WeeklySA_AdminPATHWAY: The upcoming continental energy conference to focus on leveraging natural gas, renewable, nuclear and green hydrogen resources for enhanced power generation capacity…
By WSAM Correspondent
The African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energy conference – Africa’s premier event for the energy sector – is taking place in Cape Town in November.
The event, billed Powering Africa Summit, will feature African energy and power ministers, global and regional industry stakeholders, financial institutions and project developers. It will showcase power generation and distribution projects driving Africa towards its universal electrification and industrialisation targets.
The event will take place amid projections that the continent’s population is geared to reach 2,5 billion by 2050 – more than double the current figure of just over 1,2 billion people. Africa is reportedly home to the world’s fastest-growing population, and the continent’s estimated 125 billion barrels of crude oil, 620 trillion cubic feet of gas and vast solar, wind and hydropower resources, represent the pathway to improving energy access and meeting rising power demand.
The forthcoming summit aimed to advance investment, technology and innovation to pave the way for Africa’s industrial growth and power generation, harnessing a mix of fossil fuel and clean energy solutions to optimise the continent’s generation and distribution capabilities.
“Harnessing and integrating all energy sources across the continent is the only viable solution to addressing Africa’s prolific power needs. The Powering Africa Summit will provide a platform for African and global stakeholders to advance technology and innovation to meet Africa’s power generation and energy mix diversification goals,” states NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
The conference was the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy.
With the continent home to recoverable gas reserves capable of generating 400 GW of power, the Powering Africa Summit would assess opportunities and challenges within sourcing and integrating gas into Africa’s energy matrix. Notable projects include Senegal’s Sandiara and Cap des Biches, Angola’s Soyo II, Libya’s Tobruk and South Africa’s Richards Bay gas-to-power facilities, which were set to bolster the resilience of Africa’s power supply.
Among other issues, the summit is to discuss the economic and environmental benefits of gas-to-power projects, as well as competitive pricing, tariff structures and market reforms needed to facilitate project financing and increase private participation in the sector.
Africa was also emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for renewables and green hydrogen. Developments such as Namibia’s $10-billion Tsau/Khaeb, Mauritania’s $40-billion Aman, South Africa’s 40 GW Boegoebaai cluster and Morocco’s Nour green hydrogen projects showcase Africa’s commitment to leveraging its solar and wind resources to unlock hydrogen energy technologies.
Recent agreements between South Africa and Namibia, as well as the Tunisian Government with TotalEnergies and Austrian utility Verbund, underscored the potential of green hydrogen to strengthen African and global energy security.
Consequently, the summit will be unpacking trends, technologies and policy frameworks driving Africa’s green energy expansion, from PPPs to the future of batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and e-mobility.
Furthermore, the summit would promote Africa’s nuclear power prospects, exploring the financial tools and local institutional, technological and human capabilities available for greenfields nuclear programmes.
Despite having only one operating facility in South Africa, Africa had emerged as an attractive market for nuclear power investments due to its vast uranium resources in Namibia, Uganda and Niger, among other countries.
Last April, Burkina Faso signed a partnership with Russian firm Rosatom to construct a nuclear power plant, which is expected to double the country’s power generation capacity by 2030. Energy firm Stratek Global and investment company Koya Capital had also partnered to finance a $482-million nuclear power project in South Africa, contributing to the country’s plan to develop 2,500 MW of new nuclear capacity.
Earlier this year, Egypt started construction on the fourth generating nuclear reactor at its $30-billion, 4.8 GW Dabaa Power Plant with Rosatom.
