It’s admirable and forward-thinking that many modern states supplement their grids with wind or solar. It’s a declaration that Africans deserve half the energy, half the standard of living, and half the safety of their Western peers. In other words, these renewables are about half as reliable as natural gas.Īsking developing nations to ignore natural gas is essentially requesting that they ignore half their power capacity. Contrast that with wind and solar, which operate at 36% and 25%, respectively. How much more reliable? Natural gas has a capacity factor of 65%, which means that gas-powered plants operate at full power 65% of the time. The hard truth remains: Fossil fuels are still more reliable. Take the U.S., which generates 60% of its electricity with fossil fuels and 21% with renewables. Many Western states supplement their grids with wind or solar but ultimately rely on natural gas, oil, or coal. I do, however, ask long-industrialized nations to consider the vast differences between their energy landscapes and ours. I don’t believe that every single African state must follow the same timeline, especially as renewable technology improves. They spent decades industrializing and building robust infrastructure before implementing successful green policies. Worthy milestones, but let’s not forget that both nations had already been enjoying and expanding their fossil fuel-based grids for nearly a century. recently saw its renewable generation outpace coal. Currently, Britain generates 41% of its electricity from renewable sources, and the U.S. The sheer urgency of these situations demands that we prioritize a reliable grid first and everything else second.Ĭontrast this with the United Kingdom and United States, where the majority of homes have been energized since 19, respectively. So is walking up to 20 hours a week to gather these fuels-and the dramatic health risks associated with inhaling smoke from cooking. For them, cooking with wood, charcoal, and even waste, is part of daily life. Then there are the 900 million Africans who lack clean cooking fuel. Right now, those 620 million souls don’t need green electricity - they need electricity, period. Far too many our people can’t buy milk from a refrigerated grocery aisle, do schoolwork after sunset, or get an X-ray at their local hospital. They seem to think that African nations can switch to renewable power sources fairly easily, as if a good energy infrastructure was already in place.īut this is not the case in Africa, where roughly half of the population lacks access to electricity. Western leaders often urge African nations to make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber ( ).
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