Renewable Energy Sources in Africa

As yet, the wind is untamed, unharnessed force; and quite possibly one of the greatest discoveries hereafter to be made, will be taming and harnessing of it. -Abraham Lincoln (1865) 

Indeed, a great mind is one who takes inspiration from history and is able to project future happenings and works towards it.

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas (GHG) that drives global climate change. It is released through numerous human, non-human, and industrial activities. Such activities include: deforestation, burning fossil fuels, and volcanic eruptions. The United Nations defines Renewable energy as energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. Renewable energy is also referred to as Alternative energy, generally indicating energies that are non- traditional and have a low impact on the environment. Low carbon emission is generating lower amounts of carbon dioxide using renewable energy sources.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) indicates that with the right policies, regulations, governance, and access to financial markets, Africa countries could meet up to 67 percent of its energy needs by 2030. This is at the backdrop of the fact that our continent is blessed with abundant renewable energy sources (i.e. wind, solar, hydro, and biomass) and as such most African countries have now scaled up their effort in the renewable energy drive.

Wind Energy: wind energy is a clean, domestic, sustainable fuel that is an abundant and inexhaustible source around us. The turbines are mostly placed in the windiest sites in the country. Wind energy is produced as the wind uses kinetic energy to turn the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor, which spins a generator, and creates electricity. This source of energy can be harnessed to add to the continent’s electricity grid.

Windmills, generating wind energy

Solar Energy: Sunlight is one of the continent’s most copious and freely available energy resources, thus solar energy sounds like perfect renewable energy for Africans.  Solar power is the conversion of renewable energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly by photovoltaics or indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination of both. Photovoltaics is the most common as it utilizes solar panels, so as the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel and this creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electric field in the cell, causing electricity to flow. Whilst concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat, which can be used to produce electricity or stored for later use. Solar energy systems come in varied shapes and sizes and they can be used in homes, offices, and shops. Solar energy systems can be combined with other renewable energy sources like wind and hydro. For instance, in Ghana, the Bui Power Authority has a 50mega-watts hydro-solar hybrid power generation system in Bui.

Solar panels

Hydro-power Energy: This is one of the oldest and most commercially developed clean energy in most of the African countries. Hydro-power is generated when a large reservoir is used to create a controlled flow of water that drives a turbine to generate electricity. In simple terms, Hydroelectric energy uses the power of moving water to generate electricity. Most conventional hydroelectric plants have a dam to control the flow of water, a turbine that spins due to the force of falling water pushing against its blades. Also, a generator converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electric energy, then transmission lines that conduct electricity from the hydro plants to our residential and commercial properties. Hydropower plants can serve as a flexible and reliable form of backup power, flood control purposes, irrigation support, and water supply.

Akosombo Dam, Ghana- West Africa Source: Depositphotos

Biomass Energy: This is the conversion of crops and waste materials (corn, soybeans, food processing residues), wood and wood processing waste (wood chips, furniture mill sawdust, and waste), animal manure, and human sewage to produce electricity. The chemical energy from these waste materials when burnt can either produce steam for making electricity or heat for industries and homes, thus generating power at a much lower economic and environmental cost. Bio-energy technologies include bio-fuel, bio-power, and bio-products. In a sense, fossil fuels are a one time gift that lifted us up from subsistence agriculture and eventually should lead us to a future based on renewable resources.

Saw dust used to generate Biomass Energy

As the population increases, the demand for energy in the continent keeps surging. Governments need to diversify their energy sources and put in policies and laws for sectors like manufacturing, and real estate to adopt these energy sources so as not to put pressure on the national grid. Implementing and expanding renewable sources of energy is significant in sustaining, improving our quality of lives and preserving the world from climate change.