Nigeria's foremost Online Energy News Platform

AEC Advocates Continued Petroleum Production in Africa

By Patience Chat Moses

The Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), NJ Ayuk, has restated the Chambers support for continuation of oil and gas production in the continent amidst pressure from Western countries for Africa to embrace the transition from fossil fuels to green 

energy forms.

Ayuk explained that when it comes to relying on renewables, much of the continent is not even close as 43% of our total population still lacks reliable access to electricity of any kind. “That’s more than 600 million people” he said.

According to him, despite the fact that renewables can be used to help deliver more energy, but they can’t do it alone. While Africa continues to face pressure from Western countries and environmental activists who want our continent to transition from fossil fuels to renewables right away, those calls are not based on reality. 

He indicated that capacity growth in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. is, not surprisingly, propelling most of the growth in sustainable energy worldwide. Together, these three regions currently contribute more than 90% of the global capacity: Asia, 755 gigawatts (GW); Europe, 330 GW; and the U.S., 260 GW.

“These statistics make it understandable why so many of “the powers that be” in the fight for austere net-zero policies come from these regions.

“When you’re able to produce such high volumes of renewables, and your infrastructure is able to convert these renewables into energy for most of your population, it makes sense that you’d support immediate net-zero ideals.But Africa is on a completely different track,” he said.

Speaking in reference to the AEC State of AFrican Energy report, Ayuk outlined that the current total announced capacity of renewables in Africa is around 385 GW. But the majority of the continent’s total announced renewables capacity is still in concept phase. Less than 6% is currently in operation: The actual current capacity for 2023 is estimated to be about 21.5 GW.

He further explained that “the report does expect to see growth in Africa’s renewables space, to 260 GW by 2035. By the numbers, this may seem like impressive growth. But it only represents 7% of global capacities. As a comparison, consider that today’s global renewables capacity stands at roughly 1,500 GW. By 2035, this figure is anticipated to reach 3,935 GW.”

The AEC Boss also said that the 2023 global capacity for solar power is estimated to reach 575 GW, but Africa is only expected to contribute 9.75 GW of the total. Globally, solar capacity is expected to increase to 1,320 GW by 2030 and to more than 1,570 GW by 2035. And Africa’s solar PV capacities are only expecaàted to increase marginally, to 18.2 GW, over the next two years.

According to him, when it comes to wind power, current global capacity is about 910 GW. Africa is only expected to contribute 8.75 GW to this amount. We see global wind capacity growing to 1,610 GW by 2030 and to over 1,945 GW by 2035. Meanwhile, Africa’s onshore wind capacity is only expected to increase to 14.5 GW by 2025.

“The only real bright spot is hydrogen, where high levels of activity continue to boost capacity. Unfortunately, these high levels of activity are concentrated in just a few countries.As you can see, Africa has a lot of work to do before reaching its Potential

However, he added that the Chamber is optimistic as the gap between African renewable capacity and global capacity means that there is great potential for us to gain ground. “But we must be allowed to develop our green energy sector at a pace that makes sense for us,” he said.

“We’re certainly not saying that renewables have no place in Africa. On the contrary: We see many promising projects on the horizon, from the AMAN green hydrogen project in Mauritania to the 10-GW renewable energy and green hydrogen hub being developed in the Republic of Djibouti in East Africa. What we’re saying is that we must temper the enthusiasm for renewables-only policies. 

“For the sake of her people, Africa must be allowed to develop sustainable energy at a pace that doesn’t further impede standards of living — in tandem with oil and gas.

“We definitely see an expansion of renewables in our future but a focus on the present is the only way to get there,” Ayuk concluded.

Social
Enable Notifications OK No thanks