How much 100% renewable energy in Africa would cost
A research report by Friend of the Earth International has detailed what it would cost for the world to operate on 100% renewable energy.
The total bill to power Africa, Latin America and Asia through solar, geothermal, wind and hydro energy, would amount to approximately $5.15 trillion – which would cover about half of the world’s power generation.
This is an investment equal to the wealth currently held by 0.00001% of the global population – or 782 of the world’s richest people, the group said.
The wealth of the world’s 53 richest people ($1.5 trillion) could power the whole of Africa with 100% renewable energy by 2030, while 32 of the world’s richest ($1.16 trillion) could power most of Latin America.
The report uses projections of energy demand from the IEA’s World Energy Outlook, which estimates that Africa will need to generate 1,540 TeraWatt hours of energy per year.
This is more than double the energy demand seen in 2012 (741 TWh per year).
Africa’s energy needs
Africa’s energy generation is currently reliant on fossil fuels, including coal, oil and gas power, which accounts for 82% of all power generated on the continent.
In an all-renewable future, these sources, as well as nuclear energy, would be reduced to zero, with Solar photovoltaics (Solar PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) taking over as the main energy sources – accounting for 70% of generation, and wind power adding another 18%.
“Africa has overall an excellent solar resource. Even in the equatorial regions which experience higher cloud cover, the solar GHI resource is among the best on the planet,” the report said.
“Outside of this equatorial band, in most of the northern and southern areas of the continent, the DNI resource (most relevant to CSP technology) is among the best on the planet”.
However, the cost to build this renewable energy future is not cheap.
According to the research group’s calculation, it would cost $2,550 to generate 1kW of CSP energy, and between $1,290 and $1,750 for 1kW of Solar PV.
In total, Africa would need an investment of $1.5 trillion for power plant or storage capacity.
South Africa energy
Looking at South Africa – another report by researchers Mark Jacobson and Mark Delucchi, details how the country could meet all its energy needs using wind, solar and water power by 2050.
Specifically, the country could meet over 60% of its energy needs through solar power (through solar plants and residential and commercial solar projects) while creating over 600,000 jobs through renewable energy projects.
South Africa renewable energy plan
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