Page 14 - AfrOil Week 23 2022

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

Hybrid solar mini-grid project in Mali (Photo: IRENA)

Report says renewables, not gas,

are key to Africa’s power future

REGIONAL RENEWABLE energy is the key to driving eco- energy resources are not only sufficient to cover
nomic development in Africa, rather than natu- the increasing energy demand in Africa, but
ral gas, offering lower costs, more employment, they could also contribute to creating new value
a more sustainable future and better economic chains, such as through renewable electricity or
diversification, Climate Action Tracker said in green hydrogen exports.
its recent Natural Gas in Africa report. For African states, employment potential
According to the report, the continent’s cur- in the renewable energy sector is attractive. By
rent energy systems based on biomass and fos- 2030, job gains from solar PV, wind, hydropower
sil fuels are both insufficient and inadequate to and bioenergy in Africa could amount to about
meeting the growing demand for access to clean 4.8mn short-term jobs and 370,000 medium- to
energy and sustainable economic development. long-term employment opportunities.
Continuing with fossil fuels, such as natural Investment in renewable energy value
gas in Nigeria and coal in South Africa, comes chains can unlock significant co-benefits for
with multiple risks and disadvantages, beyond local development by growing the economy
accelerating the climate emergency, it says. and creating more and potentially higher-qual-
To reduce destructive global reliance on fos- ity employment opportunities, the report said.
sil fuels, developed countries and development Such investment chains are expected to create
banks urgently need to stop financing all fossil around 36% of new jobs until 2050, it noted.
fuel projects and significantly ramp up inter- Approximately 52% of primary energy in
national climate finance and support for the Africa is supplied by fossil fuels, and 45% of
energy transition in developing countries, the that total comes from biomass. The remaining
report says. energy supply is mostly covered by hydropower.
Climate Action Tracker said that the extrac- Solar and wind contribute less than 1% of pri-
tion, transportation and use of gas is limited mary energy supply on the continent.
in time and includes significant economic Fossil fuels have supplied about 80% of
and societal risks. The argument of providing electricity in the last decade. Renewables have
affordable energy quickly through fossil fuels started growing more recently, currently gen-
no longer holds, as renewable energy technol- erating about 3% of electricity on average. It is
ogy has become cost-competitive, even without important to note large variations by country;
a carbon price, it commented. for example, Ethiopia’s electricity grid is sup-
Electricity generation based on renewable plied exclusively by hydropower, solar and wind
energy has become cost-competitive, at least and is largely biomass-based for non-electric
for new installations and sometimes even for energy use.
replacing existing fossil-based generation.
The report concluded that renewables are Gas power plans
cost-effective and can support sustainable job Many African countries are mulling the expan-
creation across Africa. Abundant renewable sion or building of gas-related infrastructure.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 08•June•2022