Affordable and Clean Energy

Permanent URI for this collection

https://lhg.cput.ac.za//handle/123456789/18

Browse

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Ghana: renewable readiness assessment
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2015) Singh, Gaun; Nouhou, Safiatou Alzouma; Sokona, Mohamed Youba
Formerly known as the Gold Coast, Ghana is on the West Coast of Africa. In 2014, the population stood at 27 million, with a relatively high rate growth rate of 2.4% per annum. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has been increasing by about 5.5% per year on average, peaking at 15% in 2011 due to the start of crude oil production. Biomass, consisting mainly of wood fuel like firewood and charcoal and to a lesser extent crop residues, accounts for half the Total Primary Energy Supply. Oil is the second most widely used source of energy in Ghana, accounting for 40% of primary energy supply, followed by hydropower and natural gas accounting for 7% and 3% respectively. Large hydropower and oil-fired plants provide most of the electricity (64% and 36% respectively). The Ghanaian power industry is unbundled and consists of state-owned utilities. The generation utilities are the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Bui Power Authority. The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) are responsible for transmission and distribution along with independent power producers (IPPs) like Sunon Asogli and CENIT Energy. Access to electricity is around 72% with over 87% for urban areas and just under 50% for rural areas. In 2012, total generated electricity in Ghana stood at 12,870 gigawatt-hours (GWh) with demand at 9,000 GWh. This means the country is a net power exporter to neighbouring countries Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. However, domestic demand is growing annually by about 10% and is expected to reach around 24,000 GWh by 2020. This will require an increase in generation capacity to more than 3.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2020. Furthermore, recent constraints in the supply of natural gas caused by damage to the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP) have severely curtailed the capacity of thermal power plants to meet peak demand. This amounts to around 1,745 megawatts (MW). This has forced the utilities to practise periodic load shedding since August 2012. Ghana enjoys excellent renewable energy resources, particularly biomass, solar, wind and, to a limited extent, small (1 MW - 30 MW, according to Economic Community of West African States — ECOWAS) and mini (100 kilowatt (kW) - 1 MW) hydropower. When combined with aggressive measures to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy development can contribute substantially to expanding energy access while reducing the latent energy crises stalking the country. Although, Ghana abounds in renewable energy resources, the bulk of this potential largely remained untapped. In 2011, a Renewable Energy Law (Act 882) was adopted to provide fiscal incentives and regulatory framework to encourage private sector investment. The provisions of the Renewable Energy Law includes: Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Renewable Energy Purchase Obligations (RPO), Net Metering (distributed generation), Off-grid Electrification for Isolated Communities, Promotion of Clean Cookstoves, Research and Development, Renewable Energy Fund (RE Fund), and the establishment of a Renewable Energy Authority (REA). This report presents the output of the Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) process in Ghana. It highlights a number of bottlenecks impeding the widespread deployment of renewable energy systems in Ghana, and identifies a range of critical actions in key areas, which when implemented, could have a significant impact on the scaling up of renewable energy in the short- to medium-term. The report also identifies stakeholders who are required or expected to play various roles towards the implementation of the recommended action and the period of time within which, the actions are realistically expected to be implemented.
North Africa: policies and finance for renewable energy deployment
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2023)
North Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan – is the African continent’s largest energy market. The region boasts relatively high rates of socio-economic development, industrialisation and access to modern energy. North Africa possesses significant renewable energy potential for utility-scale solar and wind power, beyond what has already been tapped. It also has decentralised, off-grid solutions set up in remote areas, and large potential markets in countries where access to electricity is limited, notably Libya and Sudan. These factors could make North Africa one of the continent’s most dynamic energy markets in the near future, including for renewable energy. The brief by the International Renewable Energy Agency, highlights North Africa’s large renewable energy potential and explores its current policy environment to support the energy transition and the deployment of renewable energy in the coming years. It provides an overview of the region’s energy sector, including the role played by renewable energy. It also highlights the renewable energy deployment commitments of North African governments in the coming decade as well as those incorporated under energy and climate mitigation plans. The brief outlines the evolving policy landscape for renewable energy in the region, including fiscal and financial incentives; power sector reforms; structured procurement products; and policies for the direct use of renewables in heating, cooling and transport. Focus sections explore green hydrogen and the opportunities for regional power trading. The brief explores investment and finance trends in North Africa and considers policies to prevent the most vulnerable populations from being further marginalised due to the structural transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables.
Renewable energy in Africa: an opportunity in a time of crisis
(WoMin African Alliance ; 350Africa.org, 2020)
The report aims to give activists in ten African countries (Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda) an overview of the renewable energy situation in their country, with a view to identifying leverage points to increase the sustainable uptake of renewable energy in those countries. The University of Cape Town’s Energy Research Centre conducted the research, commissioned by 350Africa.org and WoMin. This report also includes case studies and commentary from the commissioning organisations.
Renewable energy markets: GCC 2023
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2023)
The GCC countries are some of the world’s most significant fossil fuel producers and exporters, and are among the world’s largest per capita emitters of CO2. However, this report shows that renewable energy deployment is growing in the region; albeit the share of renewables in the electricity mix of the GCC region remains negligible, accounting for only 3% of the region’s generation capacity in 2022. Renewable energy deployment also remains highly concentrated in the region, with the UAE accounting for more than 60% of the region’s total renewables capacity and close to 70% of renewable energy investments; yet investments and deployments are expected to accelerate across all GCC states as they implement their renewable energy plans. The energy transition, including renewable energy deployment, presents the region with opportunities for climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as economic diversification. Climate vulnerability is high in the region, reinforcing the importance of urgent climate mitigation and adaptation actions in which renewables play a critical role. The GCC has a solid energy infrastructure that can be leveraged and built on for increased shares of renewables. Domestically, investments in renewables in the GCC are expected to reach new heights in the years to come following COP28. While the region’s past has clearly been shaped by fossil fuels, its future may well be shaped by renewables.
Renewable energy targets in small island developing states
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2022) Rana, Faran; Abdullah Abou Ali
Climate change, combined with recent geopolitical developments, has sent shockwaves throughout the global economy, magnifying concerns around energy security, food security and weather-related disasters. Small island developing states (SIDS), which are amongst the lowest emitters worldwide, are most at risk from these potential threats. However, they are increasingly employing ambitious plans to deploy renewable energy in order to secure its multiple benefits. This technical paper presents a quantification of SIDS’ renewable energy targets, both in their national energy plans and in their NDCs, comparing commitments made within their national policies and plans with those that extend to the Paris Agreement framework. The conditionality of commitments is explored, where applicable highlighting the urgent need to mobilise international support to SIDS in the form of financing, technology transfer and technical assistance, to help meet their renewable energy commitments.
Renewables readiness assessment: Solomon Islands
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2024) Soakai, Apisake; Gonelevu Rakai, Arieta
This renewables readiness assessment (RRA) for the Solomon Islands has been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification through the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative. It identifies several drivers to accelerate the deployment of renewables and ramp up energy transition efforts in the country. These include strengthening energy security through increased investment in renewables, enabling policy and regulatory frameworks such as subsidies, tax credits, renewable energy standards to encourage private sector participation, job creation in installation, maintenance and research, strengthening energy independence, garnering community and public support and affordable and stable energy prices. The assessment also examines existing enabling frameworks for renewable energy deployment, and provides an overview of the renewable energy financing landscape, including international, regional and national financial instruments and programmes to promote renewable energy investments. The report outlines seven priority strategic areas for development: institutional restructuring of the electricity grid to foster market competition; developing and enforcing renewable energy standards for resilient off-grid renewable energy; creating innovative funding mechanisms; developing markets for electric mobility and innovative solutions for the maritime and aviation sectors; facilitating renewable energy implementation in key sectors such as health, agriculture, food, water, education, tourism, fisheries and forestry; promoting energy efficiency and energy conservation measures; and fostering partnerships and strategic engagements.
Socio-economic footprint of the energy transition: Egypt
(International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2023)
Egypt is home to a population of around 110 million people, with a median age of 23.9 years in 2021. Egypt’s population growth rate and poverty rate, with 32.5% of the population living under the national poverty line in 2018, places significant fiscal and infrastructure burdens on the country’s social services. The country has been at the forefront of renewable energy deployment in Africa, particularly through its large hydro resources, tied to the River Nile. To meet its growing energy needs and contribute to job creation, Egypt has sought to develop several other forms of modern renewable energy, including through solar and wind projects, since the start of the century. Informed by IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook, this report explores the potential socio-economic impacts of the energy transition in Egypt, and shows that a comprehensive and more ambitious energy transition will lead to improved socio-economic outcomes. Over the 2021‑2050 period, under IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario, GDP is expected to be 5.5% higher than under the Planned Energy Scenario (PES), mainly driven by trade. Moving Egypt’s energy strategy away from fossil fuels towards renewables is expected to have a substantial positive impact, adding USD 63 billion to the country’s GDP in 2050. In addition, by 2050, employment is likely to be 0.3% higher under the 1.5°C Scenario than under the PES. To realise the benefits of the transition, however, Egypt requires a comprehensive and holistic policy framework that not only drives forward the transition of energy systems, but also protects people, livelihoods and jobs. Supportive policies tailored to the country’s socio-economic circumstances and challenges should therefore be delivered in tandem with the energy transition.

Browse

Browsing Affordable and Clean Energy by Subject "Energy policy"

Results Per Page

Sort Options