The energy equation - lighting up the Dark Continent

Bringing energy to Africa depends on solving a vital equation.

www.visibleearth.nasa.gov

Africa is on the up, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting growth of 6.1% next year compared to a global average of 4%.

However, chronic energy shortages mean that Africa is still very much the ‘Dark Continent’, with satellite maps showing a land in shadow next to the burning lights of Europe.

According to a report by the World Bank, the lack of reliable electricity represents a key barrier to development:

“School children often cannot read after dusk, businesses cannot grow, clinics cannot refrigerate medicine or vaccines, and industries are idled hampering economic growth, jobs, and livelihoods.”

So it is clear that Africa needs more energy, but the key challenge will be to achieve this increase in a way that does not heighten emissions from a continent acutely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

This is where the energy equation comes in, with the future of African prosperity dependent on meeting this formula:

Increased energy supply (x) + no rise in emissions (y) = sustainable prosperity (z)

Clearly, the difficulty comes when we consider what is currently seen as the best way to achieve x – increased fossil fuel extraction. Indeed, the resource potential of Africa is widely recognised, with Nigeria set to become the third largest supplier of natural gas in the coming years.

Return of King Coal reveals the lack of ambition behind UK energy policy

Coal-fired power stations are set to stay in Britain until well into the 2020s, as the dismal failure to increase renewable electricity generation to necessary levels comes to light.

Green-minded consumers will now be required to provide hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of subsidies to Britain’s coal power stations, which senior ministers say are necessary to avoid future electricity blackouts.

There could be no better evidence for the total lack of ambition behind the government’s policy towards renewables. The figures speak for themselves: Britain produced just 6.5% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2010, placing it third from bottom in the EU.

Percentage of electricity generated from renewables in EU countries:

Meanwhile, political will is driving a transition to renewable energy all over Europe. Denmark has a thriving green energy industry, with 28,000 workers employed in the production of wind turbines. This has radically transformed the Danish economy, and the country is on track to run entirely on renewables by 2050 .

Germany  is another success story, with 22% of electricity supply made up of green energy. Locally-owned energy cooperatives account for half of this total, while in the UK the corresponding figure is just ten percent.