Search

Transitioning to clean cooking fuels is not only part of achieving SDG7 but also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Research projects and pilots across a number of countries in Africa and South Asia have been exploring the suitability and energy performance of different cooking appliances and fuels. The paper presents the first statistical analysis across these multiple datasets to determine the range of energy required to cook dishes using different technologies and fuels. The paper draws out distinctions between African and Asian dishes, notably the impact of energy-intensive dishes prepared mostly in Africa. The paper demonstrates that the standard efficiency-based approaches to comparing the performance of stoves are not appropriate to modern electric cooking devices, so a novel alternative approach based on specific energy consumption and termed energy ratios is developed. Charcoal stoves are shown to use 15 times as much energy as electric pressure cookers (EPCs) to cook African dishes, and a detailed review of how the EPC works explains why this should be. Energy ratios provide a basis for estimating carbon emission reductions associated with transitioning to modern cooking fuels and also for estimating household cooking costs. Fuel and electricity prices from studies show that the cost of cooking with an EPC can be only 20% of the cost of cooking with charcoal, which highlights the potential for modern, energy-efficient electric cooking devices to defy the conventional wisdom of the energy ladder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the impact of national governance quality on clean energy supplies in developing countries. We used a large sample of 103 developing countries over 21 years. We employ pooled ordinary least squares as the primary estimator. Additionally, we apply a Fixed Effect and the Two-Step System-Generalized Method of Moments to mitigate contemporaneity bias. Following prior studies, we construct national governance quality from the six World Governance Indicators. Consistent with our expectations, we find a positive and significant association between national governance quality and clean energy supplies. The results show that countries with high national governance quality are more likely to generate high amounts of clean energy than low-governed countries and to experience a high green economy. The results are also significant when the governance indicator is disaggregated into individual components. However, in a continental analysis, we found that the link between national governance quality and clean energy supplies is stronger in Africa than on other continents. Our results are robust to alternative measurements and econometric identification strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy accessibility, reliability and availability are key components of improved quality of life and human development in all spheres. As the United Nations' SDG 7 calls for access to electricity for all by 2030, Africa still has a wide gap to fill as the statistics show that 85% of the population that will not have access to electricity is in Africa. As the world tries to wean itself off non-renewable energy and transition to green through use of renewable energy sources, hydropower energy remains at the heart of Africa for this venture. With majority of the rural population in Africa lacking electricity, there is need for a low-tech system that utilizes river flow to generate just enough energy for normal operation in these regions. Micro-hydrokinetic river turbine technology (µ-HRT), which offers less intermittency, can potentially contribute to sustainably electrifying Africa rural areas. The technology has been adopted by few countries worldwide, with limited comprehensive study in Africa even though the technology seems viable for use in African rivers. This paper reviewed the status of the µ-HRT applications in Africa and some of the barriers to its development. The study found out that the technology has not been vastly developed in Africa. Despite numerous barriers, the technology is simply a low-tech technology that requires the use of local resources and capacity building for its sustainability in terms of construction, operation and maintenance requirements. It is therefore recommended that R&D and field trials be conducted for its possible adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Africa has a huge potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. However, electricity access remains a key policy issue for most member states, with a global average access to electricity of only 54% in 2019. This low electrification rate is a strong motivation for member states to increase renewable energy use and improve access to electricity for all. The goal of this paper was to present a literature review of methodologies, energy plans, and government programs that have been implemented by the Southern African Development Community member states to address the region's low average electrification rate and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The study presents the most commonly used methodologies for the integration of renewable energies into electrical systems, considering the main grid and distributed generation systems. LCOE minimization methodologies and software options, such as GIS, HOMER, LEAP, and EnergyPLAN, are the most common among the identified studies. The traditional method of electrifying by expanding the grid has not contributed to the eradication of energy poverty in rural areas. Therefore, to improve electricity access in Southern Africa, it is essential to consider off-grid solutions based on renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonrenewable energy makes up a sizeable portion of Africa's gross domestic product. The continent heavily relies on nonrenewable energy sources, such as gasoline, for industrial and commercial uses, which helps it expand and develop, especially in oil-producing nations. Incorporating nonrenewable energies when analyzing the relative effects of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental quality is paramount. The transition to renewable energy has been identified as a contributing factor in clean energy and sustainable development, but the consumption of renewable energy in Africa is negligible. This study employed panel threshold regression and covered data from 1990 to 2019, and examined the non-linear relationship between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and environmental quality. According to the study's findings, the consumption of renewable energy has a nonlinearly negative relationship with carbon emission proxied environmental quality. The relationship between environmental quality and economic growth was also shown to be nonlinearly positive, pointing to the dominance of nonrenewable resources in the African industry. The report recommends an effective policy for boosting the use of renewable energy sources in order to support clean energy and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In hot climates, such as sub-Sahara Africa, window sizing and orientation pose challenges as they add, through solar insolation, to the building cooling energy demand and thus the cause of indoor overheating risk. This risk can be reduced through passive building-design-integrated measures, e.g., optimizing the window size, orientation and solar shading strategies. Through an IDA-ICE building performance simulation tool, the current study explores the impact of window size, optimization and building-integrated PV panels as shading strategies on cooling energy demands in three cities (Niamey, Nairobi and Harare) in sub-Sahara Africa. Results show that thermal comfort and cooling energy demand are sensitive to a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) > 70%, while the need for artificial lighting is negligible for a WWR > 50%, particularly in the north for cities in the Southern hemisphere and the south in the Northern hemisphere. A WWR > 70% in the east and west should be avoided unless shading devices are incorporated. Internal blinds perform better in improving occupant thermal comfort but increase artificial lighting while integrating PV panels, as external shading overhangs reduce cooling energy but also produce energy that can be utilized for building services, such as air conditioning. In this study, the results and implications of the optimization of window size, orientation and building-integrated shading and operation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift to renewable sources of energy has become a critical economic priority in African countries due to energy challenges. However, investors in the development of renewable energy face problems with decision making due to the existence of multiple criteria, such as oil prices and the associated macroeconomic performance. This study aims to analyze the differential effects of international oil prices and other macroeconomic factors on the development of renewable energy in both oil-importing and oil-exporting countries in Africa. The study uses a panel vector error correction model (P-VECM) to analyze data from five net oil exporters (Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Libya and Nigeria) and five net oil importers (Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo, Mozambique and South Africa). The study finds that higher oil prices positively affect the development of renewable energy in oil-importing countries by making renewable energy more economically competitive. Economic growth is also identified as a major driver of the development of renewable energy. While high-interest rates negatively affect the development of renewable energy in oil-importing countries, it has positive effects in oil-exporting countries. Exchange rates play a crucial role in the development of renewable energy in both types of countries with a negative effect in oil-exporting countries and a positive effect in oil-importing countries. The findings of this study suggest that policymakers should take a holistic approach to the development of renewable energy that considers the complex interplay of factors, such as oil prices, economic growth, interest rates, and exchange rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of renewable energy remains Sub-Saharan Africa's best option to achieve sustainable growth and mitigate climate change. The essence of this study is to examine the factors that determine the adoption of renewable energy adoption in Africa by employing the System Generalized Methods-Of-Moment (GMM) to analyze data sourced from 1990 to 2019 on some selected African economies. The study examined the tripartite role of the economic, environmental, and socio-political factors on renewable energy adoption in Africa and noted that a positive relationship exists between economic and renewable energy adoption, supporting the validity of the feedback hypothesis. Hence, a policy that supports simultaneous growth of the economy and renewable energy could be adopted. The results further show that environmental factors such as carbon emission and ecological footprint negatively impact renewable energy (RE) adoption in Sub-Saharan African economies. The impact of socio-political factors is, at best mixed; for instance, the result of urbanization is positive and significant, suggesting that urbanization helps in the quick adoption of renewable energy in the studied economies, while the results of corruption show otherwise. To account for single-country dynamics, the study employed the full PMG and noted that the pollution haven hypothesis holds for a number of African economies. The results offer some policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desert palm date seeds are a potential feedstock for biodiesel and biomass pellet production, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. A model was developed in this study based on optimal conditions for the production of biodiesel, and it was used to evaluate the financial viability of a small-scale biodiesel plant (1000 t/y) using economic performance metrics including net present value, rate of investment, and payback period. Biodiesel was then produced from date seed oil (DSO) and blended with petrol diesel to make four blends (B5, B10, B15, and B20). The technical performance of these blends was investigated using a test engine rig under differing operating conditions, including variations in load and rpm. The investment performance of the proposed biodiesel plant was very sensitive to the price of biomass pellets; the project was feasible only when this was 70% that of wood pellets or higher. The baseline diesel outperformed the biodiesel blends in terms of engine power, thermal efficiency, and fuel economy, with average decreases of 4.5%, 7.65%, and 9.84%, respectively, at full load for B20. However, the biodiesel blends outperformed the baseline diesel in exhaust gas temperature (EGT), with average drops of 29 and 46.7 °C at full load for B5 and B20, respectively. Our study clearly demonstrates that due to it being obtained from existing waste materials, having a cleaner but comparable performance, and its economic viability, date seed oil has excellent potential as a feedstock for biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the residential sector consumes a significant amount of energy. Therefore, bioclimatic architectural systems which consider passive solutions should be studied, analyzed, and implemented to reduce energy consumption. This review aims to promote thermal comfort in African countries by using passive solar systems. It begins with the keyword thermal comfort and then reviews articles published over the last ten years that consider bioclimatic architecture and construction strategies in Africa, the main trends in scientific research in this field, and the possibilities for each climate zone in achieving the highest degree of climate comfort. Following an extensive review, certain bioclimatic architectural strategies adopted in specific countries can be applied in countries with similar climates and this can contribute to significant energy savings through effective functional solar and ventilation design strategies. Several countries have been identified as having the most significant publications on thermal regulations in buildings, and the associated regulations and projects are discussed. Several studies have also examined static and adaptive models of thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy forecasting is considered an essential scientific aspect in supporting efforts to integrate solar energy into power grids. Moreover, solar energy forecasting plays an essential role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy for future use. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis to assess solar energy forecasting research studies evolution at the continental (Africa) and southern Africa levels. Key aspects of analysis included (i) scientific research trends, (ii) nature of collaboration networks, (iii) co-occurrence of keywords and (iv) emerging themes in solar energy forecasting over the last two decades, between the years 2000–2021. The results indicate that solar energy forecasting research has, on average, expanded by 6.4% and 3.3% in Africa and southern Africa, respectively. Based on the study context, solar energy forecasting research only gained momentum in 2015, peaking in 2019, but it is generally still subtle. The scientific mapping illustrated that only South Africa ranks among the leading countries that have produced high numbers of published documents and also leads in contributions to the research area in both Africa and southern Africa. Three emerging topics were identified from the thematic map analysis—namely, "solar irradiance", "artificial intelligence" and "clear sky", which implies that researchers are paying attention to solar irradiance, using modelling techniques that incorporate machine learning techniques. Overall, this study contributes to scientific information on the potential bankability of renewable energy projects that could assist power utilities, governments and policymakers in Africa to enforce the green economy through accelerated decarbonisation of the energy systems and building relationships with developed countries for support and better transitioning to solar energy. From a Water–Energy–Food nexus perspective, the results of this work could assist the scientific community in Africa to take advantage of the inherent interconnectedness of water, energy and food resources, whilst also advancing the use of integrated solutions to shape the focus of solar energy research into a more systems thinking and transdisciplinary approach involving the interconnected primary resources and stakeholders pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental repercussions of extensive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on the environment are crucial for policymakers and scholars. The repercussions of and connection between economic growth (ECG), tourism (TOUR), and foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emission mitigation have been measured and argued from empirical and theoretical perspectives by scholars. Notwithstanding, the extant body of knowledge has failed to incorporate and investigate the function of governance in decarbonizing tourism activities and FDI from CO2 emissions to attain a healthy and quality environment in Africa. Hence, this current research investigates governance's role in the reduction processes of CO2 emissions grounded in environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) conceptual assumptions for panel data spanning 2000 through 2020 for 27 African countries. This research utilized the Westerlund panel cointegration approach for the investigation of the cointegration of the selected variables. This study applied the Driscoll–Kraay regression approach for the long-term estimation. In addition, the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and the pooled mean group (PMG) were used for robustness checks. The findings of this research indicated that the governance (GOV) indicators employed have a statistically significant effect on the CO2 emission reduction. Besides, this study found that the appreciation of the income of the nations gives credence to the formation of the EKC theory and contributes to the decline in CO2 emissions within the selected African nations. The findings revealed that tourism, FDI, ECG, and GOV are positive and significant factors leading to increased CO2 emissions in Africa. Furthermore, the results showed that effective governance and control of FDI inflows and tourism activities can support decarbonization. These findings suggest the merits of governance in ensuring effective decarbonization policies of the environment, and policy suggestions are accordingly put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, green finance has become a popular method for dealing with environmental issues. However, it remains to be seen whether green financing is effective in addressing current global environmental issues. In this article, we, therefore, analyze the diffusion patterns of green finance publications in the Global South and Global North to identify which section of the globe is under-researched from this perspective. The study tried to highlight the overall trends of research publications on green finance, continent, most contributing authors, countries, and journals. The study used a bibliometric approach with the help of R studio software. The Scopus database was used for extracting the resources and 522 documents utilized in this bibliometric analysis. The result demonstrates that the diffusion of green finance is more common in the Global North than in the Global South. However, the number of scientific studies produced over time, the number of active authors, and affiliations of the Global South have contributed more than the Global North. More specifically, at the continental level, Asia and the Pacific are playing a lion's share in providing scientific research publications on the green-finance-related issue. Meanwhile, the Arab states and Africa are the lowest contributing continent. China has the highest number of publications worldwide. However, this reality may be different if another approach (per capita contribution) is used to investigate the issue of green finance. Hence, we call for future studies to consider this fact in investigating the issue of green finance across the world. Furthermore, the study proposes further studies to be conducted on what are the factors that drive the Global South to lead. Finally, it is also better if the future studies take into account the status of each country in terms of green finance mobilization and capital contribution to share the specific experience of that country and lessons taken from that country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and development of wind turbines in low-wind-speed areas involves several technical and financial challenges related to maximizing conversion efficiency and minimizing cost. Unfortunately, much of the African continent is dominated by low-wind-speed resources. In this study, a multi-parameter optimization method is used to explore the design of a novel Ferris wheel wind turbine (FWT) technology, which has an 800-kW generation capability. We used the tip speed ratio, lift-to-drag ratio and power coefficient to determine the optimal efficiency by varying the number of blades and rim diameters. The capital cost estimates, as affected by rim diameter and the number of blades, are presented. This paper studies FWTs at their rated wind speeds because wind turbines have their maximum performance at the rated wind speeds, and this allows one to observe the effects of changing the rim diameter and the number of blades without the need to consider the location of the turbine. The results show that reducing the number of spokes by half (from 64 to 32) on the four rim diameters studied decreases the efficiency by less than 0.19%, while reducing the acquisition cost by 42%, installation cost by 42% and mass by 28%. Reducing the number of spokes to a quarter (i.e., from 32 to 16) decreases the efficiency by less than 0.31%, reduces the acquisition and installation costs by 36% and 35.5%, respectively, and the mass by 19.2%, of the four rim diameters studied. The reduction of the number of blades has a significant effect on the efficiency and capital cost with varying rim diameters. This paper shows the potential for Ferris-wheel-based wind turbines for low-wind-speed conditions, such as those that prevail in parts of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the authors discuss the problem of the influence of the level of electrification in African countries on their sustainable development. The first aim of the article is to determine the relationship between changes in the electrification index and changes in the indicators showing individual components of sustainable development for African countries. The analyzed indicators of sustainable development include GDP per capita, Human Deveopment Index (HDI), and the CO2 emissions per capita indicator. The second goal of the article was to develop a synthetic indicator of sustainable development. This study uses the method of relationship research based on Gray Systems Theory—Gray Incidence Analysis. The main conclusion from the research carried out is that improving access to electricity is a necessary condition for the sustainable development of African countries. The lack of improvement in the availability of electricity is a basic barrier to development, especially in the poorest African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Distributed Generation (RDG), when connected to a Distribution Network (DN), suffers from power quality issues because of the distorted currents drawn from the loads connected to the network over generation of active power injection at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). This research paper presents the voltage rise regulation strategy at the PCC to enhance power quality and continuous operation of RDG, such as Photovoltaic Arrays (PVAs) connected to a DN. If the PCC voltage is not regulated, the penetration levels of the renewable energy integration to a DN will be limited or may be ultimately disconnected in the case of a voltage rise issue. The network is maintained in both unity power factor and voltage regulation mode, depending on the condition of the voltage fluctuation occurrences at the PCC. The research investigation shows that variation in the consumer's loads (reduction) causes an increase in the power generated from the PVA, resulting in an increase in the grid current amplitude, reduction in the voltage of the feeder impedance and an increase in the phase voltage amplitude at the PCC. When the system is undergoing unity power factor mode, PCC voltage amplitude tends to rises with the loads. Its phase voltage amplitude rises above an acceptable range with no-loads which are not in agreement, as specified in the IEEE-1547 and Southern Africa grid code prerequisite. Incremental Conduction with Integral Regulator bases (IC + PI) are employed to access and regulate PVA generation, while the unwanted grid current distortions are attenuated from the network using an in-loop second order integral filtering circuit algorithm. Hence, the voltage rise at the PCC is mitigated through the generation of positive reactive power to the grid from the Distribution Static Compensator (DSTATCOM), thereby regulating the phase voltage. The simulation study is carried out in a MATLAB/Simulink environment for PVA performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of gendered energy transition at an urban scale has emerged as a challenging issue for researchers, policy makers and practitioners. With municipalities becoming players in the energy markets, their involvement raises policy issues that need to be better assessed in supporting gendered energy transition. This paper, therefore, contributes to gendered energy transition assessments at urban household level from a policy maker perspective. We developed a system dynamics model to assess the effects of urban energy policy interventions on household energy consumption and gendered measures using Drakenstein Municipality as a case study. The study used secondary data from various sources for the model parameters. We tested three hypothetical policy scenarios: the business-as-usual, the energy subsidy policy and the energy efficiency policy. The results show that understanding the changes in urban household energy consumption and gendered measures due to energy transition interventions is essential for urban policy planning. The energy subsidy policy scenario was observed to increase total energy consumption but also resulted in socio-environmental impacts that might increase inequality and impair human health. Urban household energy transition interventions need to consider a systems approach to develop decision support tools that capture the cross-sector impacts and inform the development of interventions that promote gendered household energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, the wealth of Africa has not made African wealthy. There is a voicing that Africa is cursed, whether richly poor or poorly rich. Sub-Saharan Africa is commonplace for political turbulence, as well as humanitarian and economic misery. In such a catastrophic situa-tion, political economics studies have focused on the Resource Curses, Dutch Diseases, and Con-flict Resources in this area. A systematic scientometric analysis of this field would be beneficial but is currently lacking in the academic literature. Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace, this review fills the void by analyzing the 1783 articles published in the WoS SSCI Collection between 1993 and 2020 on the "Resource Curses", "Dutch Diseases", and "Conflict Resources". The author dis-cusses recent papers with disruptive potential, references with the most robust citation explora-tions, and cooperation networks between authors and institutes. Three hotspots were detected: the causes and effects of the Resource curses; the interaction among the Resource Curses, Dutch Diseases, and Conflict Resources; the factors that affect rent collection and regime resilience. While the literature on the "Resource curse" and "Dutch Disease" has been around longer, studies on "Conflict Resources" are picking up quickly. Conflict Resources were characterized by active citation exploration keywords and multiple active co-citation clusters, including possibly groundbreaking articles. There is a massive overlap between the three strings of literature, but each one has its emphasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoupling energy, water, and food (EWF) consumption and production from GHG emissions could be an important strategy for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 7 (Clean and Affordable Energy) in Africa. This study applies Tapio's decoupling method to analyze the relationship between GHG emissions and EWF resources use in 15 African countries over the period 1990–2017. The results show a remarkable relationship, which includes the contamination of EWF by GHG emissions, that mostly exhibits unsatisfactory decoupling state to satisfactory decoupling over a period of several years. The decoupling of water and energy resources from GHG emissions in most countries of Africa has not been able to reach an excellent decoupling state or a strong positive decoupling state. This requires countries in Africa to support environmentally friendly water and energy infrastructures and to promote an integrated, mutually managed, whole resource interaction system. The study also highlights the importance of tracking sources of GHG emissions, whether within individual resource sector activities or across resources to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]