Building a sustainable energy base

Energy is fundamental to poverty reduction and economic transformation of Africa. Its production and use affects the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the continent’s development. The availability and use of energy will to large extent determine how and whether African countries increase agricultural productivity, provide safe water, achieve higher levels of industrialization, and efficiently use information and communications technologies to get integrated into the global economy. The nature and range of energy sources that the continent develops and uses will determine how well its natural environment is sustained. However, most African countries face various forms of energy insecurity. They rely on a narrow range of energy sources that endanger environmental safety. The Human Development Report 2001, Making New Technologies Work For The Poor, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) shows that a majority of African countries rely on traditional fuel, mainly fuel-wood. A large part of the continent’s population lacks access to reliable, affordable and socially acceptable energy services. Energy consumption is uneven between rural and urban areas within many countries. In addition, most African countries do not have efficient energy systems. The available scarce energy is often not efficiently harnessed and utilized.

African countries have explicitly committed themselves to paragraph 109 of the NEPAD framework to develop affordable energy systems to reverse environmental degradation that is associated with the use of traditional fuels in rural areas, and exploit and develop the hydropower potential of the river basins of Africa.

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) the international community committed itself to supporting Africa to effectively address the energy challenges. Chapter 8 paragraph j of the Plan of Implementation from WSSD is dedicated to energy issues. It specifically focuses on: (a) the need to “[e]stablish and promote programmes, partnerships and initiatives to support Africa’s efforts to implement NEPAD objectives on energy, which seek to secure access for at least 35 per cent of the African population within 20 years, especially in rural areas” and (b) “support to implement other initiatives on energy, including the promotion of cleaner and more efficient use of natural gas and increased use of renewable energy, and to improve energy efficiency and access to advanced energy technologies, including cleaner fossil fuel technologies, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas.”

Meeting the NEPAD energy goals will require investments in scientific research and technological innovation. The first NEPAD Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology articulated this point and identified target areas for a comprehensive African programme for energy research and technology development. These areas include:

1. information on and knowledge of existing appropriate energy technologies;
2. R&D to develop new alternative energy technologies; and
3. commercialization and/or access of energy technologies.

Programme Objectives

The overall objective of this programme is to enlarge Africa’s energy security through the generation and application of scientific knowledge and related technological innovations.

Its specific goals are to:

• Increase rural and urban access to environmentally-sound energy sources and technologies;
• Improve energy efficiency; and
• Increase or enlarge the range of energy sources and technologies for household and commercial uses.

Indicative Projects and Actions

These goals will be achieved through specific projects. During the next three to five years, the following projects will form the core activities of the flagship programme.

Project 1: Developing an African Databank of Energy Research and Technologies

To improve Africa’s access to and use of environmentally sound energy sources and technologies, a continental databank or information base will be created. This will be done through a comprehensive energy technology assessment and foresight exercise. The exercise will cover such aspects as status of energy research and innovation, specific national and common African energy needs, global trends in energy research and technologies, impacts of different energy technologies, and the nature of market/costs of various types of technologies.

It will be conducted by relevant competent national authorities in African countries supported by African experts and international partners.

Specific activities and actions to be taken will include the following:

• Preparation of relevant materials for training national teams to conduct energy technology assessment and foresights;
• Training workshops on energy technology assessments and foresights;
• Launch and conduct of national energy technology assessments and foresights;
• Based on national assessments and foresights, develop a comprehensive continental databank of energy technologies; and
• Support countries to develop and/or improve energy technology procurement policies and strategies.

Project 2: Research on and development of bio-energy technologies and other renewable energy sources

The production of energy in Africa and other parts of the world is increasingly being determined by environmental, in addition to social, economic and technical, factors. International and local concerns over global warming and climate change have given more impetus to research on renewable sources of energy. A large share of the continent’s energy needs will need to be met from renewable sources.

This project area will aim at enlarging the range of renewable energy technologies. Its emphasis will be on sustainable use of the continent’s bioresources (such as wood and solid wood residues). The project will build capacity for combined heat and electricity production based on local resources. In collaboration with international partners, designated African centres will conduct R&D on the following:

• fluidised bed gasification of biomass or recovered fuel;
• integrated harvesting techniques for forest fuels; and
• pyrolysis to generate liquid biofuels.

Other R&D areas and themes will be identified based on technical workshops to be conducted by designated centres. Such energy sources as hydrogen and fuel cells will be explored with the aim of building the capacity of the continent to participate in related international R&D programmes.

Institutional Arrangements for Implementation

The above and related projects will be further developed and implemented by a proposed African Energy Research and Innovation (AERI) Network. The AERI will be configured as a network of designated centres of excellence in scientific research and technological innovation in energy.

Specific actions to establish AERI will include the following:

• Designing and adoption of specific criteria and guidelines for identifying centres of excellence
• Identification and designation of regional hubs using the criteria and guidelines
• Formulation and completion of network agreement and business plans by the designated hubs.