Botswana challenged to boost energy while decarbonising
Keletso Thobega | Monday March 11, 2024 12:22
Word coming from Parliament recently indicates that this move is a step towards enhancing energy accessibility for all and removing financial barriers to access to electricity.
Furthermore, those who are not on the national grid will benefit from a comprehensive solar programme that aims to bridge the gap in energy access and provide sustainable energy solutions.
This new policy responds to Botswana’s ambition of 100% access to modern energy by 2030 – from the current standing of 66%.
Botswana is faced with a conundrum of ensuring that it churns out enough energy for its citizens while also adhering to global commitments on carbon emission reduction, Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) acting CEO Pelaelo Kgomotso recently noted at the BERA and Regional Energy Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA) annual conference and general meeting in Gaborone.
Kgomotso said that Botswana requires adequate skills and expertise, emphasising the need for government and the private sector to work together with local communities to ensure that their needs are met and further opportunities for sustainable energy supply and decarbonisation are identified.
The conference sought to find ways that Botswana could work with regional countries and the international community to ensure that it develops a sustainable energy sector and framework policy that would guide energy transformation.
Speaking at a side event press conference at the African Union (AU) summit this past February, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Dr Amani Abou-Zeid said the African Energy Commission (AFREC) had conducted a comprehensive capacity-building programme starting with a comprehensive capacity and skills gaps assessment on the African energy sector, at continental, regional and national levels, for both public and private sectors.
Abou-Zeid further said that with the results that were obtained from the assessment exercise, the programme that has been proposed takes into consideration the regional and national needs related to priority energy projects that are currently in the development pipeline for the next five years.
“This programme offers a roadmap which includes effective training plans (up to 150 identified trainings) with a list of the African and international institutions and training centres able to provide the required training that addresses the specific skills needed by policymakers and energy experts of AU member states, regional and continental institutions in the energy sector,” she said.
Abou-Zeib further said that with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Energy Commission is developing a comprehensive energy transition strategy that will help the AU member states pursue their sustainable development goals by developing its energy resources, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“The strategy will provide concrete measures to carry out Deep Decarbonisation Pathways as the first ever action-orientated undertaken in Africa as a whole,” she said. “The strategy will also provide a clear understanding of transformations needed for the energy system in the short, medium and long terms, to achieve intertwined targets in the specific prevailing conditions in Africa. “It shall also identify and develop frameworks, plans and methodologies to support the development of sectoral and technology-orientated, policy-relevant and country-driven strategies in line with the national development agendas such as the AU Agenda 2063 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
Green energy has a growing market in Africa and Abou-Zeid reiterated this point when she highlighted that the African Union Commission had conducted a comprehensive study that examines the technological, economic, social and political implications for green hydrogen development in Africa.
Abou-Zeid explained that the study aimed to inform a unified African perspective for policy and strategy for the development of a green hydrogen value chain in a way that would strengthen Africa’s position and competitiveness given the continent’s abundant renewable energy resources and vantage location to international markets. Furthermore, the study, which was approved by energy ministers from across Africa in September 2023, emphasises the need for using green hydrogen and its derivatives to develop local industry in Africa for the continent’s sustainable development.
One of the key plans in Africa that some stakeholders have cited has been the development of the Africa Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), an ambitious initiative aimed at establishing a harmonised, interconnected and competitive continental electricity market to deliver secure, reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity services.
Abou-Zeid said the implementation of AfSEM would leverage off latest technological innovations to create a digitally enabled data-driven smart and efficient electricity system.
“The implementation of AfSEM entails development and harmonisation of compatible policies, legislation and regulations to facilitate cross-border electricity trade within and among power pools and member states,” she said.
The implementation project, which started in 2023, is expected to reach full functionality by 2040.
Abou-Zeid reiterated that smart, resilient and transformative infrastructure is the backbone of Africa’s inclusive growth, job creation and ability to cope with climate impacts, emphasising that the Infrastructure and Energy Department of the African Union has so far made significant strides towards promoting smart, resilient and transformative infrastructure across the continent.
“For example, in line with Africa’s Common position for Energy access and transition, the department advocated for Africa’s needs and opportunities for sustainable development and climate action, and concluded that 2024 needs to be a year of action in terms of creating favourable conditions to translate commitments into tangible and concrete results,” she said.
*Keletso Thobega is an independent development journalist and a Fellow of African Union (AU) Media Fellowship and United Nations (UN) Health Reporting Fellowship.