By Times Reporter
Africa has the potential to expand its economy fourfold, with energy demands expanding by only 50 per cent, according to a new report.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) unveiled its report on the first day of the second African Investment Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday.
Africa Energy Outlook 2019 found that the continent’s future energy prospects look bright, but only if governments can make the shift to more renewable energy sources.
The report says there are three factors that will determine the continent’s future energy consumption – its growing population, the rapid increase in urbanization and industrialization.
Kieran McNamara, an analyst at IEA, noted that these will have “profound effects on Africa’s energy mix and how the economy develops.”
The IEA has for the first time conducted detailed modelling of the energy mix for 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, namely Angola, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal.
The projected energy mix needed for Africa will be very different from the current one, with countries moving away from biomass and fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.
About 600 million Africans have no access to electricity, although this has improved since 2013, according to IEA’s analysis…
