China is involved in many hydro-electric schemes across Africa

 Africa represents the greatest opportunity of any continent for renewable energy expansion. It has abundant natural energy resources including rivers, sunlight and wind to offset the increasing quantities of fossil fuel reserves that are being discovered and exploited.

The historical portrayal of Africa by its European colonial powers as “the dark continent” is now considered racist and patronizing. Yet by night Africa remains visibly darker than the rest of the world because of its poor electricity supply networks. This is gradually changing as both fossil fuel and renewable energy networks spread across the continent. Africa’s power supply is simultaneously challenging and filled with opportunity.

Rich resources

South Africa has historically been the brightest spot on the continent. Eskom, South Africa’s national power company, is the world’s seventh largest power generator by capacity and produces 260 gigawatt hours of power, less than 5 percent of China’s present output, per year. Although Eskom produces 38 percent of Africa’s electricity output, the primary beneficiaries are corporate customers and city dwellers. Most of this power is coal generated as South Africa has the world’s sixth largest coal reserves.

Yet Africa is richly blessed with sources of sustainable renewable energy. In October 2013, an agreement was made between Eskom and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to exploit what is potentially the world’s largest hydro-electric scheme. The Grand Inga project on the Congo River has been discussed for decades but has been stalled by political instability.

Grand Inga will not involve a massive dam, rather it will follow the “run-of-river” model because of the steep river gradient. This mega-project could eventually have a capacity of 40 mw, twice the size of the world’s largest hydropower plant, China Three Gorges Corp. SinoHydro, the Chinese company mainly responsible for the building of the Three Gorges Dam, is a leading bidder for Grand Inga.

Besides this project China is already involved in numerous other hydro-electric schemes across Africa, from the highly controversial Gibe III dam on the Omo River in Ethiopia to other less disputed projects in Nigeria, Mozambique, Gabon and Sudan. The involvement of Chinese banks, businesses and expertise illustrates the attractive potential in assisting the development of African energy resources.

Beside these large hydro-electric schemes there are numerous smaller projects on the go around the continent. These are often preferable to mega-projects because they usually use run-of-river methods which create less social and ecological disruption and encourage energy decentralization.

Energy opportunities

However this does not mean that any such projects should be engaged without due diligence or oversight. The autocratic leadership styles evident in some African nations often fail to adequately address social and environmental management. This can result in unintended negative impacts which are easily avoided by more careful planning and consultation.

Africa has other abundant renewable energy resources begging to be exploited. Solar power is especially exciting. Vast areas of Africa are arid desert or semi-desert. This offers ideal cloud- and smog-free conditions, providing an annual potential for over 2,000 kw hours per square meter over most of Africa.

The European Union has expressed interest in constructing an ambitious solar electric project in North Africa called Desert- Tec. This involves the EU, Middle Eastern and North African participation. While political uncertainty, technical and cost challenges have apparently temporarily stalled Desert-Tec, there is no reason that this or similar mega-solar projects cannot be pursued by other parties including China or members of the African Union.

Significant opportunities also exist around expanding essential research on related technology such as high-voltage, direct current switch-gear and transmission technology, which is advantageous for long distance power transmission. These can create important spin-offs for projects like Grand Inga and Desert-Tec. Another development opportunity exists around the design and construction of modular concentrated solar power (CSP) units which are more financially competitive when economies of scale are introduced.

As the world’s largest, lowest cost producer of solar panels, China has a unique opportunity to tap into its photo-voltaic (PV) panel production over-capacity to supply the growing African PV market. While large scale PV solar farms have expanded in Africa, they are also useful for energy supply in remote rural areas. Extensive Chinese expertise in this field can provide useful insights both for developmental projects like medical, communication and educational infrastructure, as well as for residential use in areas otherwise unlikely to benefit from access to primary power grids.

China-Africa cooperation

China and Africa are also both expanding their use of solar water heating units. However the growth of this particular industry is more limited for Africa given that the generally warmer climatic conditions make domestic water heating less important than in temperate climates such as Central Asia or Europe.

Another major area of renewable energy expansion in Africa involves the growth of wind energy installations. There is significant wind energy potential across the continent, especially in the tropical zones exposed to the trade winds, along with the extreme north and south of the continent. The large wind generator market in Africa is presently dominated by European manufacturers. Consequently, opportunities arise for emerging wind generator manufacturers such as China to move aggressively into this market.

Some interesting possibilities also exist in experimental renewable power generation, especially around oceanic wave and current generation technology. Potential is highest along the southern, north-western and northeastern African coasts, where currents and wave energy is strongest.

Finally, Africa urgently needs to expand its electricity grid network in order to spread the advantages of decentralized renewable and conventional energy sources. China has gained extensive expertise in expanding its power grid backbone. It can potentially share this knowledge with Africa by developing this critical infrastructure, possibly employing both the existing alternating and experimental direct current technologies.

The space for synergy in expanding renewable energy between Africa and China is huge, both from the practical and from the carbon offset perspectives. There is also mutual political advantage to be gained by enhanced cooperation in this important field of development. As the world shifts from its reliance on fossil fuels, the benefits of global cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources will become increasingly evident. 

( Glenn Ashton is a South African professional environmental consultant, author and columnist )