RE: Windaba, met masts, and the future of energy in Africa

Dear Friends of Renewables

It has been an exhausting and fascinating last two weeks:

· We successfully installed the first NRG 80m met mast in Africa

· The SAWEA WIndaba was a huge hit (with many taking time out from the crazy RFP process to join the conference, not to mention the dancing at Madame Zingara)

· The Conference of Energy Ministers in Africa took place in Johannesburg, 15-16 Sept.

Now the latter of these three may seem to be the least exciting, but perhaps, in the bigger picture of things, is the most important, and perhaps the most cause for concern – reading the Johannesburg Declaration from the conference reveals how far we still have to go to move from a Energy-Industry Complex (such as the Minerals and Energy Complex in South Africa) to a paradigm focussed on bringing safe, affordable, sustainable energy to the poor.

Now at first glance, it seems like a great document:

· It emphasises the linkages between poverty and energy

· It recognises that the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved without access to energy

· It argues for universal access to electricity by 2030

· It prioritises modern clean high-quality energy services…..

Ah-ha! Whenever I see the words Clean Energy these days, I get suspicious. Clean Energy has come to mean NOT Renewable Energy, but rather Nuclear, gas, and CCS – all of which have serious issues. And as usual, despite the feel-good statements in the document, the devil is in the detail – Annex 1 to be precise. Annex 1 consists of all the priority projects to be built in Africa.

Is there ONE renewable energy project on the list? There is not (OK, there is one, a Geothermal plant, but it is small compared to all the rest).

All the rest are BIG HYDRO (such Mphanda Nkuwa in Mozambique, which will be used to power a BHP Billiton Smelter), Gas or Transmission projects. There is even a water project – the Lesotho Highlands Water project. Why? Because water is needed for the new coal power stations in South Africa!

Where are the big renewables? The distributed generation? Off-grid or mini-grid solutions? Smart grids? These are the solutions of the future, and they are not mentioned. But all of what IS mentioned is all for providing energy for Big Business, for Industry – projects that pollute, promote climate change, and certainly do not bring energy to those who need it the most.

But perhaps the worst part of it all is that the governments involved are looking to access Climate Change funds, though COP17 and other forums, to fund these projects. Could we have been hoodwinked by South Africa’s position at the COP negotiating table? Is all the talk about Green Economy, Renewables and Decarbonisation all a smoke screen to try and access low-cost climate cash for big business projects?

Many of us spend a lot of time fighting against the Business-As-Usual paradigm of fossil fuels and big business, and get really excited when we see the shifts happening in South African policy towards Renewables. However, the battle is far from won, as the outcome of this conference clearly indicates.

Frank