By: Nghiinomenwa Erastus
Despite all the current efforts to minimise carbon-emitting production and energy use, Namibia will not be quick to kill a potential oil endowment.
Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo said when he delivered his remarks at the Africa Energy Week last week in Cape Town.
He said there are many ways to get to net zero, and ‘cutting off’ is most probably not the only one we can explore.
“This approach will choke nations that are highly dependent on fossil fuels,” said Alweendo.
Africa accounts for only 3–4 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources.
“The country’s position is not to suffocate itself by cutting off potential oil and gas resources that could assist in solving our problems,” said Alweendo.
He said a pragmatic approach in the energy transition conversation had guided the direction in which Namibia will build its ‘energy mix basket’.
However, in terms of climate change impact, he reminded fellow African leaders that they currently have the opportunity to incorporate the problems of the future in today’s solutions.
“So that we protect the next generation (the 70% of people under the age of 30 who are going to feel the real impact of our decisions),” said Alweendo.
The African Energy Week 2021 comes when radical and informed action is required to accelerate energy developments and electrify Africa.
It also comes when Africa is taking its seat at the global table and allowing itself to be a driver of its future.
Driven by the continent’s significant oil, gas, and renewable energy potential and built against a backdrop of existing project successes, this summit aimed to address African energy poverty directly.
This is by uniting stakeholders with a common plan and facilitating large-scale energy developments and investment across the renewable and natural gas power generation sectors.
Alweendo said in Namibia, like in many other African countries, the concerns are more with providing living wages and supplying necessities to the country’s growing population.
He explained that he understood the importance of working toward renewable – but the transition needs to be done in a manner that caters to the country’s developmental stage.
“I believe they are the future of the energy industry. But in addition, we should note that the global energy transition must be inclusive, equitable, and just,” said the energy minister.
The Africa Energy Week 2021 is promoting the role of natural gas in Africa’s energy transition, recognising how gas-to-power developments can significantly increase energy access continent-wide.
This represents an ideal transitionary resource with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas also acts as a reliable and readily available power generation solution.
According to Alweendo, Africa is only responsible for 3,2% of energy usage within the global landscape. It accounts for only 3–4 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources.
Africa suffers from energy poverty or the lack of access to modern energy services, despite the natural abundance of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.
The continent has the potential to generate up to 11,000 GW of electricity. The continent has the means to utilise solar power, wind energy, natural gas, hydroelectricity, and fossil fuels and eliminate energy poverty in Africa, explained Alweendo.
He also indicated that many oil and gas companies today have made significant commitments to the Environment Social and Governance principle.
Countries are confronting the same problem across the continent and other developing regions – an energy crisis spilling havoc on economic, social, and political issues.
Alweendo explained that the energy problem continues to persist when countries are fighting a pandemic (that has reversed many of the efforts made to solve these multi-faceted issues) and at a time when the world is building Public Political will for Climate Change Action.
In traversing the issues brought about by this problem, Africa finds itself asking difficult but relevant questions on how best (considering the geopolitical environment) to navigate these rocky shores of reality and arrive safely on the other side.
THE AFRICAN STATUS QUO
According to the assessment done by the ministry team, four out of five Africans (727 million) rely on solid biomass such as firewood and charcoal for cooking, which causes indoor pollution that kills 600,000 people a year.
Sub-Saharan Africa has undiscovered technically recoverable energy resources estimated at 115,34 billion barrels of oil and 21,05 trillion cubic metres of gas.
Alweendo added that with Covid-19 at the doorsteps, nearly 60% of refrigerators used in health clinics in Africa have unreliable electricity, compromising the safe storage of vaccines and medicines; half of the vaccines are ruined due to lack of refrigeration.
He said Africa’s energy gap is huge, as one in three Africans lack access to electricity; that’s 621 million people (the largest potential energy market available in the world).
Accessibility challenges have been attributed to infrastructure deficits, the lack of critical investment, high-risk or uncertain regulatory environments deterring private sector participation.
Other factors are the lack of required knowledge and skills to expand the energy and power sectors.
Alweendo indicated the energy will require up to US$20 billion of annual investments from 2021 to 2030.
Africa’s total installed power generation capacity is 147 GW.
“This is less than the amount of Belgium’s total capacity and the equivalent of what China installs every 12 to 24 months,” said Alweendo.
The government has decided to make the country a global hub for green hydrogen at home in Namibia.
According to Alweendo, an increasingly developing market needs to create a healthy economic environment that will attract foreign direct investment into that space.
Namibia’s vast solar and wind energy resources provide a strong foundation for developing a green hydrogen hub in Southern Africa.
The government also sees domestic renewable energy generation and green hydrogen production as critical vectors of national decarbonisation and a significant step in the energy transition conversation.
He said Namibia is focused on developing regional partnerships that will help transform a potential surplus of solar and wind power into increased energy access in the region.
The 2021 Summit has chosen to encapsulate the motto of “making energy poverty history by the year 2030”.
Alweendo highlighted that through networking, facilitating deals, the summit will catalyse to help transform the African energy space and make this goal a reality.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
With AfCFTA slowly coming online, according to Alweendo, the agreement offers valuable opportunities to expand regional trade and enhance intra-African collaboration.
Notably, in addition to international exports, emerging natural gas and green hydrogen economies across the continent can redirect their attention to regional exports, boosting industrialisation through the consistent supply of petrochemicals, LNG and H2.
He said countries could capitalise by establishing regional supply networks. Africa can construct and position fertiliser plants, manufacturing facilities, and gas-to-power projects in critical locations, boosting economic development, job creation and energy access continent-wide.
Some of the points discussed during this summit were leveraging financing, making detailed plans for grid expansion and distributed energy integration.
Also discussed is Balancing different generation technologies and approaches to access while providing support to the whole energy supply chain (not just up-front costs) and placing efforts at electrification within broader development strategies and clear and specific pro-poor policies and strategies.
The Africa Energy Week 2021 is promoting the role of natural gas in Africa’s energy transition, recognising how gas-to-power developments can significantly increase energy access continent-wide.
Natural gas also acts as a reliable and readily available power generation solution representing an ideal transitionary resource with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
