African Business 2021

OVERVIEW
Energy
An ECCAS interconnection project shows the way.
SECTOR INSIGHT
Wind and solar allow for
quick diversification of
energy sources.
Credit: Africa Minigrid Developers Association
The growth of African cities is happening quickly and
many of the trends that will affect Africa in years to come
are playing out in cities. One of these is the increasing
uptake of small-scale renewable energy options such
as rooftop solar. For this to be effective, decentralisation has to
be embraced, something which the City of Cape Town in South
Africa has gone to court to try to secure.
In East Africa, Nairobi and Kigali are taking steps to promote
renewable energy within their city limits, either through
legislation insisting on new buildings embracing new technology
or creating green zones. A reduced building permit fee acts as an
incentive for installing renewable technology in Accra.
Even countries that are already using renewable energy are
looking for more sustainable solutions. Sudan relies heavily
on hydropower but this is not always reliable so various solar
projects are underway. These include a series of solar farms
paid for with a grant from the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and a Solar Lab set up in Khartoum with
funding from the same source.
The lack of diversity in energy generation represents a real risk
for African countries and regions. Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan
points out that most Sub-Saharan economies generate the bulk of
their electricity through three
or fewer sources, whereas
at least six types of power
are used in other economies
around the world.
Relying on hydropower,
as the Central African Power
Pool (CAPP) and the bulk of
the Southern African Power
Pool (excluding South Africa)
do, makes both regions
susceptible to drought and
other changes in climate.
The East (EAPP) and West
African Power Pools (WAPP)
supplement hydropower with
natural gas.
There is a need to diversify
into solar and wind, especially
as renewable energy
technologies will be costcompetitive
with fossil fuel
sources by 2030. The Global
Wind Energy Council estimates
that wind could supply 18GW
to the SADC grid by 2030.
That amounts to a third of
the existing power pool in
the region. The fact that such
estimates are published is
evidence of the ambitions of
the promoters of renewable
energy. A giant wind project
at Lake Turkana in Kenya
will supply 310MW from 365
turbines on 40 000ha.
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