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| Fig. 1: A mobile phone charging stand in Uganda. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Africa is home to six of the top 10 countries with the fastest real GDP growth. [1] With a population of 1.2 billion, Africa will be home to one of every two newborns between now and 2050 worldwide born and see its population double by 2050. [2] With no doubt, Africa is on a growth trajectory, and in certain aspects, such as the adoption of mobile technology, Africa has leapfrogged and made tremendous achievement. For instance, over 93% of the population in Africa have access to cell phone service. However, many basic services and infrastructures, such as access to electricity, have yet to keep pace with the scale of economic and population growth. To this date, access remains the most pressing energy-related problems in Africa with more than 60% of the population still lacked access to electricity. [3]
In the past decade, cell phone services have reached most of the population in Africa and changed how they connect and communicate. With cell phone communications, or even mobile money and banking, becoming the norm, Africa has completely leapfrogged the landline communication technology into a mobile age. However, with such limited access to electricity and the high-level cell phone penetration, charging a mobile phone becomes much more challenging than simply plugging a charger in the wall. Many needs to walk miles to town and find a charging station, like the one shown in Fig. 1, to charge their phone. Some come up with creative ways to use solar energy to ensure their cellphones stay powered on. [4]
With the cost of solar dropped significantly in the past decade, rooftop and distributed solar systems have become the source of electricity for many in Africa. A solar panel may be sufficient to charge dozens of cellphones or a few light-bulbs. However, if demand for electricity experience a fourfold increase by 2040 as predicted, distributed solar would not be enough to supply the energy needed for powering appliances and industrial facilities across the continent. [5]
The great news is that Africa is rich in potential power-generation capacity, especially from clean, renewable sources. Currently, it is estimated that there is 1.2 TW of generation capacity excluding solar. More importantly, there is a 10 TW potential solar generation capacity throughout sub-Sahara Africa. By 2040, it was predicted that more than 25% of electricity generation would come from renewable sources such as solar, hydro, geothermal and wind. [5]
Though there is abundant potential generation capacity in providing energy access to the population in Africa, Energy Efficiency is also a critical energy resource for bridging the gap between supply and demand. As the lowest-cost energy source, Energy Efficiency can free up capacity to further improve access and has been widely considered to be able to deliver $3 savings back to the economy for every $1 of investment. [6] Though several countries, such as Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa, have implemented Energy Efficiency standards and labeling, Energy Efficiency is still less of a priority for many countries in Africa. Significant barriers to adopt Energy Efficiency includes the lack of public awareness and supporting policy incentives. [7] However, to achieve a sustainable energy future for Africa, countries should consider both improving access and energy efficiency at the same time.
© Xinbei Guan. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Global Economic Prospects," The World Bank Group, June 2018.
[2] J. J. Bish, "Population Growth in Africa: Grasping the Scale of the Challenge," The Guardian, 11 Jan 16.
[3] P. Parke, "More Africans Have Access to Cell Phone Service Than Piped Water," CNN, 19 Jan 16.
[4] M. Chifamba, "Mobile Phones Big Hit in Rural Zimbabwe," IPS News Agency, 4 Sep 13.
[5] A. Castellano et al., "Brighter Africa: The Growth Potential of the Sub-Saharan Electricity Sector," McKinsey and Company, February 2015.
[6] S. C. Smith and M. Jordan, "Energy Efficiency and the Future of African Energy," ESI Africa, 9 Dec 16.
[7] A. Hibbard, B. Batidziraifrom, and D. L. Musukwa, "Accelerating Energy Efficiency: Initiatives and Opportunities - Africa," Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency, August 2015.
