Hydropower currently produces more than three-quarters of the world's renewable energy each year and has lower carbon emissions than other renewable sources like wind and solar. Africa has significant potential for expanding hydropower since it is responsible for 84% of the continent's non-fossil fuel energy use, yet over half of Africans lack access to electricity. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam currently under construction will be Africa's largest hydropower plant, providing much needed electricity to Ethiopia. While hydropower projects are controversial, they offer abundant clean energy for decades without much maintenance.

1. Future of Hydropower
Africa’s hydropower future
Energy poverty is rife in Africa.
Of the more than one billion
people living in its 54
countries, over half lack
access to electricity.

2. In global debates on renewable energy and the
drive to find cleaner, greener alternatives to fossil
fuels, wind and solar power usually grab the
headlines.

3. But the data shows a different picture. Hydropower produces
more than three-quarters of the world’s renewable energy output
each year. And its carbon emissions — over the entire lifecycle
of construction, operation and decommissioning — are often far
lower than those from all other renewable sources, including
wind and solar.
Across Africa, hydropower is responsible for 84 per cent of all
non-fossil fuel energy use. But in a continent rich in lakes and
rivers, the opportunities for expanding hydropower are huge.

4. The Nile is the world’s longest river, making it one
of Africa’s greatest potential sources of
hydropower.

6. The GERD is being built in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia, just upstream from
the Sudanese border. On completion in 2017, it is planned to be 145 metres high — nearly
one-and-a-half times the height of Victoria Falls — making it the highest dam in Africa. Its
reservoir is set to contain 74 billion cubic metres of water, roughly the same as 13 times
Ethiopia’s total annual water consumption. The Ethiopian government expects the dam to
produce six gigawatts of energy at peak output. This will almost triple Ethiopia’s electricity
production, which currently stands at less than three gigawatts.
Hydropower projects often split opinion. They can provide abundant clean energy for around
50 years without major maintenance and, unlike other renewables such as solar or wind, they
produce continuous power.

10. Why Hydroelectric is the Future
?

11. References
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/future-of-hydropower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9P9lRYDOEk
http://corporate.vattenfall.com/about-energy/renewable-energy-sources/hydro-
power/future-of-hydro-power/
http://www.scidev.net/mena/energy/data-visualisation/africa-hydropower-future-
interactive-AR.html#section-3