Experts says renewable energy is a critical driver of post-covid-19 growth recovery and economic prosperity in Africa Countries, including Malawi.
In virtual discussion at the 2021 United Kingdom (UK) Africa Investment Summit, the experts called for a stronger partnership between the UK and Africa.
The UK Africa Investment Summit, hosted by the UK Department for International Trade , brings together the UK and Africa businesses to explore the opportunities for partnership and Investment.
The experts said investment in large-scale electrification projects could be key to achieving economic developemnt. UK Export Finance chief executve officer Louis Taylor said African countries are building back better from the coronavirus.
He said this presents an opportunity for UK investors to be part of the African success story and for African countries to access the UK’s support projects. Said Taylor: “The UK is still the ultimate one-stop-shop. The UK government is still the largest G7 investor in Africa.
“For instance, UK Export Finance is providing a £1.7 billion (about K1.7 trillion) guarantee to support the developemnt of Cairomonorail in Egypt, the UK’s biggest ever oversees inftrustructure guarantee,” Taylor said.
The ministry of Energy spokesperson Saidi Banda sain in an interview on Monday that with or without covid-19, the ministry has always taken renewable energyas a catalyst to universal access to energy.
“This may be noted in a number of initiatives that have been undertaken, some of which are review of the Energy Policy, developemnt of Renewable Energy Strategy, feed in Tariff, intergrated resource planning framework and independent power producers framework,” he said.
Banda said the ministry also did studies on solar and wind energy to support the renewable energy agenda, adding that currently, the ministry is developing the Renewable Energy Bill.
He further said the Energy Policy 2018 has included the use of renewable energy minigrids, pico systems and solar home systems as strategies for increasing access to energy.
International Energy Agency data shows that scaling up Africa’s capacity to achieve universal access to energy by 2030 would require over $100 billion per year, out of which 40 percent would be dedicated to solar, wind and other low-carbon power generation projects.
Cureently, Malawi’s electricity coverage stands at 11 percent, but government plans to increase access to 30 percent by 2030, a development energy experts argue will not be achieved if investments remain slow and little.
The African Develepment Bank (AfDB) has taken the lead in accelerating the electrification of the continent through its New Deal on Energy for Africa, a transformative partnership-based strategy that aimes to increase access to energy for all Africans.
Source: The Nation_January 28, 2021_by Steve Chilundu-Staff Reporter