Sub-Saharan Africa's Sustainable Energy Future

POWER QUEST:
Sub-Saharan Africa’s
Sustainable Energy Future
A Roundtable Discussion
Hosted by National Geographic in Partnership with Shell
NOVEMBER 11, 2015 AT THE HILTON SANDTON, SOUTH AFRICA
THE BIG
ENERGY
QUESTION

With Africa’s rapidly growing population making ever increasing demands for greater
energy access it is difficult to overestimate the scale of the challenge facing the continent.
But it is also hard to match the sense of optimism and excitement that energy experts
express about the opportunities to transform sub-Saharan Africa’s energy footprint in
positive and sustainable ways. The Great Energy Challenge, in partnership with Shell,
brought together such experts for an insightful and often surprising discussion of how their
hopes can be realised.
What is clear is that sub-Saharan Africa already has the essentials for securing its own energy
future. It is not only rich in traditional energy resources such as oil, coal, and natural gas but also
has abundant potential for renewable energy in the form of wind, hydro, and solar power. These
are collectively more than sufficient to meet domestic demand and, if well managed, could even
provide Africa with a surplus of ‘clean’ energy for sale overseas. The real challenge, therefore, lies
in realising the region’s enormous potential for power.
The key to unlocking sub-Saharan Africa’s energy is widely believed to be public-private
partnerships with governments and commercial enterprises co-operating openly and effectively
to achieve positive energy goals. An important first step towards such an approach is seen to
be the depoliticization of Africa’s energy sector with the opening up of the market to commercial
competition. Many are calling for African nations to address the challenges of ensuring good
governance as a pre-requisite to building confidence and stimulating the private investment needed
to kick-start truly transformational long-term energy projects.
Crucial to the success of such public-private projects will be the better use of data to inform decision
making, as well as taking learnings from across the world especially when it comes to deploying
the constantly evolving technology that it is hoped could fast-track Africa into a sustainable energy
future. As countries and companies work together to maximize energy capacity they will also need
to wage a war on energy waste with governments central in incentivizing efficiency across the
entire energy chain. This further highlights the need for widespread energy education as well as
for specialist training in planning, designing, building, operating, and maintaining modern energy
infrastructure so that the continent can become ever more self-sufficient.
Indeed the ultimate success of sub-Saharan Africa’s energy solutions seems to depend more on pan-
African co-operation than the local efforts of individual countries. An inspirational ‘bigger picture’ is
painted of private enterprise supporting the development of resource rich countries, Mozambique
for example, into regional energy hubs capable of supplying power to their neighbours and
beyond. Such a continental approach would further enable a more diversified energy mix steered
towards a combination of cleaner and more sustainable sources. Regional bodies, supported
by international organisations, would need to carefully negotiate the complexities of pan-African
agreements but the prize would be sub-Saharan self-sufficiency and perhaps even a prominent
place at the global energy table. |

ROGER BOUNDS
VP for Global Gas, Shell
JEANNOT BOUSSOUGOUTH
Executive Vice President, Power and
Infrastructure, Standard Bank
DAVID BOWERS
Vice President, Africa Finance Corporation
(AFC)
DAVID BRAUN
Senior Editor and Director, Digital Outreach,
National Geographic
PROF. ALAN BRENT
Professor and Associate Director,
Centre for Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Studies, Stellenbosch University
THEO CHIVIRU
Policy Officer, The ONE Campaign
SANDRA COETZEE
IPP Office
YUSUF COOVADIA
Transaction Advisor, Energy Division,
NEPAD
PAUL EARDLEY-TAYLOR
Oil & Gas, Southern Africa, Standard Bank
DR. CHRIS HAW
Director, SOLA and Co-founder, Aurora Power
DR. VINCENT KITIO
Chief, Urban Energy Unit, Urban Basic
Services Branch, UN-Habitat, United Nations
WENDY KOCH
Senior Energy Editor, National Geographic
STEPHAN KORNELIUS
Managing Director, Accenture
KANNAN LAKMEEHARAN
Partner, McKinsey & Company
CASTIGO LANGA
Former Minister of Mineral Resources
and Energy, Government of Mozambique
and Chairman, Board of Directors,
GIGAWATT Moçambique SA
ERIC LÉGER
Country President, Schneider Electric
South Africa
NELISIWE MAGUBANE
Chairman, Matleng Energy Solutions
BONANG MOHALE
South Africa Country Chairman, Shell
ELIZABETH MUGUTI
Principal Power Engineer,
African Development Bank (AfDB)
KEVIN NASSIEP
CEO, South African National Energy
Development Institute (SANEDI)
CARLOS POÑE
Chief Executive, AECOM–Africa
PROF. ABUBAKAR SANI SAMBO
Chairman, Nigerian Member Committee,
World Energy Council (WEC)
PHUMZILE TSHELANE
Chief Executive Officer, The South African
Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa)
BRENT WANNER
Senior Energy Analyst,
International Energy Agency (IEA)
JOANNE YAWITCH
Chief Executive Officer,
National Business Initiative (NBI)Participants
2 Introducing the Event
4 What are the Major Challenges to Powering Africa Sustainably?
10 What are the Major Energy Opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa?
18 What Should We Prioritize to Secure Sub-Saharan Africa’s Energy Future?

2
THE BIG ENERGY QUESTION | POWER QUEST: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’S SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE
3
As part of the Great Energy Challenge, a National Geographic initiative in partnership with
Shell, a forum was convened on November11, 2015 featuring key experts from academia,
government, industry, business, and non-profits. The event, titled
POWER QUEST:
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Sustainable Energy Future
was designed to spark a meaningful and forward-thinking dialogue about Africa’s future
energy mix. This was the tenth event in a global series, and it followed discussions on
biofuels, the Arctic, natural gas, sustainable cities, air pollution, and the future energy mix.
} On behalf of National Geographic,
Nadine Heggie, Director of Global
Partnerships, welcomed participants to
the Big Energy Question. Providing
context for the event, Heggie explained
that the National Geographic Society
has been supporting scientific field
research and exploration for 127 years
in an effort to better understand the
planet. To encourage public engagement
National Geographic has developed
longer-term public-facing initiatives,
particularly the Great Energy Challenge
(GEC), launched in 2010 in partnership
with Shell. The GEC is a multi-tiered
platform focused on delivering award-
winning energy news reporting, a grant
program to support innovative energy
solutions, and an online portal to edu-
cate, engage and inspire action. While
todays’ session was focused on sub-
Saharan Africa, Heggie hoped it would
start a global discussion when shared
with a wider energy-engaged audience.
Heggie introduced Wendy Koch, Senior
Energy Editor at National Geographic.
Koch explained that as global population
exceeds seven billion there is a growing
demand for energy, and that “sub-
Saharan Africa is home to half of the
world’s people who live without
growing rapidly, having collectively
doubled since 2000 and “currently
containing six of the world’s ten fastest
growing economies.” While this raises
expectations for a new phase of regional
development he noted that some 400
million sub-Saharan Africans live in
extreme poverty. “Whether you focus
on the new promise of prosperity or the
legacy of poverty, the energy sector is
critical to the region’s future develop-
ment,” asserted Wanner, adding that,
“Despite this, it remains one of the most
poorly understood regions within the
global energy system.”
Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 13%
of global population yet only 4% of
global energy demand. The region’s
main energy source is solid biomass,
largely wood and charcoal, meaning,
“A population of over 900 million
consumes just a tiny fraction of the
world’s modern fuels.” The region’s
businesses cite electricity access,
unreliability, and cost as the number
one impediment to growth. On average
grid supply is unavailable for more than
500 hours per year, partially offset by
back-up generators costing an estimated
$5 billion in fuel. However, although
relatively under-explored, “it is already
clear the region’s energy resources are
more than sufficient to meet domestic
needs.” There are already major fossil
energy producers including Nigeria
for oil and gas, Angola for oil, and
South Africa for coal. Between 2009
and 2014 almost 30% of global oil
and gas discoveries were made in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
Wanner also highlighted the region’s
huge untapped renewable energy
resources. “Less than 10% of the region’s
considerable hydropower potential has
been tapped to date,” he said, “with vast
potential in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Congo,
as well as…West and Southern Africa.”
Turning to wind the best onshore resources
are focused around the Horn of Africa,
electricity.” While the region consumes
far less power than other emerging
markets, reports suggest it could surpass
Japan and Latin America by 2040.
However, the continent is rich in
potential energy resources and while
biomass is the predominant energy
the GEC has funded more than a
dozen small-scale projects to bring
clean affordable energy to Africa.
These include turning farm waste into
cooking fuel, pay-as-you-go solar, solar
drip-irrigation, lease-to-own biogas,
and farm powered machine energy.
Koch introduced Brent Wanner,
a Senior Energy Analyst at the
International Energy Agency who
played an integral role in the past five
editions of the World Energy Outlook.
In 2015 Wanner was the lead for the
Renewable Energy Outlook as well
as lead author of the WEO special
report on energy and climate change.
In 2014 Wanner was the Power Sector
lead for the WEO special report
entitled Africa Energy Outlook which
focuses on sub-Saharan Africa’s next
25 years of development.
Wanner began by highlighting how
sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is
Eastern Kenya, and parts of West,
Central Africa, and Southern Africa. “But
perhaps most importantly,” he continued,
“all of Africa is rich in solar resources,”
on average double the level of Germany,
a global leader in solar PV.
Yet, “For all its riches and resources,
sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest
region in the world when it comes to
energy supply.” While around 99% of
North Africans have access to electricity
only a handful of sub-Saharan countries
provide electricity to even half their
populations, and South Sudan, Chad,
Malawi, and the Democratic Republic
of Congo, have electrification rates
below 10%. Overall, 620 million, two-
thirds of the sub-Saharan population
live without electricity, “that means 9%
of the world’s population is in Africa
without electricity.”
“In 2012 the total capacity installed
in sub-Saharan Africa was about 90
gigawatts,” with three-quarters from
fossil fuel. The IEA estimates that “this
capacity needs to quadruple to meet
growing demands,” with the power
mix diversifying so that 44% of total
capacity would be renewables based
by 2040. Wanner noted that with
major efforts by 2040 nearly one
billion people in the region will have
electricity, but still 500 million will
not. As a final thought Wanner called
for a focus on upgrading the power
sector, reducing outages, promoting
deeper regional cooperation, and
better management of resources and
revenues, particularly gas and oil.
Wanner handed over to the event
moderator, David Braun from National
Geographic. Braun began by drawing
attention to the upcoming COP 21
climate talks in Paris. African leaders
hope this will deliver solutions for elec-
trifying the continent to promote growth,
while European leaders considered the
dilemma of developing Africa while
managing climate change. |
Brent Wanner, Senior Energy
Analyst, International Energy
Agency (IEA); Wendy Koch,
Senior Energy Editor, National
Geographic; Nadine Heggie,
Director of Global Partnerships;
David Braun, Senior Editor
and Director, Digital Outreach,
National Geographic
(opposite, top to bottom)

} Braun now opened
the discussion asking:
What are the Major Challenges
to Powering Africa Sustainably?
Paul Eardley-Taylor, Oil Gas,
Southern Africa at Standard Bank,
provided an economic perspective
explaining that Africa’s power issues
are impeding growth. Echoing
Wanner’s opening presentation
Jeannot Boussougouth, Executive Vice
President of Power and Infrastructure
at Standard Bank, highlighted the
problem that many African countries
rely on coal for basic heating but
financial institutions may be unwilling to
fund coal projects, creating an energy
gap. Eardley-Taylor recognized
“paradigm changes in African energy,”
with the reality of climate change
driving technology shifts towards
cleaner energy.
Professor Alan Brent, Centre for
Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Studies, Stellenbosch University, sees
challenges in promoting appropriate
technology as “sometimes we sit in
these ivory towers and we think that
PV panels in informal settlements are
the way to go and it’s nice and green.”
However a lot of people in the town-
ships “see these technologies as inferior”
to the grid. Kannan Lakmeeharan,
Partner at McKinsey Company,
agreed, adding that you could spend
$15-30 billion quickly providing near
universal electricity access through solar
home kits but “there are these choices
about inferior grid…and making those
choices quickly is a big challenge.”
Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo,
Chairman of the Nigerian Member
Committee of the World Energy Council,
raised a further problem that such choices
are limited by lack of finance as national
budgets are spent on water, healthcare,
and security, leaving little money for
energy development. “There is an
absolute need for public-private partner-
ships,” he said. Eardley-Taylor asserted
that the commercial appetite for African
energy is “really is quite substantial.” He
cited more than $20 billion of private
investment into renewable programs in
South Africa, and $6 billion of balance
sheet equity in Mozambican gas. “There
is an appetite,” he reiterated, but “you
have to get the structure and the archi-
tecture right to unlock that.”
Wanner noted that investment in sub-
Saharan Africa averaged $60 billion
per year from 2000 to 2013, but
almost $40 billion of that was invested
in energy for export and only $5 billion
in the domestic sector. In the future he
believes investment must nearly double
to $110 billion per year with the
domestic sector receiving $40 billion.
Sandra Coetzee, IPP Office, agreed
that investors are interested in sub-
Saharan African energy but some are
put off because “it requires governments
to stand behind initiatives. If that
political will is absent, you will not find
the private sector stepping forward. We
need the private sector involved in
energy in Africa.” Elizabeth Muguti,
Principal Power Engineer at the
African Development Bank, picked
up on this questioning whether “the
transactions themselves are not good
enough to attract that appetite?”
Castigo Langa, former Minister of
Mineral Resources and Energy in the
Government of Mozambique and
Chairman of the Board of Directors at
GIGAWATT Moçambique SA, noted
that in countries like Mozambique two
or three big energy projects will push
GDP up, but with high unemployment
“people are not able to pay for the
power.” Boussougouth acknowledged
that many African countries have “a
very limited pool of financially solid
off takers” with suppliers requesting
payment guarantees that many are
unable or unwilling to provide.
5
What are the Major Challenges
to Powering Africa Sustainably?

“a decent return on capital for investors.”
Bowers would like to find a way that
“bankers can bet on the African
consumer.” Although a willingness to
“pay higher prices for higher quality,”
has been suggested, for Bower “it’s just
not there.” The cost of power is highly
politicized with regulators trying to keep
it low, “creating this vicious cycle that you
can never rely on a source of payment
for your investments,” Bower concluded.
Indeed, Nelisiwe Magubane, Chairman
of Matleng Energy Solutions, suggested
that one of the biggest challenges is that
“energy is highly politicized.” As rival
administrations overturned each other’s
decisions there is a lack of continuity in
developing and implementing energy
policy, and even in maintaining existing
programs. Bowers concurred that Africa’s
institutional weakness is well known,
saying, “the planning, the continuity,
coming up with a larger plan, it just
doesn’t exist.” He noted that 200 mega-
watt projects are widely celebrated
although they are “just a small drop in
the bucket compared to the 10-15 giga-
watts per year that need to be developed
to address the issue.” Boussougouth
added that these projects are celebrated
“because of their financial stability.”
Sambo fully agreed that good govern-
ance is “a major problem bedeviling
African countries,” and this impedes
the supply of sustainable energy. He
Lakmeeharan considered electrifying
industrial customers first to get GDP
growth so that people can afford
the electricity.
Brent pointed out that rapid urbani-
zation brings the challenge of affordable
electrification. He explained that
electricity in some South African
townships costs three times more than
in rich suburbs so people do not have
the means to pay. To this he added the
problem that if a municipality “provides
electricity to informal urban areas they
actually acknowledge their legal
standing.” Langa called for the issue
to be seen in a wider development
perspective, saying that although
technical solutions can be found, such
as providing cheap photovoltaic energy,
“the reasons that these people are poor
are still there.” He wants “a national
vision” on development and “how the
people use the energy itself to be more
productive.” He hopes such a society
based vision can also transcend
changes in government administration.
David Bowers, Vice President of the
Africa Finance Corporation, admitted
that in finding finance for power plants
the big question is, “Who is actually
going to pay for the energy?” Cost
reflective tariffs are needed to make sure
consumers are charged enough to cover
construction, operation, and maintenance
of a power plant, as well as providing
called for “entrenched democracy…
hand in hand with transparent govern-
ment actions and minimal corruption.”
Eardley-Taylor passionately believes in
the need for “sunlight and transparency”
in the African energy sector, to battle
negativity over “the Dark Continent,
corruption, and other clichés.” His
bank has produced a publicly available
report for Anadarko and Mozambique
LNG that “broke down revenues, cash
flows, the benefits to the economy” and
so “played a major role in unlocking
the politicians in that country.”
Indeed Eardley-Taylor sees the need to
better educate and inform policymakers
and stakeholders on their choices as
these are “changing very, very rapidly.”
He feels energy changes are just as
dynamic as those in telephony but
many policymakers “are still acting
off a decades old playbook.” Sambo
agreed that many African countries
have weak and outdated policy, legal,
and regulatory frameworks meaning
that “the policies don’t work…and are
so old-fashioned they don’t encourage,
entice, or incentivize the private sector
to go into the energy sector.”
To issues of regulation, financing, and
corruption Joanne Yawitch, CEO of
the National Business Initiative, added
political will. “We know that if popu-
lations have access to affordable energy
it has a huge impact on economic
growth and development but also on
health, education, and quality of life.”
Yawitch sees ensuring such spinoff
benefits are factored into government
decision making on energy planning
and budgeting as a major challenge.
Dr. Vincent Kitio, Chief of the Urban
Energy Unit, Urban Basic Services
Branch at UN-Habitat, proposed that
energy investment is inadequate
because “our decision makers do not
understand the importance of energy…
[that] if you spend $1 on energy genera-
tion you are more likely to gain more
than $30 out of it.” Carlos Poñe, Chief
Executive at AECOM Africa, expanded
on this saying that “for $1 of generation
spent, you need to spend $2 in trans-
mission and $3 in distribution,” but he
doesn’t see transmission and distribution
being financed. Lakmeeharan agreed
that the finance of transmission distri-
bution is “not very attractive for
most people.”
Kevin Nassiep, CEO of the South
African National Energy Development
Institute, pointed to rural energy access
being similarly “unattractive for most
commercial companies.” For Eric Léger,
Country President of Schneider Electric
South Africa, the continent’s vast scale
means that “rural electrification will
require…a lot of mini projects and
micro type initiatives” which although
being developed lack “a sense of
6
7
mass electrification.” Picking up on this
Nassiep suggested that micro-grids,
mini-grids, and especially smart DC
micro-grids have not been developed
to a high enough standard.
Kitio highlighted the importance of
urbanization in Africa, noting that its
3.7% annual urbanization matched its
3.7% population growth. “These chal-
lenges have not really been taken into
consideration by policymakers,” Kitio
said that this must change so “they put
energy as one of the highest top priorities
for the development of the continent.”
Today Africa has a 30-40% urban
population of which in sub-Saharan
Africa 60% “are living in slums,”
continued Kitio. Therefore energy
demand is huge but supply is relatively
low which is causing deforestation
“because the urban poor rely on
biomass for cooking,” explained Kitio.
Bowers highlighted the “lack of infor-
mation in terms of understanding the
African consumer, prices, locations,
supply and demand, and other aspects
[of energy].” Lakmeeharan reinforced
the importance of making informed
choices, explaining that the estimate of
$800 billion to ensure electricity access
by 2040 goes down “If we choose to
do more regional integration,” but “If we
want to accelerate our climate change
mitigation strategies, that figure goes up
by 15% to 20%.” Theo Chiviru, Policy
Officer at The ONE Campaign, agreed
Professor Alan Brent, Centre for
Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Studies, Stellenbosch University;
Nelisiwe Magubane, Chairman
of Matleng Energy Solutions;
Paul Eardley-Taylor, Oil Gas,
Southern Africa at Standard Bank
(opposite, left to right)
Kevin Nassiep, CEO of the South
African National Energy Development
Institute; Carlos Poñe, Chief Executive
at AECOM Africa; Dr. Vincent Kitio,
Chief of the Urban Energy Unit, Urban
Basic Services Branch at UN-Habitat
(above, left to right)

Magubane brought up the issue of
energy transportation, arguing that
Africa cannot develop the same energy
infrastructure as Europe and so innovative
solutions are needed to move energy
over often vast distances from supply
to demand. To this Muguti added the
need to strengthen the utilities, with
governments having to choose between
keeping vertically integrated utilities or
reform so that other participants can
come on board.
Léger drew attention to the fact that
South Africa has 42 gigawatts of
capacity but only uses 30 gigawatts.
Even so, it has “massive issues in
managing this electric network,” said
Léger, which underlines the challenges in
maintaining, operating, and managing
installed capacity. For Brent South Africa’s
problem with maximizing capacity “is
that it’s sitting within a monopoly and
they’re struggling…If you open it up to
the market you get a lot more distributed
power, a lot more players.” Léger
echoed this saying not enough is being
done to develop energy vendors.
Dr. Chris Haw, Director at SOLA and
Co-founder of Aurora Power, raised the
challenge of planning for “a number of
disruptive technologies that are coming
our way.” He feels that the traditional
structure of the energy sector with large-
scale power stations and transmission
lines is rapidly changing through techno-
logies such as solar power, storage,
cheap communication mechanisms, and
smart metering. Instead of supply follow-
ing demand Haw sees intelligent
demand communicating back to the
supplier and an integrated network of
energy sources. “That change is going
to happen very quickly…because all
of the technologies required to make it
possible exist today,” Haw said, mean-
ing Africa might “leapfrog” elements
of the energy development process.
Haw sees solar as disruptive in South
Africa because in just four years its
that African policymakers “make deci-
sions without sufficient and accurate
data,” calling for government and
private sector investment in energy data.
Phumzile Tshelane, CEO of The South
African Nuclear Energy Corporation,
added that despite sophisticated plan-
ning tools “we make decisions much
slower than ever.” Citing historical
examples of the UK, U.S.A., and USSR
creating national scale infrastructure in
short timescales he said, “We’re not
making decisions when we should.
These decisions have become urgent.”
Brent further suggested that at all levels
of decision making there is a lack of
systems thinking, especially over the
water-energy nexus.
Poñe noted that political will “rapidly
disappears” after an election. He
believes that the people will start
bypassing regulations and so force
governments to accept their will as
dictated by the market. Indeed, Chiviru
considers it critical to take the whole
energy conversation “from the board-
rooms to the streets.” The energy
conversation “needs a multisectoral
approach, including the people that
actually use the energy. We have not
brought them to the table to say, here
is a problem–how do we fix it?”
Roger Bounds, VP for Global Gas
at Shell agreed that the consumer
is “someone who doesn’t seem to
get heard very often.” He wants to
reinforce their voice and empower
them, noting the risk big companies
take when major investment decisions
don’t start with the customer “and
work back from them.”
Sambo noted that poor governance and
mismanagement are often to blame for
the inadequate energy infrastructure in
many African countries. To this he added
Africa’s lack of adequate skills in modern
planning, design, construction, operation,
and maintenance with a resultant
dependence on imported infrastructure.
costs have fallen dramatically to be
cheaper than new coal. With other
technologies coming that could have
the same effect, Haw warns that
“if we don’t plan for them properly
people will end up defecting from the
system which is the worst scenario”
because you end up with isolated
consumers who are not part of an
integrated and efficient energy
distribution network.
Stephan Kornelius, Managing Director
at Accenture, drew attention to the fact
that “supply vastly outstrips demand”
in countries with the greatest energy
capacity. He affirmed the need for “a
sub-Saharan Africa Inc. view” of the
challenges “to help each other get out
of this hole.” Brent also called for more
Pan-African agreements and transpar-
ency, affirming that “the resources are
there…we could easily supply the
entire continent with electricity if there
were intergovernmental agreements.”
Muguti feels a paradigm shift is needed
to get governments to depoliticize
energy. She proposed that if govern-
ments and financiers bring together
dedicated teams to get iNca Energy’s
renewable programs off the ground
renewables will move much quicker,
adding that that this should be seen
as something to benefit the whole
continent. Turning to pricing Muguti
noted that regional connectivity is
complicated by tariff variations between
countries with some selling power “well
below sub-optimal tariffs.”
Looking at the inadequate capacity
planning in energy infrastructure Yusuf
Coovadia, Transaction Advisor of
Energy Division at NEPAD, thinks there
is “definitely a lack of capacity within
organizations, utilities and ministries to
understand some of the complexities
around, say, regional integration.” He
liked Muguti’s idea of dedicated teams,
believing that governments are “largely
noble in their energy infrastructure
planning,” but that on the ground it’s
made difficult by lack of institutional
capacity within ministries and utilities.
Coovadia highlighted the complexity of
intergovernmental projects reminding
participants that when the ZTK trans-
mission interconnector struggled to
attract collective financing each
government had to develop its own
each section.
Nassiep carried this further saying “You
cannot look at a diversified energy mix
unless you are part of an interconnected
system…This remains a challenge.”
Using the Grand Inga project as an
example he said “some of those countries
want to protect indigenous economic
growth and that cannot be achieved
unless they have power. We some-
times forget that energy is only a means
to an end…and we are depriving
those countries of an opportunity to
grow their own economies.” |
8
9
Eric Léger, Country President of
Schneider Electric South Africa;
Theo Chiviru, Policy Officer at The
ONE Campaign; Phumzile Tshelane,
CEO of The South African Nuclear
Energy Corporation; Roger Bounds,
VP for Global Gas, Shell
Joanne Yawitch, CEO of the
National Business Initiative;
Yusuf Coovadia, Transaction
Advisor of Energy Division, NEPAD;
Stephan Kornelius, Managing
Director, Accenture; Dr. Chris Haw,
Director, SOLA and Co-founder,
Aurora Power
(left, top to bottom)

What are the Major Energy
Opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa?
Braun now asked:
What are the major energy
opportunities for sub-Saharan Africa?
Sandra Coetzee reiterated the huge
appetite for investment in sub-Saharan
Africa energy. She cited the South
African Renewable Energy Independent
Power Producers Program which had
run five bid windows and awarded
92 projects amounting to 6,228 MW
with “those five bid windows totally
oversubscribed…in excess of 300
bid submissions.” If you extrapolate
that across the African continent, she
said, “there can be no doubt as to
what those opportunities are.” Eardley-
Taylor agreed, citing Anadarko as the
world’s largest ever privately financed
LNG plant and Ionise as “the world’s
first floating LNG project financing.”
These two cases amounted to $35
billion investment or around 225%
of both countries’ GDP. “They’re all
privately funded,” said Eardley-Taylor
“the appetite is absolutely there and
has been demonstrated.”
Boussougouth thinks that private sector
participation is “essentially linked to
the model that is being implemented
in many African countries,” whereby
you have a single buyer model versus
the multiple buyer model. “If you are
able to open up that particular aspect
of the regulatory framework…I think
there will be a lot of private sector
participation in Africa.” Lakmeeharan
feels there’s a need to explore “how
to finance [energy] without burdening
governments.” New ways of financing
could be found, perhaps capturing
interest from social and philanthropic
investors and giving them a vehicle
that could be scaled up for greater
impact. Another method might be to
“have a mini-grid or off-grid challenge
or financing vehicle. Set a target, set
a volume then let the private sector
figure out how to meet that.” Muguti
suggested that local funds might
contribute into the energy sector much
more significantly than before, adding
“these are sources or resources that
we have never considered before.”
Hybrid systems could be a way to
alleviate government funding in the
power sector, suggested Boussougouth.
Chiviru saw the decade of sustainable
energy for all as a great opportunity for
the private sector and others to work with
governments. With 26 African countries
trying to develop policy using this
initiative “that’s a great opportunity
for all players to actually join and
support governments…even in terms
of coming up with proper policies,” he
said. Nassiep pointed out that at the
recent South African and International
Renewable Energy Conference “the
Independent Power Producer program,
as it relates to an auction system, is a
very good case study for other countries
to adopt,” adding that the IPP office
has actually offered to support other
African countries in doing this.
Magubane highlighted the opportunity
“to gallop ahead of the legislation…
just like Uber in South Africa,” believing
that innovative solutions are needed to
penetrate the energy sector “despite the
unfavorable legislation.” Boussougouth
also raised the possibility of improving
cost reflectivity, highlighting huge tariff
variations because of unsustainable
national subsidies. He also suggested
that smart meters could be employed
to improve revenue collection “a major
issue in many African countries.”
Bonang Mohale, South Africa Country
Chairman of Shell, pointed out that
most electricity providers are government
owned and that if established with
proper funding they would not continually
request more money. Boussougouth
discussed possible privatization of state
owned enterprises, for example ECG
in Ghana, to transform “unproductive
assets across Africa.” Bowers noted
that many innovations in privatization
11

are paying off, such as Nigeria’s
privatization of some IPPs and distribution
companies. He feels that all of sub-
Saharan Africa can learn from South
Africa’s IPP program and the private
sector funding that is happening there.
Wanner proposed that when you
build new capacity across the board,
whether political, governance, or
physical capacity, this represents
“an opportunity to change the way
things are done…including growing
domestic industries and learning
from the mistakes of other countries.”
Kornelius noted that many energy
service providers are emerging, with
a lot of diversification in local markets
around energy services. “We’ll be
amiss if we invest the stock standard,
one-way push grid technology that
we’ve seen in the rest of the world,”
he cautioned.
Chiviru sees the possibility of ending
corruption and promoting transparency.
Looking beyond “pointing the finger at
corrupt governments” Chiviru called for
private enterprise to take responsibility
for being a major conduit of illicit deal-
ings. To this Mohale added the idea of
co-operative governance, asking “How
do we separate ownership from control
where we are very clear about the
separation of rules and responsibilities?”
Langa expressed the need for functional
education with big companies sponsor-
ing specific schools. This is important “for
the stability of the environment where
we work…to make these opportunities
sustainable.” Even politicians have to
be educated because he sees energy
projects failing not through lack of
political will but because politicians
“don’t know exactly how to do it…
how things work.”
Brent saw a big economic opportunity
around socioeconomic development:
the question of do you feed a man by
giving him a fish or teaching him to fish?
He noted that South Africa’s renewable
energy program is very effective in
driving down costs and addressing
carbon worries, but less successful in
other matters. Brent suggested that the
big energy winners are large offshore
companies and that “we’ve actually
started to exclude local participants in
the marketplace.” This makes behavioral
change in the system essential. Langa
believed that opportunities have to
be inclusive and for that “education is
very important.” When growth is not
inclusive “society will not have political
stability,” he warned.
Léger sees an opening for many
large corporations to make a socially
responsible impact on Africa. He gave
12
13
the example of simple solar powered
technology that companies can deploy
alongside their operations to bring
power to local areas. Doing this on a
large scale would make a real differ-
ence, adding “this year [Schneider
Electric] equipped 60,000 houses
with this technology.”
Muguti sees an opportunity to engage
the consumer voice to ensure the right
policies are put in place, giving the
example of lifeline tariffs designed to
benefit the poor actually benefiting
middle-income earners. We have the
chance to make consumers “partici-
pants in the whole process of energy
supply,” Muguti continued, noting
that Ethiopia is building a big power
station using local participation. This
represents a paradigm shift which if
extended to other countries “could be
a game-changer.”
Lakmeeharan encouraged improvement
of transactions to “really help scale
up the early stage project preparation
so…they take into account some
of the issues [raised].” He knew a
number of private trusts exploring this
and urged governments to work with
them. “There’s definitely interest,” he
said, “because the next growth story
is here in Africa and people want to
get in much earlier than later.” Indeed
Bowers emphasized the enormous
growth potential of Africa where even
a huge commodities slump had only
slowed annual growth from 6-9% to
2-4%. Bowers expressed optimism in
African’s dynamism and determination
for “making it work and making a
whole lot of really neat economic
opportunity, even amidst institutional
weakness and lack of power.” He
believes that “if you build [energy],
people will pay for it.”
Participants look on
during the discussion.
(opposite)
Professor Alan Brent,
Centre for Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Studies,
Stellenbosch University;
Kannan Lakmeeharan,
Partner at McKinsey
Company; Paul Eardley-Taylor,
Oil Gas, Southern Africa
at Standard Bank; Sandra
Coetzee, IPP Office
(left to right)
Nassiep noted the domestic opportun-
ities arising from clean energy incentive
schemes, such as the South African
government is designing a renewable
energy incentive to match its energy
efficiency incentive. Linked to this is the
proposed carbon tax, which while
unpopular with many, “looks inevitable.”
Nassiep feels such schemes provide an
opportunity to fast track the development
of clean energy technologies.
Kitio referenced Obama’s shift from a
fossil fuel economy to renewable energy.
He noted the powerful global message
sent out by Obama’s televised visit to
a young renewable energy entrepreneur.
“They started investing in renewable
energy,” he said, “That’s why today
we have cheaper solar energy.” Kitio
believes asserting such political will “is
one of the biggest opportunities,” noting
that the sustainable development goal

piece of the pie in terms of the energy
mix.” She noted that in South Africa the
National Development Plan already
envisages natural gas to be a game-
changer and this is probably the case
for the whole continent.
“There is a huge opportunity for African
countries to essentially leapfrog into a
clean energy future,” asserted Yawitch.
Nassiep spoke about the African Clean
Energy Corridor that connected small
grids of clean energy technologies along
the east coast of sub-Saharan Africa.
Suggesting it could be extended west
Nassiep believes it would include many
PV installations with a real prospect for
Concentrated Solar Power. Mohale
added that taking planned and preven-
tative maintenance seriously would also
bring big benefits, explaining that “Africa
is very good at building mega-projects
and then doing nothing to maintain
on energy “is a very important message,”
because governments have to report
on energy access and so “they have
to invest in energy access.”
“Opportunity is a question of timing,”
stated Coovadia, who sees large hydro
and gas programs as having a limited
shelf life because of the rapid arrival of
disruptive technologies and the falling
price of solar. As these “off-route systems”
rapidly increase, consumers will have
to ask themselves if they want to wait
a decade for governments to provide
power via traditional systems, “or is it
just easier for me to buy it off the shelf
tomorrow.” Kitio agreed there are real
prospects for renewable energy and
off-grid technology with the market set to
rise from “$1 billion globally…to $5
billion investment on off-grid alone.”
Coetzee added that “there’s a lot of
room still for renewable to take a bigger
them so that 20 years later they need
to build new ones.”
Kornelius offered the potential for
disruptive technology on the grid side.
“We are going to have to invest
massively in our transmission and
distribution grids across the continent,”
he said, “and we can learn from
the lessons of developed countries.”
Kornelius continued, “There’s a lot of
opportunity for us to use things like
grid-level storage, integration of micro
PV, and those types of technologies.”
Turning to electrical energy storage
Haw calculates that taking his home
off the grid with solar “would level
the cost of energy for me at about
R3.00 kWh” At current rates this
becomes cost effective within three
years. Haw feels many people will
want to save money by switching
over to such a system—even before
considering the additional benefit
of countering load shedding. Haw
urged serious consideration of storage
technology, including its manufacture.
While America is striving ahead with
this, Haw stressed that “We have the
opportunity to implement those systems
right here in South Africa because
that’s actually where the market for it
is most pressing.”
Yawitch emphasized the energy
efficiency opportunity “that we need
to exploit.” She cited a South African
private sector energy efficiency
program that over two years has
helped nearly 1,000 medium-sized
and 50 very large companies to
identify over 5,500 intervention
opportunities with an average two-
year payback. Some “are saving up
to 50% of their energy spend,” she
said, “and in about 700 companies
14
15
we’re looking at about $2.5 billion
of potential investment and retrofitting
in technology.” Yawitch stressed
that energy efficiency is not only for
big companies, and that it has real
potential “to both save and create
jobs and increase productivity.”
Magubane added that there is also
opportunity for “efficient use of energy
resources even at household levels.”
She explained that South Africans use
electricity for entertainment, heating,
and lighting, but using gas instead of
electricity for heating is “a lot more
efficient…and also a little bit cheaper.”
Lakmeeharan looked beyond energy
efficiency to waste across the value
chain where “our technical/non-
technical losses are big.” He quoted
Nigeria having 12 gigawatts of
installed capacity but only 4-5 gigawatts
operational. “I think there’s an opportunity
to really leverage our existing assets,”
Lakmeeharan said. Poñe added that
effective energy efficiency could save
South Africa two major power plants.
Turning to smart metering Poñe said,
“We have Eskom and the government
telling us to use electricity in off-peak
hours,” but they need to offer incentives
to make this work. Further prospects
lay in energy efficient motors which
Poñe believed could “save four or five
gigawatts” if installed across South
Africa, and also in using flared natural
gas for electricity. Kitio added that
inefficient buildings consume a lot of
energy but with 75% of Africa’s 2050
building stock yet to be built this is
“a great opportunity.”
Turning to the energy mix Yawitch
saw the prospect of “a diversified
energy mix across the continent.”
Boussougouth pointed out that the
A view of the Great Energy
Challenge sub-Saharan Africa
energy roundtable discussion.
(opposite, left)

natural gas and a proposal between
the Mozambique and South African
governments for a 2,100 km
gas pipeline generating at least
5,000 megawatts.
Wanner expressed confidence that
the region will really benefit from
COP 21, with discussion of climate
funds and many countries “looking
to international markets as a way
to supplement their own reductions
domestically.” Kitio noted that mitigation
is one of the top solutions on the
table with Africa “one of the biggest
beneficiaries from the outcome of
the talks.” Yawitch expressed hope
that COP 21 will provide funding
commitments with the bulk going to the
world’s poorest countries. Sambo took
this further saying, “We see the move
to ensure a sustainable energy future
energy mix depends “on the available
natural resources in countries.” He
highlighted that Mozambique’s 12
gigawatts of hydro potential “needs to
be harnessed,” to which Léger added
the possibility of using nuclear power.
Eardley-Taylor stated that, “We see
indigenous natural gas and selective
imports as playing a major role in
solving Africa’s energy challenges.”
Africa has been “really bad at
beneficiating its own resources” which
are usually extracted and shipped
abroad. Instead, gas could drive
domestic industrialization, especially
in Mozambique, Angola, Ghana, and
Tanzania. “The gas and renewables
portfolio is probably the best one
around in terms of meeting base load,
mid-merit and providing adequate
storage,” Eardley-Taylor said. Langa
agreed citing his own IPP’s use of
for Africa as a big opportunity for
African countries to key into the United
Nations’ sustainable development
goals.” He explained that if the call
for greatly enhanced renewable
energy, energy efficiency, and energy
access is taken seriously “we are
going to see a big change in the
African terrain.”
Muguti sees a big opportunity to help
countries with energy resources to fully
utilize them. For example, helping
Mozambique with its plentiful hydro,
gas, and coal, to become an energy
hub with optimized power production
to sell regionally. Muguti noted
that Mozambique cannot borrow
enough money to fund large projects
so this is an opportunity for private
investment. Yawitch agreed, adding
that interconnected grids across
Africa “requires a vision.” Sambo
raised the prospect of “increased
partnership between African states,”
speculating that as calls to improve
energy provision increases “that will
be an opportunity to expand the
networks.” Léger stated that Schneider
Electric wants to greatly expand the
energy systems so that “many African
countries take the opportunity to have
meaningful co-operation with more
developed parts of the world.”
This will help Africa leapfrog
straight into proven practices, as
well as opening the possibility for
enhanced capacity-building. Indeed,
expanding energy systems “brings
great job opportunities.”
Brent called for politicians to develop
the continent’s global competitiveness,
suggesting that Africa should see its
energy challenges “as an opportunity
16
17
to develop our local industry—not
only to supply our own energy…
but to start playing a role in a global
energy market, to export products and
components.” Haw agrees that Africa
“needs to be building those systems,
manufacturing them here, creating
the IP, and creating the knowledge—
because the application for them
is perfect.” Tshelane expressed the
view that development is needed
“not only to benefit the people that are
not served at this point. It is to the benefit
of industry, of business. It’s not just to
the benefit of government. It is to our
benefit, and we need to take this as
an opportunity to develop solutions.”
He believes that “Africa is the next
frontier of investment,” and summarizing
the many opportunities raised in the
discussion Tshelane asserted that
“Africa is open for business.” |
Professor Abubakar Sani
Sambo, Chairman of the
Nigerian Member Committee
of the World Energy Council;
Eric Léger, Country President of
Schneider Electric South Africa;
Dr. Vincent Kitio, Chief of the
Urban Energy Unit, Urban Basic
Services Branch at UN-Habitat
(opposite, left to right)
Stephan Kornelius, Managing
Director, Accenture; Joanne
Yawitch, CEO of the National
Business Initiative
(below, left to right)

Braun introduced a lightning round
asking each participant:
What should we prioritize to secure
sub-Saharan Africa’s energy future?
Kitio promoted sustainable urbanisation
calling for a paradigm shift in the way
we plan cities, moving away from
sprawl to compact cities with good
public transport. The municipality has
to put in place an energy strategy so
they can generate part of their energy
requirement. Braun added that there
is still opportunity to build such smart
cities because Africa’s population is
still largely rural.
Léger would prioritize energy manage-
ment through automation, improve
education to grow energy knowledge
and skill sets, and would increase
energy access.
Sambo wants to see a very compre-
hensive energy plan developed in as
many African countries as possible.
Nassiep would create a case study
of a sustainable, clean energy, public
private partnership project can be
replicated across the continent to
demonstrate how it can be done.
Coovadia thinks policy reform and
capacity building are important priorities
to move power projects forward, saying
that “There’re a lot of factors that make a
project credit worthy but good regulatory
policy will stop it fizzling out.”
Langa would strengthen institutions by
bringing together and educating all
the different organizations involved
in energy projects so they understand
how things work. This could be done
quickly and would speed up processes.
A second priority is enabling people to
pay for their energy as part of a national
development vision in which consumers
use energy more productively to generate
more money.
Mohale feels the case for gas is very
compelling, but for Africa to attract
sustainable Foreign Direct Investment
requires both regulatory certainty and
legislative stability.
Muguti would focus on regional integra-
tion and interconnectivity. To push that
“I would put in strong advisory services
and capacity building targeted at
government, utility, the power pools,
and the regional economic agencies,
supported with good regulatory frame-
works, good policies, and standardized
pricing structures.”
Coetzee’s first priority would be to
expand private sector investment and
then restructure and strengthen the
incumbent utilities because “I believe
most of Africa can’t do without them
right now.” Thirdly Coetzee would
attend to cost reflective tariffs, and
then look at the regulatory environment
for energy efficiency, and finally she
would fast track the regional dialogue
on interconnectivity.
Eardley-Taylor sees the need for
depoliticization, recommending that
an independent energy commission be
created to update energy plans. This
should mean there are fewer vested
interests, more long term decision
making, and an ability to incorporate
innovations as they come along.
Lakmeeharan would prioritise having
a very clear plan “that transcends
administrations and gives guidance to
investors, innovators, and the public
sector about what they need to do.”
Brent prioritised depoliticizing the
energy system. “That probably talks
to institutional reform,” he said “so we
need a lot of innovation all the way
from regional governments, national,
and then ultimately down to local
governments. We need knowledge
transfer and we need to emphasise
that in the African context.”
19
What Should We Prioritize to Secure
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Energy Future?

Braun asked Brent to elaborate on the
challenges at local government level.
Brent said that in South Africa local
municipalities use electricity sales to
fund a lot of the other services they
provide like water and waste. This
makes them reluctant to move away
from the current electricity system and
prohibits empowerment of people to
participate in the energy system.
Chiviru said that with so many people
and businesses without electricity
“a priority is creating a policy and
regulative environment for increased
investment in energy, along with
strengthening institutions and making
sure they are more transparent.”
Haw’s top priority is “considered
and sustainable deregulation of the
electron value chain to bring supply
efficiently into the hands of demand.”
Kornelius would invest in education
because an educated electorate
make smarter choices, are harder to
lie to, and hold their elected officials
more accountable.
Tshelane would work to strengthen
the diversity of electricity supplies
and “build a lot of nuclear.”
Boussougouth suggests that “a
regulatory framework that allows for
more private sector participation is
going to be key given that a lot of
utilities are struggling.” This should be
alongside “a clear long-term energy
plan as we’ve seen in South Africa.”
Magubane urged that at every level
we “utilise the resources we have
efficiently.” If she were director general
again Magubane would revise the now
outdated 2010 integrated resource
plan and open up our electricity industry
for more private sector participation
“because while our utilities are fairly
competent the private sector has proven
they can do better.”
Poñe feels we need to “develop a
vision, a strategy, and a master plan
and then put it into action,” adding
that, “If we get the principle right by
going back to the beginning on some
issues then things will move a lot faster.”
Bowers asserted that cost reflective
tariffs are the essential component
because when institutions set cost
reflective tariffs “you’re economically
allowing price signals of what people
will pay to filter up to planners,
regulators, and IPP developers.”
Bounds affirmed that “gas has a
significant role to play,” but added
“I would allow many solutions to
flourish.” He feels that the size of the
problems we’re facing demands a
diversity of solutions and we need to
“get out of the way” of those seeking
to solve them. “We need to facilitate
innovation and make it easier for people
to implement change,” Bounds said
“and that requires a philosophical shift
on the part of governments and utilities.
If I could do one thing it would be to get
people to open their minds to embracing
that change and that innovation.”
Wanner sees the need for incentives
for both customers and suppliers. If the
financial cases for investment are clear
and reliable, which probably involves
integrated resource planning, with the
right incentives “the system will more
or less direct itself and will require less
hands on manipulations.”
Braun opened the floor to discussion,
expressing concern that depoliticization
of the energy sector is impossible
because “There’s too much money,
too many jobs, too much patronage.”
Sambo responded that the Energy Policy
and Implementation Guide is a step
towards depoliticization, saying, “We
are pushing to ensure less influence and
less disruption on the energy develop-
ment pathway.” He elaborated that
regional bodies can help ensure that
energy projects survive changes in
national government, referencing the
Economic Community of West Africa
and NEPAD. Coovadia explained that
NEPAD is mandated by the African
Union which he believes “will start to
play a bigger role in regional integration
and projects that promote it.”
Chiviru suggested depoliticizing the
energy issue by “taking it down to the
streets.” Energy decisions are mostly
taken behind closed doors but educating
and including ordinary people in the
energy conversation creates transparency
and accountability. Poñe felt there are
learnings from the way the mobile phone
and data industries were depoliticized.
This involved “a lot of intervention from
the private sector who built that infra-
structure,” so that private participation
probably superseded government
intervention and the regulatory authority.
Kitio reminded participants that the
utilities are “a cash cow for politicians,”
20
21
while Mohale recognized South Africa’s
successful depoliticization of petrol prices.
Bowers pointed to the huge strides Africa
has made with its democratic institutions
and transitions, bringing optimism that the
same can happen in energy regulation.
Kitio highlighted how the digital revolu-
tion is bringing rapid change, even in
speeding up the response times of utilities
by raising issues on social media. He
went on to warn that with new and off-
grid technology there is a lack of quality
assurance with some low quality products
entering into the market and denting
consumer confidence in energy techno-
logy. Kitio recommended the private
sector put resources into research and
development, and the creation of stand-
ards to ensure good products. Langa
thinks that while political problems are
inevitable what is important is having
a shared vision that people understand
will help implement the right solution—
despite the politics. Eardley-Taylor
referenced Singapore as a case study
where the high degree of planning
enabled their Energy Market Authority
to do “great things with their first gas
schemes” suggesting that a similarly
empowered entity could be equally
successful in Africa. Sambo recom-
mended capacity building so that
African countries could use their own
people to plan, design, construct,
operate, and maintain energy systems.
Magubane called for a very clear
regulatory framework looking at the
country’s existing infrastructure and
future plans as well as a clear under-
standing of the demand and supply
plan. She recommended that planning
be at a granular level so that there are
appropriate measures to ensure the
money is spent correctly. For example,
in electrifying rural communities
Magubane suggests that distributed
generation might be more efficient
than building long power lines.
Jeannot Boussougouth, Executive
Vice President of Power and
Infrastructure at Standard Bank;
Professor Abubakar Sani Sambo,
Chairman of the Nigerian Member
Committee of the World Energy
Council; Sandra Coetzee, IPP Office;
Bonang Mohale, South Africa
Country Chairman of Shell
Elizabeth Muguti, Principal Power
Engineer, African Development Bank
(left)

priation. People who build transmission
lines and last mile connectivity are
worried about tariffs being paid or
enough volume being carried.” With
this in mind Bounds suggested creating
“a pot of money to be used as a last
resort capacity payment.” This might
make it easier to raise capital for projects
because the pot would cover a defined
risk in a business plan that would other-
wise stand in the way of financing. Brent
drew attention to some successful
examples of this in Africa, such as the
Lake Turkana project “where AFDB is
providing…a partial risk guarantee on
the transmission line,” adding that, “it’s
about how you scale that up.”
Kitio raised the problem of rapid urbani-
zation with people using firewood and
charcoal for cooking, recommending
that COP 21 might provide farmers with
money for planting trees to help counter
deforestation. This might also mitigate
Sambo expanded on his idea for a
comprehensive energy plan. It should
be driven by energy demand and supply
projections, with demand covering all
the major economic sectors in short
to long term while the supply strategy
should take in sustainable development
goals and a country’s specific resources.
Here he referenced Nigeria’s expansion
from gas and hydro to include solar,
wind, biomass, clean coal, and nuclear
power in its energy mix. The plan should
ensure that national energy policies
provide for indigenous groups and
fuelling tariffs where possible, and be
robust enough to survive changes in
government. We should partner with
advanced countries to gain from
capacity building and technology
transfer so that energy components can
be assembled in Africa. A practical
monitoring scheme is needed to
assess progress and make ongoing
improvements, along with good
governance, which goes hand in
hand with genuine democracy and
transparent government operations.
While Bowers acknowledged that
power can now be efficiently generated
for individual villages “there are always
benefits of scale,” so he suggested
looking at replicating U.S. co-operative
models for rural electrification. Learnings
might also be taken from some develop-
ment initiatives like micro-finance, with
exploration of how to scale these up.
Brent agreed that “it’s about getting a
plan and then the capability to deliver
it,” after which you can start de-risking
the sector which is when the private
sector can thrive and reduce their
financing costs. Bounds agreed that
complete transparency around how
money is allocated and used is important
but also raised the point that “I don’t
think inadequate finance is what is
standing in the way. It’s often the
appraisal and allocation of risk that’s
standing in the way.” He explained
that, “People who build pipelines are
worried about under-utilisation or appro-
rural migration by providing work and
income, as well as raising awareness
and encouraging more sustainable
methods for a low carbon economy.
Sambo also called for “quick growing
trees species to supply wood fuel…and
more efficient wood burning stoves,”
because he didn’t see Africans transi-
tioning away from wood in the next
20-30 years.
Sambo suggested COP 21 should
fund data on renewable energy
in Africa, such as a digital wind or
solar map to optimize the placement
of infrastructure. Kitio agreed and also
encouraged funding for true policy
formulation, for example assisting
countries in developing an energy
efficient building code with clear
and enforceable standards. Wanner
added that in thinking about COP
21 funding there is a growing call
for regular progress updates so the
initial wave of projects must be “very
tangible…and try to leverage the
funds in a way that maximizes cost
effectiveness.” He suggested a mix
of important enabling projects with
more visible physical construction of
capacity to stimulate further funding.
Braun invited closing comments from
Shell’s Roger Bounds who began by
thanking participants for such a diversity
of views, noting that while not everyone
agreed with each other “it is in the spirit
of this open dialogue that we will
genuinely find solutions.” Bounds felt
participants agreed on the “need for
reformed energy systems in sub-Saharan
Africa,” to take advantage of the ample
energy resources, including natural gas,
which is “abundantly available both
for domestic needs and for exports,
and to provide the underpinning for
further economic growth.” While there
is adequate finance “there may not be
22
23
adequate risk management to allow
that finance to be tapped.”
Bounds continued, saying that the quality
of decision making needs to be lifted and
for this grassroots education is important
“because it’s through an educated
community that you end up with better
decision making.” More should be done
on implementation, and an appreciation
is needed of “our fast changing dynamic
world” to foster an open mind towards
innovative technology. “There is a role
for energy efficiency,” Bounds consid-
ered, “particularly as we recognise the
reality of a carbon constrained world”
in which “there’s a great role for natural
gas complementing renewables.”
Bounds concluded, “The message that I
walk away with is the need for greater
collaboration, for cross border agree-
ments, and regional solutions rather
than micro solutions. I think if our minds
are opened to that then we’d have had
a really good outcome from today.”
Braun closed the event saying, “We at
National Geographic are fully committed
to inspiring people to take better care of
the planet…and energy is critically impor-
tant.” In fully supporting the millennial
goal of sustainable energy for everyone
he noted “the price we all pay all over
the world” for deforestation is “not
capturing that carbon, but burning the
biomass which puts more emissions into
the air.” This has caused huge problems
across the whole planet, although “sadly
Africa’s bearing the brunt of climate
change without having caused the
problem in the main.” Noting that
modern humans began in Africa Braun
is proud that the continent’s vast sustain-
able energy resources could be the
planet’s saviour, concluding that “It’s
really important that we all pull together
for Africa.” |
Kannan Lakmeeharan,
Partner at McKinsey
Company; Castigo Langa,
former Minister of Mineral
Resources and Energy,
Government of Mozambique
and Chairman, Board
of Directors, GIGAWATT
Moçambique SA; Jon Heggie,
Editorial Manager, National
Geographic; David Bowers,
Vice President of the Africa
Finance Corporation
(opposite, top row to bottom row)
Bonang Mohale, South Africa
Country Chairman of Shell
(left)

THE BIG
ENERGY
QUESTION
Sub-Saharan Africa’s
Sustainable
Energy Future
POWER QUEST:
nationalgeographic.com/gecpartnershowcase

Sub-Saharan Africa's Sustainable Energy Future

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