Webinar: Bringing Power and Progress to Africa in a Financially and Environmentally Sustainable Manner
Advancement of the African electricity sector and $1-trillion investment opportunity.
The future of electricity supply and delivery on the continent of Africa is a thorny challenge that calls for new approaches to infrastructure planning, development, finance, and operation. Roughly 600 million people in Africa lack any access to electricity, and those who do have it suffer from very low levels of reliability and availability. Dramatic improvements in electricity access are therefore essential for Africa’s advancement.
The overarching questions: Will 20th-century approaches for electricity sector development based on centralized fossil fuel power plants be reinforced – with the potential to greatly exacerbate climate change emissions? Or can investments in 21st-century technologies (such as solar and wind energy, in smaller-scale and paired with storage) allow Africa to leapfrog to an electricity industry that is both more financeable and environmentally sustainable?
Drawing on a growing body of published research, the Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) (now the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability, IGS) presented major findings and observations from its new paper Bringing Power and Progress to Africa in a Financially and Environmentally Sustainable Manner. The comprehensive survey describes the current state and possible futures for the African electricity sector, including recommendations to guide decision-making and action. The report finds that there is roughly a $1-trillion capital need for new infrastructure investment in generation and grid assets to bring universal access across Africa – and clarifies how participants seeking to advance the African electricity sector must navigate carefully the various risks and obstacles that impede successful infrastructure development and operation.
Presentation SlidesKey questions and considerations:
- What is the potential for renewable energy expansion across Africa?
- Is a Pan-African electricity transmission grid viable?
- What is the role of distributed energy infrastructure?
- How can risks associated with new infrastructure investments be mitigated?
- How will COVID-19 and the global economic downturn affect the report’s conclusions and recommendations?
Introductory remarks: Peter Fox-Penner, Director, ISE
Moderator: Lawrence Jones, Senior Fellow, IGS and VP, Edison Electric Institute
Researchers:
- Richard Stuebi, Senior Fellow, ISE, Primary Author
- Edem Adukonu, Research Assistant, ISE