Wind energy in Africa has yet to be exploited to its full capacity, but the continent is gaining speed in the industry with one expert hedging bets on a couple of lesser known candidates.
South African native Professor Mike Slattery, director of the Institute for Environmental Studies and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science at Texas Christian University, spoke to Alternative Energy Africa about the continent’s wind sector. While Slattery listed all the countries that possibly had the best potential for wind energy, a few countries that rarely receive notice made the list.
Slattery listed Djibouti, but most RE talk coming from the country includes geothermal and recently, the country just gained speed with a GCC capital infusion to increase the capacity of its thermal electricity plant. The reason Djibouti has not been placed with the rest of the continent’s wind producers is because it is only now trying to develop the sector. Djibouti’s neighbor, Eritrea, is also known for its geothermal potential with Icelandic company Reykjavik investing heavily into its sector. And if the geothermal company’s opinion of working in Djibouti can be carried over to its wind sector, then it might be worthwhile for wind companies to begin taking a closer look. In an interview with Alternative Energy Africa, Reikjavik’s Managing Director of Business Development Gunnar Gunnarsson discussed the company’s ventures into Djibouti saying that it was actually easier to make a contract than anticipated.
Also on the list is Lesotho. The country received funding from the African Development Bank for a rural electrification project aimed at supporting investment in the electricity industry to supply and enhance access rates in order to achieve Millennium Development Goals. Other countries that are unknown in the wind sector include Madagascar and Somalia, but the political infrastructure is unstable and it is highly unlikely that any renewable energy sector would be able to take off in such an unfriendly investor climate.
Slattery also said that in addition to all of those known for wind energy in Africa (Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, etc), and those lesser known countries that were previously mentioned, one place that has not broken into the wind scene but has potential is Namibia. The southern African country is steadily trying to reduce its dependency on South African energy, particularly important since South Africa has been expected to stop trading electricity with Namibia in order to meet domestic demand.
Currently, the Rucuana hydropower station accounts for 94% of electricity produced locally. The hydropower plant recently expanded with a fourth turbine added to increase capacity by 80 MW costing around $104.4 million. The project was financed by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Bankengruppe from Germany which contributed in a form of a loan valued at $55 million while $49.4 million came from debt financing and state-owned utility Nampower. Expansion at Rucuana is expected to lead to economic growth and attract more investors – including those companies delving in wind energy.
Slattery will be present at the Wind Power Development and Implementation conference being held in Cairo from December 12-15 where he will be giving a presentation on enabling carbon minimization and renewable integration. For further information, please see Alternative Energy Africa’s events.
Get your subscription NOW to receive the latest issue that will include a regional scope of Western Africa, geopolitical strategies at the expense of Africa, solar PV and cookers, and much more.
