Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Start trading CFDs with more than 2,200 different instruments
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Start trading CFDs with more than 2,200 different instruments
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Start trading CFDs with more than 2,200 different instruments
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
Start trading CFDs with more than 2,200 different instruments
Click here to view more than 150 global oil prices
The UN nuclear agency failed to reach an agreement with Iran
On Monday, President Joe Biden...
OPEC has released serious...
The global semiconductor shortage has...
Irina is a writer at Oilprice.com and has over ten years of writing experience in the oil and gas industry.
Africa has a huge potential for renewable energy power generation. This is an unquestionable fact, but it has not attracted widespread attention. The reason is simple: realizing this potential is challenging. However, solar energy has been deployed in Africa and other parts of the world to provide truly important services.
Africa has 1,000 GW of solar potential. However, as of 2020, its actual installed capacity is only 10.58 GW. However, according to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, this is a significant increase from the 211 MW of solar power generated by the African continent as of 2011. The growth from 211 MW to 10.58 GW is quite steady, although solar installations are far from being seen in African countries.
It should be noted that a large part of Africa's solar power generation is in North African countries such as Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria, and South Africa also has 5GW. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are few solar installations. The same is true for the power grid.
Solar and wind farms generate electricity by capturing sunlight or wind energy and converting it into electrical energy. Then the electricity needs to be transmitted to the place where it will be used or stored. However, many African countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, simply lack sufficient extensive power transmission infrastructure to economically accommodate utility-scale solar and wind energy installations.
Fortunately, one of the advantages of solar technology over some other alternatives is that it can be used off-grid. In fact, this is an area of solar luminescence.
This is also an area where solar energy can save lives.
In 2017, the International Renewable Energy Agency reported that 21,000 medical institutions worldwide rely on solar power, most of which are small clinics, many of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa. The report also mentions some product innovations, such as a solar suitcase developed by a non-profit organization, which includes portable medical devices powered by solar panels.
Help build solar panels that save lives!
Access to electricity is considered by many people in developed and developing countries to be their birthright, just like access to food. However, for many people in Africa, electricity supply does not exist. More than 1 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity, and many of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. Enter off-grid solar.
Off-grid solar systems can be small devices that can power fans or TVs or the aforementioned solar suitcases. Because they are both convenient and increasingly affordable, the off-grid solar system market has boomed in recent years.
According to a 2020 report by the World Bank, the global off-grid solar market has reached US$1.75 billion and has 420 million users, most of which live in sub-Saharan Africa. According to data from the World Bank, in some African countries, less than 50% of the population has access to electricity, which makes alternative energy sources even more important.
More importantly, the importance of off-grid solar systems will continue to be the foundation in the future. The reason is that extending the power grid to rural areas is unlikely to make a sudden profit, which means that investors in such projects do not exist. Earlier this year, Toby Gill, CEO of the clean technology company Intelligent Power Generation, told Oilprice.
"The p/kWh of wind, solar, or hydropower is not a limiting factor, nor is it a mixture of wind, solar, energy storage, and fuel-based electricity to provide safe and reliable electricity," said Gill. "In fact, deploy and install power infrastructure The cost is too high relative to the customer’s revenue potential."
In the final analysis, all of this has to do with costs and profits. Although world leaders agreed in Glasgow last week to help poorer countries with energy transitions, they did not make specific commitments, such as investing in power grid expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, this seems to be an investment that is unlikely to pay off.
On the other hand, investment in off-grid solar systems seems expected to grow. In the poorest regions of the world, there are too few alternatives to electricity. Diesel generators are a common source of electricity, but as the price of oil rises, many people may not be able to afford it. In all fairness, the price of solar panels is also rising due to severe damage to the global supply chain caused by the pandemic, which has affected the sales of off-grid solar systems. However, due to the lack of many other options, things will return to normal sooner or later.
In some parts of the world, utility-scale solar farms have begun to experience problems, and problems with land use and heat production have aroused opposition from environmentalists. However, off-grid portable solar systems do not have any of these shortcomings. These systems can save lives where electricity is a luxury and not a given place.
Written by Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More popular reading from Oilprice.com:
Why the U.S. crude oil export ban will not lower oil prices
Hackers are threatening the global supply chain
Irina is a writer at Oilprice.com and has over ten years of writing experience in the oil and gas industry.
Big Oil finally restrained, and Biden was very angry
The oil and gas industry is facing a nightmare of $3.3 trillion in stranded assets
OPEC vows to respond if countries use oil reserves
Goldman Sachs: Oil prices plummeting is not in line with fundamentals
When will oil supply exceed demand?
The materials provided on this website are for information and educational purposes only, and are not intended to provide tax, legal or investment advice.
Nothing on the website should be regarded as a recommendation, solicitation or offer to buy or sell securities to anyone in any jurisdiction.
Due to leverage, trading and investment have a high risk of rapid loss. Individuals should consider whether they can bear the risks associated with the transaction.
74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money. Any transactions and order execution mentioned on this website are carried out by OPCMarkets and through OPCMarkets.
Merchant of record: as a media solution for Oilprice.com transactions