Featured in Further upstream – 10-2024

Problems and potential

Africa’s 54 nations comprise 30 million km², making it larger than Europe, India, the United States, and China combined. The International Energy Agency’s “Africa Energy Outlook 2022” report estimated 600 million people – 43% of the continent’s population – lacked electricity. There is a clear opportunity for solar to make a difference.

By

Blathnaid O’Dea

05 Nov 2024

The Khi Solar One project, in North Cape, South Africa. | Photo: Jaro Nemcok/Wikimedia Commons

Africa’s irradiance potential is famous. The continent’s central band is a sunny, dry desert. In North Africa, irradiance peaks during summer, and during winter, it improves in the south, thanks to weather patterns.The sun also shines on problems with planning, transparency, infrastructure, finance, and political and economic instability.Tracking progress brings challenges, too, said John van …

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