Energy Shift

　　Africa represents the greatest opportunity of any continent for renewable energy expansion. It hasabundant natural energy resources including rivers， sunlightand wind to offset the increasing quantities of fossilfuel reserves that are being discovered and exploited.

　　The historical portrayal of Africa by its Europeancolonial powers as “the dark continent” is now consideredracist and patronizing. Yet by night Africa remains visiblydarker than the rest of the world because of its poor electricitysupply networks. This is gradually changing as bothfossil fuel and renewable energy networks spread acrossthe continent. Africa’s power supply is simultaneouslychallenging and filled with opportunity.

　　Rich resources

　　South Africa has historically been the brightest spot on thecontinent. Eskom， South Africa’s national power company，is the world’s seventh largest power generator by capacityand produces 260 gigawatt hours of power， less than5 percent of China’s present output， per year. AlthoughEskom produces 38 percent of Africa’s electricity output，the primary beneficiaries are corporate customers and citydwellers. Most of this power is coal generated as SouthAfrica has the world’s sixth largest coal reserves.Yet Africa is richly blessed with sources of sustainablerenewable energy. In October 2013， an agreement wasmade between Eskom and the Democratic Republic ofthe Congo to exploit what is potentially the world’s largesthydro-electric scheme. The Grand Inga project on theCongo River has been discussed for decades but has beenstalled by political instability.

　　Grand Inga will not involve a massive dam， rather itwill follow the “run-of-river” model because of the steepriver gradient. This mega-project could eventually have acapacity of 40 mw， twice the size of the world’s largest hydropowerplant， China Three Gorges Corp. SinoHydro， theChinese company mainly responsible for the building ofthe Three Gorges Dam， is a leading bidder for Grand Inga.Besides this project China isalready involved in numerousother hydro-electric schemesacross Africa， from the highlycontroversial Gibe III dam onthe Omo River in Ethiopia toother less disputed projects inNigeria， Mozambique， Gabonand Sudan. The involvementof Chinese banks， businessesand expertise illustrates theattractive potential in assistingthe development of Africanenergy resources.

　　Beside these large hydro-electric schemes thereare numerous smaller projects on the go around thecontinent. These are often preferable to mega-projectsbecause they usually use run-of-river methods whichcreate less social and ecological disruption and encourageenergy decentralization.

　　Energy opportunities

　　However this does not mean that any such projectsshould be engaged without due diligence or oversight.The autocratic leadership styles evident in some Africannations often fail to adequately address social and environmentalmanagement. This can result in unintendednegative impacts which are easily avoided by more carefulplanning and consultation.

　　Africa has other abundant renewable energy resourcesbegging to be exploited. Solar power is especially exciting.Vast areas of Africa are arid desert or semi-desert. Thisoffers ideal cloud- and smog-freeconditions， providing an annualpotential for over 2，000 kw hoursper square meter over most ofAfrica.

　　The European Union hasexpressed interest in constructingan ambitious solar electric projectin North Africa called Desert-Tec. This involves the EU， MiddleEastern and North African participation. While politicaluncertainty， technical and cost challenges have apparentlytemporarily stalled Desert-Tec， there is no reason that thisor similar mega-solar projects cannot be pursued by otherparties including China or members of the African Union.Significant opportunities also exist around expand-ing essential research on related technology such ashigh-voltage， direct current switch-gear and transmissiontechnology， which is advantageous for long distancepower transmission. These can create important spin-offsfor projects like Grand Inga and Desert-Tec. Anotherdevelopment opportunity exists around the design andconstruction of modular concentrated solar power (CSP)units which are more financially competitive when economiesof scale are introduced.

　　As the world’s largest， lowest cost producer of solarpanels， China has a unique opportunity to tap into itsphoto-voltaic (PV) panel production over-capacity to supplythe growing African PV market. While large scale PVsolar farms have expanded in Africa， they are also usefulfor energy supply in remote rural areas. Extensive Chineseexpertise in this field can provide useful insights both fordevelopmental projects like medical， communicationand educational infrastructure， as well as forresidential use in areas otherwise unlikely to benefitfrom access to primary power grids.

　　China-Africa cooperation

　　China and Africa are also both expanding their useof solar water heating units. However the growthof this particular industry is more limited forAfrica given that the generally warmer climaticconditions make domestic water heating lessimportant than in temperate climates such asCentral Asia or Europe.

　　Another major area of renewable energyexpansion in Africa involves the growth ofwind energy installations. There is significantwind energy potential across the continent，especially in the tropical zones exposed to thetrade winds， along with the extreme north and south ofthe continent. The large wind generator market in Africa ispresently dominated by European manufacturers. Consequently，opportunities arise for emerging wind generatormanufacturers such as China to move aggressively intothis market.

　　Some interesting possibilities also exist in experimentalrenewable power generation， especially around oceanicwave and current generation technology. Potential ishighest along the southern， north-western and northeasternAfrican coasts， where currents and wave energyis strongest.

　　Finally， Africa urgently needs to expand its electricitygrid network in order to spread the advantages ofdecentralized renewable and conventional energysources. China has gained extensive expertise in expandingits power grid backbone. It can potentially share thisknowledge with Africa by developing this criticalinfrastructure， possibly employing both theexisting alternating and experimental directcurrent technologies.

　　The space for synergy in expanding renewableenergy between Africa and China is huge，both from the practical and from the carbonoffset perspectives. There is also mutualpolitical advantage to be gained by enhancedcooperation in this important field of development.

　　As the world shifts from its relianceon fossil fuels， the benefits of global cooperationin the development of renewable energysources will become increasingly evident.