Energy Status in Africa: Challenges, Progress and Sustainable Pathways
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Date
2023
Authors
Agoundedemba, Maklewa
Kim, Chang Ki
Kim, Hyun-Goo
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Access to modern energy is essential for socioeconomic development, yet Africa faces
significant challenges in this regard. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is marked by economic
underdevelopment and poverty largely due to the non-environmentally friendly energy used (wood,
charcoal) and limited access to modern energy resources. Indeed, this review provides an overview
of the African energy landscape; it provides a comprehensive renewables-focused energy pathway
for developing a cleaner and more sustainable African energy system. It explores end-use sector
electrification in both rural and urban areas in Africa. It emphasizes the rapid expansion of renewable
generation, the challenges facing and solutions for the implementation of renewable energy, and the
role of emerging technologies. It also presents technological pathways and investment opportunities
that will enrich the regional debate and help accelerate the energy transformation across Africa. The
analysis demonstrated that the current trends of renewable energy used are hydropower, wind power,
biomass, and geothermal energy. The electrification rate in West Africa is less than 58% in urban
areas and less than 25% in rural areas. Results show that 65% of the SSA population does not have
access to electricity and 81% rely on wood and charcoal. In West Africa, only Ghana (70% or so) and
Cape Verde (95.9% or so) have equitable access to electricity between rural and urban areas. The
potentiality of solar irradiance in Africa ranges between 3 and 7 KWh/m2/day. The wind speed
ranges from 3 m/s to 10 m/s; the wave power can range from 7 to 25 kW/m per site in island regions.
Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tunisia, and South Africa are, respectively, countries leading in wind
power technology, and solar energy technology was more advanced in North Africa and South Africa.
Finally, geothermal is only developed in Kenya and Tanzania and Kenya is the leader in that field.
Although renewable energy in Africa is still growing year to year, it still faces power outages because
most renewable energy potentialities are not yet exploited, the technologies used are weak, there
is insufficient funding, there is ineffective infrastructure, and there are inadequate or no policies in
that field.
Description
Article
Keywords
solar energy, Africa, wind power, energy status, energy policy
Citation
Agoundedemba, M., Kim, C. K., & Kim, H. G. (2023). Energy Status in Africa: Challenges, Progress and Sustainable Pathways. Energies, 16(23), 7708.