As one of the most likely regions of the world to suffer first and most from climate change, Africa has considerable long run incentives to see effective global mitigation policies enacted. However, concerns are frequently and legitimately voiced with respect to the implications of mitigation policies for African growth and development prospects.
The specific objective of this project is to contribute significantly to a knowledge base that provides substantial insight into the economics of renewable power systems on the African continent, the development advantages (if any) of a continent wide grid; and the optimal mix of power sources. This knowledge base also illustrates the development costs and benefits to the continent of shifting from fossil fuel based systems to renewable systems. In so doing, these analyses have the potential to help catalyze the formation of coalitions of countries necessary for undertaking these broad scale investments and inform credible requests for financing of low-carbon energy production.
Channing Arndt, in this interview, provides an introduction and overview into the project on 'African Energy Futures'. Africa is well endowed with sun, wind and hydropower – but these potential resources are unevenly distributed. This could, however, provide an impetus for big grids – in order to develop the resources and match supply and demand. One way is to expand the space over which solar and wind power are collected. A more promising approach is to combine renewables and hydropower.
This study develops a scenario-based model to assess the current and future trends in energy demand in Africa and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Future energy demand is forecast on the basis of socio-economic variables such as gross domestic...
This paper develops a scenario-based model to identify and provide an array of electricity demand in Africa, and to derive them from the African power system of development. A system-based approach is performed by applying the scenario methodology...
High levels of inflexible bilateral trade in southern Africa have limited the participation in the competitive short-term markets, leading to inefficient use of energy infrastructure and blocking the Southern African Power Pool’s long-term goal of...
Regional power pools present a significant and potentially defining opportunity for African power systems to develop domestic energy resources, improve system reliability, and contribute to overall economic development. Hydropower is expected to play...
As the technology of climate-dependent energy sources is improving—both cheaper and more efficient—the energy sources are becoming more accessible for many of the nations in Africa. However, little is known about the underlying climate that would...
Large hydropower dams are at the centre of a debate weighing the value and costs of renewable energy against the risks of climate change. The debate is especially relevant on the African continent, which offers vast hydropower potential, but which is...
This special section contains a series of five articles focused on energy and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. It is well known that energy demand in sub-Saharan Africa is increasing rapidly and that many countries struggle to meet demand...
Part of Journal Special Issue Prospects for Renewable Energy in Africa
Part of Journal Special Issue Prospects for Renewable Energy in Africa
With COP21 currently taking place in Paris, the thoughts of UNU-WIDER Research Fellow Channing Arndt on the past and future of the climate change...
Projections of regional changes in surface air temperature and precipitation for the greater Nile River basin and northern Africa are presented. The probabilistic projections are obtained through a technique that combines projections of the MIT...
There are a series of questions to which we need answers if we are to implement climate change policies that help avoid negative effects. Three key...
Theme: 2014-18, Sustainability
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