Energy Technologies In Africa Research Articles

Effect of green taxation on renewable energy technologies: an analysis of commonwealth and non-commonwealth countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

African nations encounter difficulties enforcing regulations and providing incentives for using renewable energy sources. However, several nations are making efforts to encourage renewable energy through financial and tax advantages. Therefore, a shift to renewable energy is essential for African nations to experience sustainable growth and lessen environmental deterioration. Similarly, the extant literature examining green taxes' influence on renewable energy technology has documented equivocal findings. Hence, there is a need for a more thorough investigation. This study, therefore, explores the influence of green taxation on renewable energy technologies of emerging countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We employed data from a sample of 28 countries of 54 African countries spanning 21years from 2001 to 2021, providing a panel of 588 country-year observations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank Dataset provided all the study's data. A heterogeneous dynamic panel data modelling using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) has been adopted. The study found that green taxes might be used to mitigate the adverse effects of non-renewable energy activities on the environment in Africa. Considering the findings of the components of green taxes, it was recognised that an increase in energy-related tariffs would lead to a growth in Africa's use of renewable energy. It was further established that an increase in transport taxes increases the adoption of renewable energy technologies in Africa. A comparative analysis between the commonwealth and non-commonwealth countries showed that green taxes of commonwealth countries in Africa significantly contribute to the growth of renewable energy technologies compared to non-commonwealth countries in Africa. Primarily, the results of this study can be a valuable resource for African governments and policymakers as they develop policies and evaluate legislation about the usage of renewable energy sources and other green practices. Finally, the study can shed light on creating and using efficient tax laws that support renewable energy sources.

Unlocking Opportunities in Renewable Energy Technologies in Africa: The Role of Development Financial Institutions


 
 
 
 Climate change and global warming are undeniably undermining global development with developing or emerging economies being the worse hit in this unfortunate development. In recent times, it has become necessary to adopt effective adaptation measures that mitigate the impact of climate change on the social, political, and economic environment. A global shift to low-carbon energy technologies through the gradual integration of renewable energy resources in the global energy mix has been generally proposed. Whilst legal and regulatory initiatives are indeed crucial in driving this global energy transition, it is equally imperative that the necessary capital is unlocked to finance the construction, development, and expansion of renewable energy projects in Africa. This paper focused on examining the impact of renewable energy technologies on climate change mitigation, and analysed the role of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in unlocking the vast opportunities associated with renewable energy technologies or projects, with a view to driving the clean energy transition in Africa.
 
 
 

Impact of cost, returns and investments: Towards renewable energy generation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite the importance of cost of capital and expected returns from investing on renewable electricity generation in Africa on one hand and the implications of such investments on economic, social and environmental factors on the other. These concepts are not well understood by non-finance and finance actors respectively. Studies that analyze renewable energy-growth nexus at regional and global level are lacking. Instead, existing studies emphasize on individual countries or panel of countries. The paper undertakes comparisons of costs and returns of selected renewable energy technologies in Africa and presents estimates of its impact on Africa's economic growth between 1990 and 2014. Even with abundant renewable resources and well performing technologies measured using levelized cost of electricity and expected internal rate of return, investment on renewable electricity generation is quite low. Findings from Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach and cointegration established a long run relationship among hydro power generation, carbon emissions and electricity consumption. Error Correction Model results suggest that investment in renewable generations excluding hydro power generation is boosted by economic growth, so long as development of such renewables corresponds with lesser carbon emissions. To accelerate renewable development, SSA countries will need to deploy initiatives that enhances national economic growth.

Desirable or debatable? Putting Africa's decentralised solar energy futures in context

After decades of terrible ecological impacts, inefficiencies, corruption, and spatial injustices associated with dependencies on both centralised power generation and distribution in Africa, decentralised solar photovoltaic (PV) electrification is presented in the literature as an ‘irresistible’ alternative or complement necessary for a just, development-oriented and low-carbon energy transition. Affordable decentralised solar energy systems, however, currently have restrictive usage whereas systems with a larger capacity are accessible to a few richer social groups. The massive promotion of decentralised solar electrification does not even guarantee energy justice for all. This is due to contested notions of entitlements to and use of grid-based and off-grid electricity, relative spatial advantages or disadvantages, practical constraints linked to the pursuit of low-carbon energy solutions – particularly in situations where people/governments do not feel (morally) obliged to make commitments to climate change mitigation, and monopolistic tendencies of electricity distributors/suppliers. Furthermore, many electricity users in Africa lack the technical know-how and financial resources required for efficient self-organisation of decentralised solar PV electrification. Meanwhile, paradoxically, global north actors championing low-carbon energy technologies in Africa are sustaining their economies via massive use of fossil fuels – a behaviour referred to as ‘energy bullying’. Nonetheless, these quandaries should not be taken to imply ‘throwing away the baby with the bathwater’. Evidence presented from four idiographic cases suggests even that though context/country-specific conditions are decisive of the desirability of decentralised solar energy systems, certain general conditions necessary for the wider development of the technology in Africa are still discernible.

Financial de-risking to unlock Africa's renewable energy potential

African countries are in a unique position to reap the socio-economic and environmental benefits of renewable resources as a means for meeting increasing energy demand in a sustainable way. A critical obstacle for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in Africa is the difficulty of attracting sufficient and affordable finance. This paper compares the impact of financial conditions on the cost of electricity generation across six renewable and three fossil-based technologies in 46 African countries. The results show large cost variations and highlight the extent to which renewables are disadvantaged by current financial practices. The energy-economy-environment model TIAM-ECN is used to show how lowering financing costs results in a much higher deployment of renewables. For example, solar PV could account for 10–15% of total electricity generation by 2050, even without explicit climate policy, thanks to financial de-risking programmes. The results demonstrate that changes in financing schemes could outweigh the impact of technology learning. This paper also demonstrates that, once ambitious climate policies are in place, reducing financing costs for renewables could be an efficient way to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Financial de-risking is thus a key ingredient for unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa.

An integrated assessment of pathways for low-carbon development in Africa

In this paper we investigate the prospects for the large-scale use of low-emission energy technologies in Africa. Many African countries have recently experienced substantial economic growth and aim at fulfilling much of the energy needs associated with continuing along paths of economic expansion by exploiting their large domestic potentials of renewable forms of energy. Important benefits of the abundant renewable energy resources in Africa are that they allow for stimulating economic development, increasing energy access and alleviating poverty, while simultaneously avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases. In this study we analyse what the likely energy demand in Africa could be until 2050, and inspect multiple scenarios for the concomitant levels of greenhouse gas emissions and emission intensities. We use the TIAM-ECN model for our study, which enawbbles detailed energy systems research through a technology-rich cost-minimisation procedure. The results from our analysis fully support an Africa-led effort to substantially enhance the use of the continent's renewable energy potential. But they suggest that the current aim of achieving 300 GW of additional renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030 is perhaps unrealistic, even given high GDP and population growth: we find figures that are close to half this level. On the other hand, we find evidence for leap-frogging opportunities, by which renewable energy options rather than fossil fuels could constitute the cost-optimal solution to fulfil most of Africa's growing energy requirements. An important benefit of leap-frogging is that it avoids an ultimately expensive fossil fuels lock-in that would fix the carbon footprint of the continent until at least the middle of the century.

Africa and the export of China’s clean energy revolution

The spectacular scale and speed of China’s domestic renewable energy capacity development and technology catch-up has in recent years been followed by the ‘go out’ of Chinese clean energy technology firms seeking new markets and opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the growing involvement of China in the development and transfer of renewable energy technologies in Africa and examines the key drivers and obstacles shaping Chinese renewable energy investments and exports. Far from there being some kind of grand or harmonious strategy directed by a single monolithic state, we argue that fragmented and decentralised state apparatuses and quasi-market actors in China are increasingly pursuing their own independent interests and agendas around renewable energy in Africa in ways often marked by conflict, inconsistency and incoherence. Moving beyond the state-centric analysis common in much of the research on contemporary China–Africa relations, we examine the motivations of a range of non-state and quasi-state actors, as well their different perceptions and constructions of risk, policy environments and political stability in recipient countries. The paper explores the case study example of South Africa, where Chinese firms have become increasingly significant in the diffusion of renewable energy technology.

Biomass‐derived hydrogen energy potential in Africa

Researchers in recent times have been looking at the promising potential of hydrogen energy. This potential when fully realized can help meet the growing global energy demand which has been as a result of population growth. In this context, hydrogen energy potential from the fuel wood and agricultural residue produced in African countries is assessed. This study analyses annual electricity consumption displacement when hydrogen energy is used for electrification purposes. The results show that Africa has the potential to produce a total of about 350,000 GWh of hydrogen energy from fuel wood and agricultural residue annually. Also, more than a 100% of the annual electricity consumption in West Africa can be displaced by hydrogen energy from these biomass resources. Annual motor‐gasoline consumption displacement and direct CO2 emission reductions as a result of using hydrogen energy are also studied in this article. This study is the first of its kind and serves as a baseline for the life cycle assessment of hydrogen energy technologies in Africa. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 289–297, 2016

Adopting latecomers' strategies for the development of renewable energy technology in Africa

The overall objective of this paper is to develop strategies on how renewable energy technology could be used to abate climate change impacts in Africa. While assessing the potential impacts of climate change in Africa, the paper asserts that renewable energy is capable of overcoming the challenges of energy access in Africa as a result of the abundance of land, water and feedstocks. It reiterates the fact that the fossil-fuel-dependent industrialisation pathway is not sustainable. The paper develops a model for African countries based on the concept of a latecomer strategy, which could be used to catch up with advanced countries in the manufacturing and diffusion of clean energy technologies. The paper concludes that renewable energy technology is not just another option for the continent but the only option. More importantly, the adoption of the strategy will enable African countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a cleaner atmosphere in their cities.

Selection of renewable energy technologies for Africa: Eight case studies in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi

Renewable energy technologies need to be implemented to improve the current lack of access to energy on the African continent. However, the implementation of renewable energy technologies in Africa often fails, or the technologies are found to be unsustainable in the longer term. Previous research determined eleven factors that should be taken into account for the selection of sustainable, renewable energy technologies in Africa. The purpose of this research was to confirm and build upon these findings by means of eight case studies that were conducted in Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. Various individuals from implementing agencies, as well as end users of the various technologies, were interviewed, while secondary data were gathered in the form of project reports and other documentation. The analyses of the data confirm the importance of the eleven factors that were previously identified. A final set of thirteen factors that should be used for the selection of renewable technologies are proposed.

Overcoming financial barriers to wider use of renewable energy technology in Africa

Future energy demand in Africa will rise dramatically due to development desires and increased industrial needs. Coping with this demand will pose a serious challenge because of the economic and environmental constraints of the continent. Exploiting its vast renewable energy sources for this purpose will assist greatly, but financial and other barriers to the rapid growth of associated technologies are significant. This paper explores measures that can be implemented to reduce these financial barriers. The analyses, which are based on lessons from experiences in and out of the region, show that replicating and enhancing current initiatives along with the implementation of suggested policy options could substantially increase the use of renewable energy technologies in Africa.

Renewable Energy Technologies in Africa: Retrospect & Prospects

Africa's renewable energy resource base is large. Traditional patterns of energy use have resulted in widespread environmental degradation. Renewable energy technologies are capable of harnessing this energy on a sustainable basis. However, despite some notable successes, efforts to disseminate these tech nologies have resulted in numerous failures. The failure of such efforts has been attributed to a variety of problems which have yet to be evaluated in a comprehensive and policy-relevant form. Such analysis is prerequisite to enabling policy-makers to act effectively.

Towards sustainable renewable energy technology in Africa

This paper is an appraisal of the mitigating factors against the sustainable development and diffusion of renewable energy technology in Africa. Further discussion also addresses the strategies that need to be adopted in order to overcome these constraints which are impeding the general technological and economic growth of the continent.