china-africa energy cooperation provides strong support for africa's energy transformation
2024-09-01
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xinhua news agency, beijing, august 31 (reporter cai shihao) at present, fossil fuels are still the main source of electricity generation in africa. in recent years, african countries have worked hard to promote energy transformation by strengthening international cooperation and other means.
experts believe that china has played an important role in africa's energy transformation. over the years, china has helped african countries develop renewable energy and improve power infrastructure through technology transfer, project cooperation and financial support. china-africa energy cooperation is gradually deepening, providing strong support for africa's energy structure transformation and showing broad prospects for cooperation.
on april 21, 2024, workers inspected photovoltaic panels at the benban photovoltaic industrial park in aswan province in southern egypt. xinhua news agency (photo by ahmed goma)at present, the development level of power infrastructure in african countries varies greatly, and regional development varies greatly. according to the "africa energy outlook 2022" report released by the international energy agency, as of 2021, 600 million people in africa will not have access to electricity, that is, 43% of the population is not covered by the power network, of which 590 million people live in sub-saharan africa.
according to data released by the german statista data platform, as of 2021, electricity coverage in north africa was relatively good, reaching 98%; electricity coverage in east, south and west africa was between 52% and 56%; and less than one-third of people in central africa had access to electricity.
in view of the global trend of transitioning to renewable energy and the impact of fossil energy use on africa's environment, the african union and more than 40 african countries have set energy transition goals. however, africa's power production transition still faces many challenges, including lack of investment in power infrastructure and shortage of technical personnel.
in terms of investment, according to a report released by deloitte touche tohmatsu in october last year, africa received only 3% of global energy investment between 2010 and 2020, of which only 0.5% was invested in transmission and distribution networks. according to data cited in the report, to achieve full access to modern energy in africa by 2030, the region needs an investment of us$25 billion per year.
this is a photo taken on december 13, 2019 of the solar panels of the 50mw photovoltaic power station in garissa, kenya, the largest photovoltaic power station in east africa built by a chinese company. photo by xinhua news agency reporter xie hanin terms of talent, many countries are seriously short of talent in project and system design, installation and maintenance, especially in the field of new technologies. the talent shortage hinders the introduction and effective implementation of new technologies, slows down the energy transformation process, and increases the overall risk and cost of projects.
experts believe that against the backdrop of challenges facing africa's energy transition, china-africa cooperation in the field of renewable energy will continue to deepen, especially in solar and wind energy.
the africa energy outlook 2022 report states that africa’s installed solar capacity is expected to grow significantly by 2030.
chinese companies are helping african countries achieve this growth through mutually beneficial cooperation. in kenya, the garissa photovoltaic power station, the largest photovoltaic power station in east africa built by chinese companies, has an annual power generation of more than 76 million kwh, which can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 64,000 tons per year. in south africa, the de-africa wind power project built by chinese companies has been connected to the grid and has a total installed capacity of 244,500 kilowatts.
according to the white paper "china's energy transition", china continues to expand its opening-up and cooperation, and has carried out green energy project cooperation with more than 100 countries and regions. a large number of landmark projects such as nuclear power, hydropower, and new energy have been completed and put into production one after another. in 2023, the export of wind power and photovoltaic products will help other countries reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 810 million tons.
liu tiannan, associate professor of the french department of the school of foreign languages at the china university of international relations and director of the institute of african studies, said that africa has great potential for the development of renewable energy. in recent years, renewable energy and green development have been repeatedly mentioned at the china-africa cooperation forum, the belt and road forum for international cooperation and other important international occasions. in the future, china will further expand its cooperation with africa in green and low-carbon industrial technologies and provide more african countries with opportunities to enter the clean energy market. this can not only meet africa's rapidly growing energy needs, but also reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and improve the stability of energy supply.
