Obama’s Power Africa Initiative Will Increase Energy Access Using Wind, Solar -- and Coal
While a deep recession has has taken its toll on
Americans and their economy, a perpetual haze is
cast over sub-Saharan Africa and its financial
future. To that end, President Obama is pushing his
so-called Power Africa initiative that aims to
double the access to electricity in that region of
the world.
The foundation of any economy is the ability to
access reliable energy so that goods and services
can be produced and transported. Just how do the
less fortunate stay warm in the winter and feed
their livelihoods? Firewood, charcoal and kerosene —
energy sources that are dirty and unhealthy. The
reality is that 85 percent of those living in rural
areas in sub-Saharan Africa lack any modern forms of
power.
“Power
Africa will build on Africa’s enormous power
potential, including new discoveries of vast
reserves of oil and gas, and the potential to
develop clean geothermal, hydro, wind and solar
energy,” says President Obama. “It will help
countries develop newly-discovered resources
responsibly, build out power generation and
transmission, and expand the reach of mini-grid and
off-grid solutions.”
According to the International Energy Agency,
sub-Saharan Africa will require more than $300
billion in investment until 2030 to prop up the
modernization effort there. The United States will
kick in $7 billion over the next five years, and it
will work with six partners, initially: Ethiopia,
Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania. The
goal is to add 10,000 megawatts of cleaner and more
efficient electricity power generation.
Meantime, private partners are contributing more
than $9 billion, which they hope will add an
additional 8,000 megawatts of electricity. Among
them: General Electric, Heirs Holdings, Symbion
Power, Aldwych International, Harith General
Partners, Husk Power Systems and the African Finance
Corporation.
“Throughout our 150 years of history in Africa, we
have always strived to contribute to social and
economic development, financing trade and investment
across the continent,” says Peter Sands, chief
executive of
Standard Chartered, which is also contributing
$2 billion to the cause.
Baby Steps
Similarly, United Nations has launched the
Sustainable Energy for All program that has a
lofty goal of providing universal energy access by
2030. It also aims to double the use of both energy
efficiency tools and renewable energy fuels during
the same time period. Private companies, along with
governments and development agencies, have given $50
billion over the last year to the effort.
Beyond improving human lives and the environment,
public-private partnerships will create meaningful
jobs for local populations. To get there, both the
UN and global lending institutions such as the World
Bank are saying that they will place more emphasis
on green technologies than on fossil fuels, which
will still remain part of its tool box and loan
portfolio.
To be sure, critics say that Africa can’t expand its
power production or its economy without employing
more coal. In a column for the
National Review, Robert Bryce says that the
demand for energy is escalating in those countries
and that the continent is awash in coal. Putting
two-and-two together, the Manhattan Institute
scholar says that while the U.S. can afford to
explore greener options, the less-developed
countries cannot. As such, global carbon emissions
will rise as those nations seek to increase their
quality of life.
Coal used for electricity generation in Africa has
risen by 15 percent from 2002 to 2012, says Bryce,
which equates to a 35 percent increase in carbon
dioxide emissions there. Here in the United States,
coal use has dropped by 21 percent during the same
time, he adds, resulting in a 8 percent fall
heat-trapping emissions.
Roughly, 1.4 billion people do not have any
electricity, says the UN. Most of those are in Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa. Other areas without power
include swaths of Latin America and the Philippines.
Based on current population trends, 1.2 billion --
or 15 percent of the world's population -- will
still lack such access in 2030.
The
World Bank says that the problems in sub-Saharan
Africa are particularly acute. It notes that on
a per capita basis, power generation in the poorest
areas there is about one-tenth of other hard-pressed
places. About 30 African countries experience
frequent outages and load shedding.
The Obama administration’s initiative is laudable.
And while it may help to ease the pain, it is just
the beginning. The reality is that the
sub-Saharan Africa will have to burn more coal to
get ahead -- a fact that the developed world must
incorporate into its thinking. Such consumption and
productivity, though, can be supplemented with
cleaner innovations that will be shared by and
financed from those public and private entities that
are involved with Power Africa.
EnergyBiz Insider has been awarded the Gold for
Original Web Commentary presented by the American
Society of Business Press Editors. The column is
also the Winner of the 2011 Online Column category
awarded by Media Industry News, MIN. Ken Silverstein
has been honored as one of MIN’s Most Intriguing
People in Media.
Twitter: @Ken_Silverstein
energybizinsider@energycentral.com
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