Page 11 - MiNDSPACE Issue 1 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

Renewables are the answer when it comes to Africa’s energy future – but not just utility-scale projects. Smaller decentralised wind- or solar- powered mini-grids have become increasingly powerful players.
By Miriam Mannak
impactSPACE renewables
From an energy access point of view, Africa remains the Dark Continent. Encompassing 54 countries, collectively home to 1.4 billion people, the region has an installed electricity generation capacity of 168 GW. This is just under the installed capacity of Sweden, a country with
11 million inhabitants.
After declining for six years, the number of Africans without
electricity increased in 2020 due to population growth and increasing levels of poverty.
Miriam Mannak is a senior sustainability journalist and
content producer, and specialises in
the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. She works for various media outlets and organisations in and outside South Africa.
Yet for the equivalent of just 24 Medupi power stations –
$220 billion – 490 million people could be connected to 210 000 renewable energy-powered mini-grids by 2030. But only if the world plays its cards right, according to the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, a global knowledge and technical assistance programme administered by the World Bank.
THE ECONOMICS OF POOR ELECTRIFICATION
A lack of reliable, affordable and clean energy hampers the development of a skilled and capable workforce, and reinforces Africa’s fight against poverty. ‘Limited electricity leads to
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