ON the eve of the Belt and Road Forum forlnternational Cooperation held in Beijing in mid-May, where participants discussed improving global connectivity and green development, Addis Ababa hosted a relevant program. The lnternational Hydropower Association, supported by the African Union Commission (AUC), the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the World Bank Group, organized the Sixth World Hydropower Congress in the Ethiopian capital from May 9 to 11, themed Better Hydro in an lnterconnected World. lt was the first time the event was held in Africa, an important acknowledgement of Africa’s abundant clean energy resources like hydro, wind and solar power, and the role it can play in the generation of sustainable clean energy. According to a report released during the congress, of all the renewable energy resources, hydropower has the most cost-effective and mature power generation technology. lt accounts for more than 16 percent of global power generation, and about 85 percent of global electricity generation as the most used renewable energy resource. Africa possesses about 12 percent of the global hydropower potential; yet with a total installed capacity of 34 gw, it produces only about 3 percent of global hydropower. lt means Africa exploits less than 10 percent of its technical potential, the lowest proportion of any of the world’s regions. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) alone can produce 42 percent of Africa’s hydropower potential. Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, stressed the significance of hydropower for Africa, saying the abundance of Africa’s hydropower resources and the maturity of the technology indicate hydropower’s crucial role in expanding electricity access, which currently stands at 31 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fossil fuels account for over 80 percent of the electricity generation mix on the continent. There are enormous challenges to harness renewable energy for power generation in Africa. According to the congress, small installed capacity, weak power infrastructure and unstable or unreliable power supply have been hindering the region’s economic and social development. This has been one of the major agendas on the continent and the conference underscored the message that there has to be a collective effort to tap this potential. “Hydropower will play a significant role in regional integration,” Quartey said. “Developing this resource at continental and regional levels will enhance economic cooperation and trade as well as create integrated markets amongst member states.” Liu Zhenya, Chairman of Global Energy lnterconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GElDCO), a non-profit international non-governmental organization headquartered in Beijing, proposed to build “global energy interconnection,” calling it the“inevitable way out for clean and low-carbon energy transition.” Global energy interconnection means a combination of “smart power grid + ultra high voltage grid + clean energy” leading to a shared green energy system that is key to sustainable development. Liu’s blueprint includes building transcontinental and cross-border energy grids for the globalization of energy production, distribution and trade. This would also include harnessing the “Internet of things” to provide intelligent services. “Let’s work hand in hand for African energy interconnections with more communication and common consent, and make our due contribution to sustainable development,” he said. Regional integration The AU too recognizes hydropower development as one of the major means to expand and improve access to cost-effective electricity on the continent as well as enhance the regional integration. lts Program for lnfrastructure Development in Africa (PlDA) gives importance to building hydropower plants. The East African region is a good example of regional energy interconnection. Ethiopia, with the highest installed hydropower capacity in the continent - 4,054 mw - is rapidly expanding its transmission and distribution network in order to meet its ambition of becoming the energy hub within the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), a power bloc created in 2005 to facilitate regional integration for sustainable growth and development. Besides the seven founding members - Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan - Tanzania became the eighth member in 2010. Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, lrrigation and Electricity, explained his country’s contribution to the EAPP by selling the hydropower it has produced to neighboring countries. “We will be expanding the capacity through Kenya to reach to Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and other countries,” Seleshi said. Bui Hydropower Project in Ghana built by SINOHYDRO Corp. The transmission capacities of Ethiopia’s existing cross-border interconnections are 100 mw to Sudan and 50 mw to Djibouti. When its 1,000-km Eastern Electricity Highway Project is complete in 2018, its electricity exporting capacity to Kenya will be lifted to 2,000 mw. Angola is also tracing a regional interconnection plan. ln late 2016, it signed an agreement with the lndustrial and Commercial Bank of China for a $4.5-billion loan to finance the Caculo Cabaca Hydropower Project. Located in the middle Kwanza River basin, the project is expected to take over six years to build. lt will contribute to the power supply security of the domestic market, and also of the neighboring countries that form the Southern African Power Pool. This track of Africa’s energy interconnection is anticipated to bring about substantial economic, social and environmental benefits by ensuring energy supply, promoting clean development, boosting economic growth and pushing for regional integration, according to observers. Challenges to overcome However, it’s not going to be a bed of roses. The majority of African countries require investment, technology and capacity to advance their hydropower development. The UN Sustainable Development Goals target ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services, as well as expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services in developing countries. This can be achieved in Africa only through hydropower generation, said Soteri Gatera, chief of lndustrialization and lnfrastructure Section, Regional lntegration and Trade Division, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Gatera mentioned that the Inga Hydropower Project alone in the DRC is capable of powering about half of Africa. But the cost of energy generation in Africa is a big issue. “The cost of generating electricity has been found to be… more than the cost of generating the same amount of energy in other part of the world such as in Latin America,”Gatera said. Despite financial backlogs, the AU is working with the DRC to develop lnga as one of its flagship programs under its Agenda 2063. Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, expressed another major concern over hydropower. Overreliance on it could negatively affect the environment and thereby society, especially in view of the prevailing droughts in some African countries, he pointed out, giving Zambia and Mozambique as examples of countries impacted by overreliance on hydropower. Moving forward PlDA is the AU initiative for facilitating continental integration through improved regional infrastructure and the creation of energy markets to foster inter-regional energy trade and cooperation. lt already includes nine hydropower projects to be developed in the short term and an additional 20 hydropower projects in the long term. This would mean adding 54 gw of hydropower capacity to the African grid by 2040. Zhou Yuanbing, Deputy Director General of the Economy and Technology Research Center of GElDCO, told ChinAfrica there is great potential to push forward hydropower interconnection in Africa and make development faster across the countries in the continent. “GEIDCO has already started cooperation with the AU to develop an electric network,” Zhou said. With greater involvement of the private sector, and new policies and programs injecting substantial capital into local power industries, the connectivity of African power grids is bound to happen, sooner or later. Promoting the construction of an energy network in Africa is also on the agenda for the Belt and Road Initiative. CA ON the eve of the Belt and Road Forum forlnternational Cooperation held in Beijing in mid-May, where participants discussed improving global connectivity and green development, Addis Ababa hosted a relevant program. The lnternational Hydropower Association, supported by the African Union Commission (AUC), the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the World Bank Group, organized the Sixth World Hydropower Congress in the Ethiopian capital from May 9 to 11, themed Better Hydro in an lnterconnected World. lt was the first time the event was held in Africa, an important acknowledgement of Africa’s abundant clean energy resources like hydro, wind and solar power, and the role it can play in the generation of sustainable clean energy. According to a report released during the congress, of all the renewable energy resources, hydropower has the most cost-effective and mature power generation technology. lt accounts for more than 16 percent of global power generation, and about 85 percent of global electricity generation as the most used renewable energy resource. Africa possesses about 12 percent of the global hydropower potential; yet with a total installed capacity of 34 gw, it produces only about 3 percent of global hydropower. lt means Africa exploits less than 10 percent of its technical potential, the lowest proportion of any of the world’s regions. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) alone can produce 42 percent of Africa’s hydropower potential. Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, stressed the significance of hydropower for Africa, saying the abundance of Africa’s hydropower resources and the maturity of the technology indicate hydropower’s crucial role in expanding electricity access, which currently stands at 31 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fossil fuels account for over 80 percent of the electricity generation mix on the continent. There are enormous challenges to harness renewable energy for power generation in Africa. According to the congress, small installed capacity, weak power infrastructure and unstable or unreliable power supply have been hindering the region’s economic and social development. This has been one of the major agendas on the continent and the conference underscored the message that there has to be a collective effort to tap this potential. “Hydropower will play a significant role in regional integration,” Quartey said. “Developing this resource at continental and regional levels will enhance economic cooperation and trade as well as create integrated markets amongst member states.” Liu Zhenya, Chairman of Global Energy lnterconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GElDCO), a non-profit international non-governmental organization headquartered in Beijing, proposed to build “global energy interconnection,” calling it the“inevitable way out for clean and low-carbon energy transition.” Global energy interconnection means a combination of “smart power grid + ultra high voltage grid + clean energy” leading to a shared green energy system that is key to sustainable development. Liu’s blueprint includes building transcontinental and cross-border energy grids for the globalization of energy production, distribution and trade. This would also include harnessing the “Internet of things” to provide intelligent services. “Let’s work hand in hand for African energy interconnections with more communication and common consent, and make our due contribution to sustainable development,” he said. Regional integration The AU too recognizes hydropower development as one of the major means to expand and improve access to cost-effective electricity on the continent as well as enhance the regional integration. lts Program for lnfrastructure Development in Africa (PlDA) gives importance to building hydropower plants. The East African region is a good example of regional energy interconnection. Ethiopia, with the highest installed hydropower capacity in the continent - 4,054 mw - is rapidly expanding its transmission and distribution network in order to meet its ambition of becoming the energy hub within the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), a power bloc created in 2005 to facilitate regional integration for sustainable growth and development. Besides the seven founding members - Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan - Tanzania became the eighth member in 2010. Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, lrrigation and Electricity, explained his country’s contribution to the EAPP by selling the hydropower it has produced to neighboring countries. “We will be expanding the capacity through Kenya to reach to Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and other countries,” Seleshi said. Bui Hydropower Project in Ghana built by SINOHYDRO Corp. The transmission capacities of Ethiopia’s existing cross-border interconnections are 100 mw to Sudan and 50 mw to Djibouti. When its 1,000-km Eastern Electricity Highway Project is complete in 2018, its electricity exporting capacity to Kenya will be lifted to 2,000 mw. Angola is also tracing a regional interconnection plan. ln late 2016, it signed an agreement with the lndustrial and Commercial Bank of China for a $4.5-billion loan to finance the Caculo Cabaca Hydropower Project. Located in the middle Kwanza River basin, the project is expected to take over six years to build. lt will contribute to the power supply security of the domestic market, and also of the neighboring countries that form the Southern African Power Pool. This track of Africa’s energy interconnection is anticipated to bring about substantial economic, social and environmental benefits by ensuring energy supply, promoting clean development, boosting economic growth and pushing for regional integration, according to observers. Challenges to overcome However, it’s not going to be a bed of roses. The majority of African countries require investment, technology and capacity to advance their hydropower development. The UN Sustainable Development Goals target ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services, as well as expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services in developing countries. This can be achieved in Africa only through hydropower generation, said Soteri Gatera, chief of lndustrialization and lnfrastructure Section, Regional lntegration and Trade Division, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Gatera mentioned that the Inga Hydropower Project alone in the DRC is capable of powering about half of Africa. But the cost of energy generation in Africa is a big issue. “The cost of generating electricity has been found to be… more than the cost of generating the same amount of energy in other part of the world such as in Latin America,”Gatera said. Despite financial backlogs, the AU is working with the DRC to develop lnga as one of its flagship programs under its Agenda 2063. Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, expressed another major concern over hydropower. Overreliance on it could negatively affect the environment and thereby society, especially in view of the prevailing droughts in some African countries, he pointed out, giving Zambia and Mozambique as examples of countries impacted by overreliance on hydropower. Moving forward PlDA is the AU initiative for facilitating continental integration through improved regional infrastructure and the creation of energy markets to foster inter-regional energy trade and cooperation. lt already includes nine hydropower projects to be developed in the short term and an additional 20 hydropower projects in the long term. This would mean adding 54 gw of hydropower capacity to the African grid by 2040. Zhou Yuanbing, Deputy Director General of the Economy and Technology Research Center of GElDCO, told ChinAfrica there is great potential to push forward hydropower interconnection in Africa and make development faster across the countries in the continent. “GEIDCO has already started cooperation with the AU to develop an electric network,” Zhou said. With greater involvement of the private sector, and new policies and programs injecting substantial capital into local power industries, the connectivity of African power grids is bound to happen, sooner or later. Promoting the construction of an energy network in Africa is also on the agenda for the Belt and Road Initiative. CA

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