Central Africa’s new gas mega-project to provide millions with access to electricity – The North Africa Post

With greater than 60% of Central Africa’s inhabitants having no entry to electrical energy, the formidable Central African Pipeline System (CAPS) challenge goals to alter that with a community of pipelines, refineries and gas-fired energy vegetation stretching throughout 11 international locations within the area.

Nonetheless, the proposal by the Central Africa Enterprise Vitality Discussion board to construct 6,500 kilometers of pipelines linking oil and fuel assets has been criticized by environmentalists who say the challenge is a mistake that can exacerbate the local weather disaster and fail to learn native populations. However the Discussion board nonetheless insists fuel specifically ought to play a key function in growing the Central Africa’s economic system, making it an “vitality poverty-free zone” by 2030, based on Nathalie Lum, chairwoman of the Central Africa Enterprise Vitality Discussion board (CABEF).

Seven international locations have to this point signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), and a feasibility examine for a primary part is predicted by the tip of 2023. “Entry to dependable, inexpensive vitality will help scale back poverty, entice investments, and create jobs, whereas additionally offering an essential income for governments.” Lum mentioned.

However a 2020 examine commissioned by the World Financial institution Group means that Africa’s onshore wind potential is sufficient to fulfill the whole continent’s present electrical energy calls for 250 occasions over. The continent additionally has an abundance of photo voltaic vitality, which is more and more inexpensive to harness. Furthermore, these sources of electrical energy proceed to get cheaper, whereas fossil gas electrical energy has turn into costlier, based on knowledge from the Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change (IPCC).

This factors to renewable energies as being not solely much less polluting, however cheaper than fossil fuels. This has been additionally prompted environmentalists to warn that the usage of fossil fuels in Central Africa can’t be a step towards the long run. However Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, nonetheless hails the challenge as a step in the best route, although he views funding as Africa’s prime problem within the growth of the hydrocarbon sector, including that the one factor the fanciers are ready for is the feasibility examine for the CAPS challenge.