We all want power in 2014

With many countries holding elections in 2014 – Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malawi, South Africa, American mid-terms, and Scotland’s referendum on whether to remain part of the United Kingdom – power is up for grabs.

But that’s not the power I was referring to. Electricity = Power. Without power, businesses and economies can’t develop. More than half of African business leaders identified a lack of power as a large constraint on growth (The Economist, The World in 2014).

Therefore, a high priority for the international aid agenda will be “energy poverty.” In 2014 the United Nations will kick-off a “decade of sustainable energy for all” campaign. Countries will develop plans to provide their citizens with energy access by 2030. In addition, the American Government will extend its development policy, the “Power Africa Initiative” that commenced in Tanzania in 2013. Up for consideration soon, by the American Congress, is the Electrify Africa Act.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that an additional investment of $600 billion is needed by 2030 to provide all citizens of countries who lack power with enough funds for an electric light, a fan, and a mobile phone charger. Measuring the world’s unmet electricity demand is not easy, so this is one estimate, although broadly accepted. The American Government’s Power Africa Initiative starts the ball rolling with $7 billion in public funding for projects in 6 African countries, with about $9 billion in private finance.

The challenge is not only to find the funds to electrify Africa, and other developing nations, but also to do so with clean technology. So far, Africa has developed 7% of the continent’s hydropower potential, 0.7% of its wind power potential, and even less of its solar power potential. Gas is limited to power homes and businesses.

While currently much of Africa stops after dark, the electrification agenda – its energy poverty elimination agenda – could potentially provide much more than power.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog