification of small hydropower in Northern Africa
Small
(MW)
Mini
(MW)
Micro
(kW)
Pico
(kW)
Morocco 2≤-≤8 0.5≤-≤2 5≤-≤500 -≤5
Tunisia 1-10 0.1-1 20-100