2 African Energy Challenges in the Transition Era …
51
through policy responses and regional cooperative engagements for both
region’s energy sector, with the aim of attaining affordable energy and
sustainability goals.
2.3.1 Planning Deficit for Energy System Capacity
Electricity scarcity for both ECOWAS and SADC region has frustrated
economic growth and prevented their ability to attain various goals
relating to health, education and manufacturing industry to make a
major impact in the world export market.
50 This can be linked to inadequate capacity for generation for grid-connected regions, absence of
proper grid infrastructure to provide generated power, poor maintenance
of generation plants, regulatory bottlenecks that inhibit the constant flow
of revenue to maintain existing and invest in future generation capacity,
and the dispersal of the population in remote areas. This improper energy
system planning where either generation capacities would be located
quite remotely from the urban and rural population has resulted in
high transmission costs and led to distribution losses, and created high
reliance on large dams and expensive diesel plants.
51 Each region should
undertake a critical analysis of its energy potential and the location
of its population before choosing the type of generation capacity that
will serve its purpose. As a result, they should take into consideration;
environmental impacts, the variable nature of some energy source, the
peak demand periods. Electricity energy generation, transmission and
distribution involve capital, and strategic planning can go a long way
in ramping up the system’s productivity.
52 It is, therefore, the assertion
of this work that it is not the lack of capacity rather the absence of a
proper strategic energy planning systems that significantly affects access
to energy in these regions.
50 Africa Progress Panel, ‘Power, People, Planet: Seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate Opportunities’, Africa Progress Report (Geneva, 2015), https://reliefweb.int/report/world/africa-progressreport-2015-power-people-planet-seizing-africas-energy-and-climate, accessed March 10, 2020.
51 F Ueckerdt and R Kempener, ‘From Baseload to Peak: Renewables Provide a Reliable
Solution’, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)—Working Paper (Abu Dhabi,
2015), www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/IRENA_Baseload_to_Peak_2015.pdf,
accessed March 20, 2020.
52 Ibid.
51
through policy responses and regional cooperative engagements for both
region’s energy sector, with the aim of attaining affordable energy and
sustainability goals.
2.3.1 Planning Deficit for Energy System Capacity
Electricity scarcity for both ECOWAS and SADC region has frustrated
economic growth and prevented their ability to attain various goals
relating to health, education and manufacturing industry to make a
major impact in the world export market.
50 This can be linked to inadequate capacity for generation for grid-connected regions, absence of
proper grid infrastructure to provide generated power, poor maintenance
of generation plants, regulatory bottlenecks that inhibit the constant flow
of revenue to maintain existing and invest in future generation capacity,
and the dispersal of the population in remote areas. This improper energy
system planning where either generation capacities would be located
quite remotely from the urban and rural population has resulted in
high transmission costs and led to distribution losses, and created high
reliance on large dams and expensive diesel plants.
51 Each region should
undertake a critical analysis of its energy potential and the location
of its population before choosing the type of generation capacity that
will serve its purpose. As a result, they should take into consideration;
environmental impacts, the variable nature of some energy source, the
peak demand periods. Electricity energy generation, transmission and
distribution involve capital, and strategic planning can go a long way
in ramping up the system’s productivity.
52 It is, therefore, the assertion
of this work that it is not the lack of capacity rather the absence of a
proper strategic energy planning systems that significantly affects access
to energy in these regions.
50 Africa Progress Panel, ‘Power, People, Planet: Seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate Opportunities’, Africa Progress Report (Geneva, 2015), https://reliefweb.int/report/world/africa-progressreport-2015-power-people-planet-seizing-africas-energy-and-climate, accessed March 10, 2020.
51 F Ueckerdt and R Kempener, ‘From Baseload to Peak: Renewables Provide a Reliable
Solution’, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)—Working Paper (Abu Dhabi,
2015), www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/IRENA_Baseload_to_Peak_2015.pdf,
accessed March 20, 2020.
52 Ibid.