Power sector in Africa: Situation and Prospects
Africa is one of the continents in the world endowed with the most important energy resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, uranium or hydroelectricity, without listing the other renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc. As an example, the Inga site on the River Congo in DRC can provide a power of 44 000 MW and annual producible of 370 TWh. Unfortunately, this potential is not expressed into electric infrastructures development throughout the continent. The average rate of electrification of the whole continent is lower than 40％ and the yearly consumption per capita is 500 kWh approximately, which is very low. In some rural areas, the rate of electrification is lower than 5％. On top of that, African countries are facing load shedding and deficits. Development strategies Face to this situation, the UPDEA proposes a strategy of development of the infrastructures based on a certain number of axes. As a recall, the UPDEA is the Union of the Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electric Power in Africa. It was established in 1970 and its head office is in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire. It gathers 53 power utilities throughout the African continent. The recommended axes of developments are: - Immediate measures to face the deficits This is done through the development of power generation by the installation of gas, fuel, coal and others new generation facilities. - The pooling and development of the resources That is done through sub-regional power pools which work out and/or harmonize policies of development of the power sector of their sub-region. There are 5 sub-regional power pools. - The constitution of hydroelectric development poles Hydroelectricity being a renewable resource and considering that Africa has a large quantity of it, there is a need to prioritize the development of this resource. Some particularly affluent countries are selected as hydroelectric development poles. - The development of major interconnected networks These interconnected networks are built inside and between sub-regions. - The development of renewable energies Solar energy is abundant everywhere in Africa. Research should then be undertaken for its operation. In the same way, geothermal energies, wind and other are already in operation on the networks of some countries and their use should be enhanced.Conclusion Africas prospects are good despite the current difficult situation.The increasingly marked awakening of the political decision makers as regard the power sector is an evidence.
Energy resource renewable power hydroelectric deficit generation network
ABEL DIDIER TELLA
UPDEA COTE D’IVOIRE
国际会议
桂林
英文
1-6
2009-10-28（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）