The Future of Africa Is Coming from the Sun

I did write this Op-Ed as one of my assignments for my Energy for The Future class, as I was finishing my Junior year.

"The Sun is a clean, free, and renewable energy source available to all. Solar power is energy delivered from the sun and converted into, for our purposes, electrical energy. It is necessary the auxiliary of solar technologies to harness this energy to generate electricity – photovoltaics, solar heating, and cooling, or concentrating solar power, which is used to operate Solar Power Plants.

According to Lou Kraft, Chief Executive Officer of SolSuntech Inc. – a solar panel manufacturing company, 85 percent of African land receives more than 2,000 kilowatt-hours of solar energy per square meter per year. However, as observed in the figure below (Figure 1), it currently averages a 43 percent access rate to electricity. This number is half of the entire global access rate (87 percent). 

   

As much as we talk about price, the biggest obstacle to deploying solar energy in Africa is “believing that it is feasible,” said Mustapha Bakkoury, chairman of the board of Morocco’s Solar Energy Agency, during a panel at Africa CEO Forum. The lack of understanding of how electricity affects the development of societies and the long-term benefits of solar energy prevents African leaders to commit to this investment. Research shows that the estimates of annual investments required for the power sector range from $33 billion to $63 billion. “Yet the average annual spending in the past decade in the African power sector has been about US$12 billion” (Quartz Africa). Have leaders realize that “old ways” may not be the most cost-efficient way to meet the continent’s needs? Have they considered that holding this investment is costing the continent’s access to modern economic activities, sophisticated public services, education, agriculture, and the overall quality of life of the population?

My opinion is the same as five years ago – this investment is past due. As African leaders, we are the ones holding back our future. The initial investment may look outrageous and intimidating, but it will benefit future generations and the current population. Matter of fact is known that it does not to be paid upfront. Companies offer pay-as-you-go services to reduce the hurdle of the one-time expense of purchasing and installing solar power systems. Profits are important, but there in this matter, there is a human element involved and renewable power also benefits the environment. Morocco is leading by example, being the home to ‘Noor’— Africa’s biggest solar, and South Africa hosts eight of the ten largest solar plants in Africa. I expect other countries to follow."

 Sources:

Solar Energy Lecture;

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2019/03/29/figure-of-the-week-electricity-access-in-africa/ ;

https://qz.com/africa/1238545/the-biggest-obstacle-to-deploying-solar-energy-in-africa-is-skepticism-in-high-places/ ;