More creative forms of innovation are needed to help Africa meet its energy challenges, says World Energy Council (WEC) secretary-general, Dr Christoph Frei.
In his closing remarks at the Energy Indaba 2011 conference, held in Sandton this week, he noted that access to electricity is the “fuel for growth”, and key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
But that requires adequate policy frameworks and financing vehicles for clean rural infrastructure development, he added.
According to a WEC study, almost 90% of developing countries prioritised progress in energy poverty and development over the climate agenda, or required that the two are at least linked. The majority of developed countries agreed that it was legitimate for Africa to prioritise energy poverty ahead of climate issues.
Frei cited the principle of Maslow's hierarchy for a person's motivational structure, with direct needs like food trumping those like love and esteem. According to Frei, energy policy needs function in a similar way.
“Access to energy, supply security, energy costs, environmental issues and social acceptance are not subject to trade-off, but to a hierarchy: we cannot successfully address higher order issues before proposing and implementing solutions for more direct needs.”
The conference speakers also concluded that SA needs strong leadership to address uncertainties regarding energy policies and regulations, which is hampering investment and affecting economic growth.
Speaking to ITWeb after the event, Frei said: “The most frustrating part is not the technology, it's the absence of financing. It costs roughly R20 billion to R100 billion to electrify a village and in that space it's very difficult to find financing.”
Given the lack of ready funding, Frei suggested the need to find contextual solutions and drive institutional innovation.
“Institutional innovation to support the adoption of existing technologies is therefore as important as purely technical innovation,” he stated.
Frei stressed that government provides a framework within which the private sector can innovate, although this is only one facet driving progress.
“Innovation happens when you have scarcity, cultural diversity, good social mobility, and a degree of capital. On which of those factors does government have an influence? Government has an influence in making a framework available into which capital flows.”
In urban areas, where the majority of the world's population will be living by 2030, if current trends continue, there is great potential for creative institutional solutions, said Frei.
He used Cape Town's investment in solar parks and wind farms as an example. “There are so many opportunities to do more projects like this, but it takes creativity and different stakeholders to play along.”
Frei argued that technology needs to be usable in an urban context. “It may even be low-tech but as long as it works, that innovation needs to happen.”
He adds that IT has a significant role to play in how people engage with energy issues.
Better collaboration through video conferencing and Skype calls allows researchers, policy-makers, project developers and others to share knowledge faster. “Enabling technology is all about enabling frameworks. Using collaborative technology enables us to work behind the scenes and connect globally to share ideas.”
Brian Statham, chairman of the South African Energy National Energy Agency, noted that 1.5 billion people globally lack access to commercial energy, with about half of those people on the African continent.
“On the one hand, it means tremendous disempowerment for people, who are not able to engage in social and economic activity. But on the other hand, it's a wonderful opportunity for countries to get together and unleash the human energy potential that resides on the continent,” said Statham.
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