An indicative assessment of investment opportunities in the African electricity supply sector

In the coming decades, demand for electricity will increase considerably on the African continent. Investment in power generation, transmission and distribution is necessary to meet this demand. In this paper a cost-optimization tool is used to assess investment opportunities under varying scenarios...

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Published inJournal of Energy in Southern Africa Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 2 - 12
Main Authors Taliotis, Constantinos, Miketa, Asami, Howells, Mark, Hermann, Sebastian, Welsch, Manuel, Broad, Oliver, Rogner, Holger, Bazilian, Morgan, Gielen, Dolf
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Portuguese
Published The Energy Research Centre of the University of Cape Town 01.02.2014
University of Cape Town
Subjects
Assessments
Continents
Economics
Electricity
electricity trade
Energy & Fuels
Environmental Sciences
Financing
International trade
Investment
Nuclear Science & Technology
power generation investment
Renewable energy
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Africa
electricity trade
power generation investment
renewable energy
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Summary:In the coming decades, demand for electricity will increase considerably on the African continent. Investment in power generation, transmission and distribution is necessary to meet this demand. In this paper a cost-optimization tool is used to assess investment opportunities under varying scenarios of GDP growth, electricity trade and CO sub(2) taxation. Business as usual fuel price outlooks are assumed, and related assumptions are relatively conservative. The goal is to find if there are economic indications that renewable energy might play a significant role in the expansion of the African electricity system. The results show that there is potential of renewable energy (RE) resources to have a significant share in the generation mix. By 2030, 42% and 55% of the total generation is powered by renewables in the high and low GDP scenarios respectively. Promotion of interregional trade can assist in unlocking RE potential across the continent, such as hydro in Central Africa and wind in East Africa; these regions are projected to be net exporters of electricity. Additionally, generation by off-grid technologies increases over time, reaching 12% of the total generation by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1021-447X
2413-3051
2413-3051
DOI:10.17159/2413-3051/2014/v25i1a2681