| heal.abstract |
As the world energy consumption is rising, a gradual depletion of fossil resources is witnessed. Rising energy needs is particularly high in emerging countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. While the annual radiation received by the Sahara desert which covers 0.16% of the African continent is about 200 times the global annual primary energy demand, 700 million in a total of 2 billion people worldwide living without access to electricity are in Africa. Solar energy as substitute for conventional fossil fuels is gaining interest as a viable technique for CO2 mitigation and job provider. Some of the becoming mature solar technologies are: solar cooling and heating, solar electricity, solar drying, and solar desalination, to name a few. If no measures or adequate mechanisms are taken, millions of people will still live in energy poverty despite the development of these technologies. The objective of this paper is to analyze the energy situation in Africa from cultural, technical, economical and political viewpoint. First, the authors present the energy situation. In the second part, most solar technologies available are listed and their viability is discussed. Finally, countries energy policy and obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy technologies are discussed and few proposals are made. As conclusion, solar technologies are well adapted for Africa and have high socio-economic impact but at the moment they are very expansive. Cost of equipments, lack of technology transfer, cultural habits, unsustainable and incoherent energy policy were identified as major obstacles for the implementation of renewable energy technologies. Definition of sustainable energy policy, cooperation, education, and subsidies appear as appropriate ways to tackle energy poverty. Copyright © (2009) by the International Solar Energy Society. |
en |