Page 4 - AfrElec Week 09 2021

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Africa adds 821 MW of new

wind capacity in 2020

Wind expansion in Africa and the Middle East dipped in 2020, as the continent

fails to utilise fully the potential of wind power, writes Richard Lockhart

AFRICA and the Middle East installed 821MW the GWEC said. Of this, 2.5 GW is in South
AFRICA of new wind capacity in 2020, with South Afri- Africa, primarily the result of the country’s
can performing best with 515 MW of new wind Renewable Energy Independent Power Pro-
WHAT: farms. ducer Procurement (REIPPP) programme,
South Africa reported 2020 growth, which was slightly lower than which has provided a long-term project pipeline
the most additions, with the nearly 1 GW seen in 2019, raises the region’s for the industry and attracted investors.
515 MW total capacity to 7 GW, the Global Wind Energy Egypt is next with 1,465 MW, while Morocco
Council (GWEC) said this week. has 1,315 MW, Jordan 338 MW and Ethiopia 324
WHY: The slight dip in growth is to be expected, as MW.
The sector proves the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected
resilient to COVID-19 supply chains and project installation in key Political will
markets. However, the GWEC warned that wind Nevertheless, the report highlighted the region’s
WHAT NEXT: power’s potential in the region is barely scratch- untapped wind potential, with countries both
More investment and ing the surface. large and small so far having failed to take advan-
regulatory support is “Although we saw steady wind power growth tage, although that is slowly changing.
needed to allow wind to in Africa and the Middle East in 2020, we are “While it is great to see this level of ambition,
help provide universal nowhere close to installing wind power capacity it must be backed up by the necessary regulatory
access to power across at the levels we could be, considering the mas- frameworks that can provide long-term market
Africa sive resource potential in the region,” said Feng visibility to scale up growth at the right pace,”
Zhao, head of market intelligence and strategy Zhao added.
at GWEC. The technical wind resource potential on
In terms of countries, South Africa’s 515 MW the African continent alone is over 59,000 GW,
was the regional leader, with Senegal in second according to the latest wind resource data pub-
place with 103 MW and Morocco in third with lished in October 2020 by the World Bank’s
92 MW. Jordan installed 52 MW, while Iran International Finance Corporation (IFC).
added 45 MW and Egypt 13 MW. To utilise this potential to provide universal
“South Africa continues to be the wind power power access across Africa will both technical
leader in the region, with North African markets and regulatory improvement and better access
such as Morocco and Egypt increasingly driving to capital.
growth. However, there are many more coun- “We first need the political will, followed by
tries in the region that have yet to tap into their an increase in collaboration between the private
incredible wind power potential”. and public sectors to build a sustainable market
and maximise the local socioeconomic benefits.
Considerable potential It will also be crucial to build out the region’s
Although growth was lower in the Middle East, electricity and transmission infrastructure to
the GWEC stressed the region’s considerable ensure stable and cost-competitive energy access
potential for wind power. and create opportunities for cross-border energy
“Although Iran and Jordan were the only trading through Power Pools, which will be crit-
markets in the Middle East to install new wind ical for greater energy security in the region,”
power capacity in 2020, this region will also be said Emerson Clarke, director of growth & part-
an increasingly important growth driver for nerships and Africa task force co-ordinator at
wind power. Countries in the region such as GWEC:
Saudi Arabia that have been historically some of Although the region only accounts for 1% of
the world’s largest oil & gas producers and high- total wind power capacity globally, the potential
est emitters of CO2 per capita, are now commit- for wind energy in Africa and the Middle East is
ting to ambitious renewable energy and net-zero formidable.
targets,” Zhao said. Tapping into the region’s wind power poten-
Overall, total wind power capacity in the tial will be crucial to creating greater energy
region is now 7,274 MW, which helps to avoid security, reducing costs and generating local
10.7mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO2 emissions, socioeconomic benefits.™

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