“Electricity is more than just a source of power for homes; it symbolizes hope and progress. However, this promise often goes unrealized for millions in rural areas around the globe. Egypt’s quest for energy equality—a story that started with challenges in 1992, the rise of a solution that not only brought electricity to villages but also changed lives.”
In 1992, Egypt faced a significant energy challenge with urban electrification at 98.4% and rural access lagging at 89.6%.
This disparity raised concerns about the inclusivity of the energy infrastructure and the well-being of rural communities.
A Greener, Cheaper, Overall Better Solution Emerges:
To tackle this formidable challenge, the proposed solution involved harnessing Egypt’s abundant natural gas resources. Natural gas, renowned for its cleaner and more sustainable attributes, emerged as a beacon of hope. The goal was not only to cater to escalating urban demands but to extend the benefits to long-overlooked rural areas, creating a more inclusive and environmentally friendly energy landscape. Additionally, natural gas offered economic advantages, being both cheaper and easier to remote in rural regions compared to traditional energy sources. This made it an ideal solution for bridging the energy divide and ensuring equitable access to electricity across Egypt.
Success Unveiled:
Natural gas production experienced substantial growth over the years, having a major role in impacting the construction of a resilient and accessible energy infrastructure. this economic viability made it an attractive solution for bridging the energy gap and ensuring equitable access to electricity across Egypt. This success wasn’t confined to urban centers but rippled out to rural communities, ensuring that the positive impact of electrification reached every corner of the nation.
The percentage of natural gas production witnessed remarkable growth over 10-year intervals, rising from nearly zero in 1971 to around 80% in 2011.
Symmetry, With Oil Sources:
There the growth of natural gas production aligns symmetrically with the decline in oil sources production. This visual harmony provides irrefutable evidence that the strategic integration of natural gas was not only effective but also instrumental in reducing dependence on less sustainable energy sources.
Fast forward to 2011:
Urban access surged to an impressive 99.74%, the most notable achievement was the substantial growth in rural electrification, which improved significantly (more than 10%) to reach 99.2%.
This visual representation underscores the remarkable progress in bringing electricity to rural areas, signaling a successful effort to bridge the gap.
Rural Electrification Triumphs:
The real triumph lies in the positive outcomes witnessed in rural electrification, as exemplified in the narrative of “Natural Gas and Rural Electrification.”
The integration of natural gas into the energy mixes catapulted Egypt into a new era—a landscape marked by balance, sustainability, and a profound impact on rural communities. The findings underscore the success of aligning energy production with both environmental and social imperatives.
The transformative threshold of Africa.Getting Africa on-line is not all about pulling together the disparate elements, but that this approach can be truly inspirational for the innovative technologies which shun conventional ‘hard-wired’ powers and embrace sustainable energy delivery.Despite all that, flickering of the previous shadows in some dimmed-down villages is the sign of change.Nevertheless, the narrative goes beyond the question of access and moves even further into green energy as light for illuminating our environment which is being over polluted at an unheard pace.This transformation encapsulates a dual ambition: clean and green lighting to homes, schools and factories, big and small, in this continent’s crowded cities and small villages under clear day and night skies.During the course of our discourse on details and stories surrounding Africa’s energy map, we will analyze more than just statistical aspects of electric power availability between towns and villages and the recent movement towards renewables – from darkness to sustainable light, which portrays an illuminating future.
We can also check the disparity between urban and rural areas in Africa.
Our initiative seeks to illuminate the African continent by expanding access to electricity, with the firm commitment to SDG 13.2—integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. We aim to electrify the future of Africa through the adoption of renewable energy solutions, ensuring that every watt powering development is also protecting our planet. By fostering the use of clean, renewable energy sources, we are not only turning on the lights but also paving the way for a sustainable and resilient energy ecosystem across African communities.
Increasing electric power consumption (kWh per capita) in Africa does not inherently lead to a rise in CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) when we strategically incorporate renewable energy sources. By integrating solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power into the energy mix, Africa can satisfy its growing energy needs while mitigating carbon footprint. This sustainable approach aligns with the global ambition to combat climate change, embodying the spirit of SDG 13.2. It demonstrates that economic growth and environmental stewardship can coexist, powering development that honors our collective commitment to a greener future.
We can see from this graph that in the European Union, increasing electric power consumption per capita did not lead to an increase in CO2 emissions per capita. This is due to the fact that they have increased their reliance on renewables, shown in the following graph.
In conclusion, the imperative for Africa is not just to electrify but to do so sustainably. Green energy solutions offer a pathway to empower the continent with the electricity it needs, without compromising the health of our planet. The adoption of renewable energy technologies in Africa represents a convergence of developmental aspirations with ecological responsibility. By harnessing the abundant renewable resources available, from solar to wind to hydro, Africa can leapfrog traditional, carbon-intensive energy models, setting a global example of sustainable growth. This approach not only addresses immediate energy needs but also aligns with long-term climate goals, fulfilling our collective responsibility to future generations.
Despite rising commodity prices and concerns from international leaders about energy scarcities and gas costs at the pump, millions of people in Africa still do not have access to electricity.
Only three nations in West and Central Africa are on track to provide power to every citizen by 2030, according to the SDG7 agenda. In the region, 263 million people will go without electricity in ten years if things continue at this poor rate. One of the lowest rates of electricity access in the world is in West Africa, where only 8% of rural inhabitants and 42% of the general population have access to it.
These numbers—some much too large, some much too small—have serious repercussions. Enhancing people’s chances and options starts with electricity. Access is essential for increasing economic activity and helps to improve human capital, which is an investment in a nation’s future potential.
Children cannot complete their education at night without electricity. Businesspeople are unable to trade with one another or obtain market information. Even worse, as the COVID-19 epidemic has so clearly demonstrated, a lack of energy restricts hospital and emergency services, putting patients at even greater risk and tainting priceless medications.
How will West and Central Africa be powered?
Accelerating the transition to universal energy access is crucial right now in order to fuel the continent’s economic change and encourage socioeconomic inclusion. Without consistent access to electricity, a nation’s social fabric may suffer, with those without it growing weary of inequality. Here are some audacious strategies that are needed to address the energy access challenge in the African continent.
One of the things can be done is to make utilities profitable. Many electricity suppliers in the area are cash-strapped and run infrastructure and a generation fleet that is outdated and in poor condition. As a result, they are unable to provide their consumers with electricity that is both dependable and economical, much alone provide electricity to those who currently have to rely on subpar alternatives to electricity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, less than half of the utilities make back their operating costs, which causes GDP losses of up to 4% in some nations.
Lowering the cost of supply is a requirement for increasing electricity access to those who are currently without it, typically lower-income and frequently remote households. This is accomplished by improving the performance of national utilities and greening their power generation mix.
West and Central African nations must go outside their boundaries in order to further link their national utilities and grids to other systems in the area. This is a crucial second point. Without effective regional trade, many nations would be largely dependent on a small number of energy supplies and polluting generation sources, necessitating the importation of fuel at volatile international oil prices.
Last but not least, political leaders will need to dedicate a lot of time and effort to obtaining universal access to power, especially when it comes to creating laws and rules that can draw reputable investments.
Year after Year, temperatures rise across the world with an increase in the overall emissions of CO2 and other gases correlated with global warming. Sea levels are at risk of rising, climate change is on the rise, increased risks of droughts and floods and threats to biodiversity. All this as a consequence of global warming and finally putting people’s lives at risk and the survival of the world. Although we have a solution available, we are not efficiently relying on it neither optimizing its use. SDG 7 requires a world responsibility towards providing accessible and clean energy sources, one of our key responsibilities is to ensure that we reach this goal adequately by the year 2030.
“Amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is 50% more than the 1900s.”
“Temperatures increasing yearly, and summers getting hotter.”
These are words repeated by people over and over, but are we reacting?
The following shows the rise in temperatures.
Global Warming:
The root problem!
Global warming was identified as a global issue during the 1980s, during the year 1988 world hottest summers were recorded. Since then, hotter summers have been recorded, increasing temperatures are still being recorded along continuous increase in CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy was first explored in 1927 through wind turbines, although such resources are available, they are still not used adequately to encounter the rising temperatures issue. Renewable energy resources are available, but their usage is not improving.
Renewable Energy:
Are we sufficiently using them?
World resources institute states that renewable energy resources emit 50g or less of CO2 emissions per KWh over their lifetime, compared to about 1000g CO2/KWh for coal and 475g CO2/KWh for natural gas.
Renewable and clean energy resources such as solar power, wind power, hydro power or nuclear power are highly available and further resources could be developed. Current resources are not efficiently used along with no clear plans or transition to more clean energy resources. On the other hand, not all countries or people have appropriate access to clean energy resource neither the resources or accommodations required to develop them.
The infrastructure and development of renewable energy is highly costly, but costs for using such energy on the long-term are cheaper, current fossil fuel prices are set to be cheaper as the pollution consequences and carbon-fee are not interpreted into the pricing strategy of gases and fossil fuels. Governments and Organizations are avoiding the transition due to its high costs but at the cost of polluting and putting high risks on our environment our health and survival of earth.
A clear rise in CO2 emissions accompanied by a decrease of renewable energy consumption is shown and identified by world development indicators.
Actions Required:
Optimizing usage of currently available clean energy resources and services.
Increase the availability of clean energy sources and reliance on them across different sectors and industries.
Raise Awareness on the problem “that we have the resources and capabilities needed to reduce global warming” but we are not efficiently using them.
Raise Awareness about the risks and effects of global warming along with the quick rate it is happening at.
Governments and World organizations planning strategies to increase the use of renewable enerygy and conducting awareness campaigns to influence the public and future image.
If we don’t protect our environment and nature, we can’t protect ourselves. Floods, drought, higher rates of contamination, increased health risks and the slow death of our planet are the cost of using cheaper resources.
THE 17 GOALS: Affordable and clean energy in australia:
CO2 emissions is one of the hottest topics nowadays especially in Australia where they are suffering from the high emission of CO2. CO2 leads to many problems in the atmosphere warms the planet, causing climate change.
In the last 30 years the emission of CO2 in Australia has been increasing significantly, that line chart here shows the trend of consecutive increase over the years.
Energy-related CO2 emissions is increasing by years This is abundantly seen when we examine emissions from energy generation in Australia. We can see here that the CO2 emission increase significantly as more electricity is generated where more than 30% increase in the CO2 emission generated from the electricity production.
The coal in Australia plays an important role in it economy and that what made Australia so rich, the high availability of that natural resource.
It’s well known that the coal is used worldwide for electricity production, as Australia is one the richest country in coal resources them energy-related carbon emissions from coal resources have risen to arrive to a maximum of 84% which was primarily due to rising energy consumption in Australia.
The CO2 emission from electricity and heat production followed an incremental trend until 2001 where it started to fluctuate that is caused as we can see to the decrease in the electricity production from coal sources here a new line shows up that stated to going upward but at very shy way that is the electricity production from renewable sources.
the renewable energy consumption in Australia is 10.13% of total final energy consumption at the end of 2019 which is considered very low considering Australia as a developed country only a small portion of that 10.13 is used to produce electricity as we can see in 2014 9.32% is the renewable energy consumption of total final energy consumption only 7.5% of that is used to produce electricity.
So, what are the barriers for Australia for not up taking renewable energy?
Information
Some consumers and companies may be unaware that installing solar panels might help them save money and hence fail to analyze the potential. They may also lack a reliable installation and are unsure how to locate an appropriate provider.
The cost of capital
For many individuals, the initial capital expenditure of solar panels is a substantial barrier to realizing the financial benefits of free power.
Priorities
People may be aware that installing solar panels is a good idea, but they may have other priorities that must be addressed first.
