Sun-drenched Africa Not Reaping Benefits of Solar
It is not a hard proposition to imagine that the continent of Africa has a large potential for being a generator of solar power. Just the ads from eager humanitarian organizations would shed a measure of light on the apparent vast stretches of nothing being drenched in sunlight.
Similarly, I do not think it is a hard proposition to imagine that Africa’s actual solar generation is miniscule, compared to the rest of the planet.
But rather than trying to focus blame within Africa, I think the blame must, as it does with much of the anthropogenic global warming, be laid at the feet of western nations for not doing more for Africa. Because while Africa may see the Sun create an average of 5 to 7 kilowatts per hour for every square meter across its surface, the money is simply not there for governments to spend on solar technology.
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This isn’t a case of laying all the blame away from Africa, but only those who are intent on seeing me wrong would have suggested that. But the simple fact is that Africa is not a wealthy continent, and is subsequently the focus of much of the above mentioned humanitarian aid.
“In Africa, there is a growing awareness of the potential benefits of solar, especially as the conventional grid continues to prove unreliable. Lots of people are looking for alternatives,” said Lawrence Agbemabiese, a Paris-based energy expert at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
We are seeing a large increase in solar technologies such as solar panels and photovoltaic systems, but on the whole, these are only being implemented in the mainstream thanks to large offsets and tax breaks. Not hard to consider that such benefits are not available to the poorer African nations, who are finding it hard enough to provide enough food, let alone electricity.
In fact, in sub-Saharan Africa, approximately one person out of four has access to grid electricity, and in the region’s rural areas this number falls to just a tenth.
“The photovoltaic boom in Europe and Japan depend on a very generous pricing structure. It is a policy found only in rich countries,” explained Yves Bruno Civel, head of France’s Renewable Energy Observatory, based in Paris.
“One has to be realistic: Africa will not be able to surf on the current wave. That will happen when economies of scale result in a drop in prices,” said Agbemabiese.
However the real initiative must come from businesses and governments willing and wanting to do something for Africa. With electricity comes a bounty of other benefits, the greatest of which could be easy hot water, able to boil away the impurities common in African water supplies. But even with such an incentive, one can only hope that someone is willing to do something.
credit: Abri_Beluga at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
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there is meant to be some large scale solar plants being built in northern africa to supply europe. hopefully, with the money africa will make from such projects they’ll start to be able to take advantage of this boom in solar power
[...] by the teams posed significant tests for the cars. Furthermore, it does not immediately address the poor utilisation of solar energy in South Africa, noted in a previous [...]
HI looks very interesting! bookmarked your blog. john brightman