AJAYI AKPOJOTOR ALLEN
ASSIGNMENT 1
TRADE-OFFS AND CONFLICTS OF SDG-7 (AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY) WITH SDG-17
(PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOALS)
The overall target of the SDG is to achieve a more sustainable future for all by 2030 and SDG-7
(affordable and clean energy) would be one of the most fundamental and important components of
the overall SDG target as it is directly or indirectly connected to other SDGs. But the most required
to meet the 2030 target is SDG-17 (partnership for the goals) as without agreement, partnership,
and commitment to the set goals, the SDG project will be unattainable. Thus, it will be important to
show how SDG-7 conflicts with SDG-17. Partnership can be described as a variety of arrangements
with different purposes, time scales, structures, operating procedures, and members (Lowndes V.
2001). Who then can be identified as members involved in partnership for the SDGs; Governments
of nations around the world, industries, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, OPEC
member states, and other oil-exporting countries, individuals including women and children.
The Paris climate agreement of 2015 to reduce earth’s surface temperature to a maximum of 2 oC
and greenhouse gas emission to decline by at least 40% below 1990 levels (UK committee on climate
change, 2019, P.9) , shows that clean energy from renewable will be heavily relied upon to replace
fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) as a global energy source. But with statistics that nearly half of the
world lives on less than $5.50 a day and 9.2% of the world’s population or 689 million people live in
extreme poverty on less than $1.9 a day (world bank 2018). The affordability of clean energy by
2030, is therefore, a huge question mark. Unfortunately, with currently available technology on
renewable energy, fossil fuels are still relatively easier to access than renewable, therefore, making
fossil fuels cheaper and more affordable and consequentially making it impossible for a significant
percentage of the world’s population to consider the clean energy option as the price will always be
a factor when individuals, homes, families, and industries are to make energy choices. Developing
and underdeveloped countries will have more people less interested in an energy transition to clean
energy due to cost although they are interested in other SDGs and this affects the partnership to the
goals (SDG-17) in relation to SDG-7.
Vivien Lowndes and Chris Skelcher in their publication on ‘the dynamics of multi-organizational
partnership (1998, P.14) argued that inter-agency working involves a high degree of competition
among organizations. Therefore, the influence/resistance of OPEC (organization of the petroleum
exporting countries) and leading oil and gas companies will heavily influence the partnership for the
goals and in return have an impact on SDG7 as these countries will see the clean energy route as
competition to their oil market and also threat to their economies due to most OPEC member states
being heavily dependent on revenues generated from petroleum and petroleum product exports
economically. With OPEC possessing 79.4% of global proven crude oil reserves and currently
supplying about 45% of total global oil use (OPEC, 2018), member states will prefer the option of
generating revenue through continued petroleum exploration than investing huge sums in
developing renewable energy sources. Examples are Nigeria, Algeria, and Gabon which are nations
with high potentials in solar and wind energy but whose economies depend 60-80% on oil
exportation. Also, the currently available technologies available to energy companies indicates that
investing in fossil fuels is more profitable than renewable due to accessibility and availability. Thus a
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silent resistance to clean and affordable energy goals (SDG-7) due to OPEC not being willing to lose
its control of the world energy market with clean energy sources replacing fossil fuels which in turn
affects partnership for the goals (SDG-17) in relation to SDG-7 negatively as not everyone will put in
maximum contributions due to economic reasons.
REFERENCES:
Committee on Climate Change (2019). Net Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming.
Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Net-Zero-The-UKs-contributionto-stopping-global-warming.pdf. (Accessed 8 September 2021)
Lowndes V. (2001). Local partnership and public participation. London: Institute of public policy
research.
OPEC (2018). OPEC Share of Wold crude oil reserves.
Available at: https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/330.htm. (Accessed 10 September
2021)
The World Bank (2018). Nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day. Available at:
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-onless-than-550-a-day. (Accessed 8 September 2021)
Vivien Lowndes and Chris Skelcher (1998). The Dynamics of Multi-organizational Partnerships: An
analysis of changing modes of governance.
Available at: https://online.library.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-9299.00103 (Accessed 8
September 2021)
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ASSIGNMENT 2
STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR MOTIVES
An Analysis of stakeholders and their motives for the establishment of onshore wind farms in
Norway
The world is constantly changing, with climate changes becoming more noticeable and
consequences of global warming felt in many parts of the world. This resulted in the Paris agreement
and the European Union’s 2018 climate and energy framework up to 2030. The aim is to have clean,
affordable, and reliable energy systems in Europe (Agora Energiewende, 2018, P. 3). In accordance
with the Paris agreement in the European Union, which states that carbon emissions should be
reduced by 49% by the end of 2030 with respect to the emissions in 1990 (Gerbrandy 2017). This has
increased the involvement of stakeholders in the energy sector to seek greener energy sources.
Norway has a very high potential for wind energy and investment in this sector has been evident in
the onshore wind energy capacity in Norway increasing from 2912 to 3975 megawatts between
2019 and 2020 (statista.com)
Eden and Ackermann, in their publication on strategic stakeholder management (2011, P. 179)
mentioned that the origin of stakeholders is related to the diverse nature of what they can demand
from a company or project. Eden and Ackerman also created a version of the power-interest grid to
show the proactive management of stakeholders (1998, P. 349).
Subjects
Players
Crowd
Context
Setters
Int
Power
Figure 1.1 Power-Interest grids
From the figure, it can be attributed that the major players for a project involving the establishment
of onshore winds in Norway are; the people, the government/policymakers and Industry/Business.
For industry/business, the motive will always be a capital reward. Karen Collins defined business as
any activity that provides goods and/or services for the purpose of making profits (An Introduction
to Business, 2012, P. 16). This is evident in the investment patterns of energy companies in Norway
with firms that are energy power-houses still investing a larger percentage of expenditure on fossil
fuels despite awareness of the 2030 climate targets. Business and Industry concerns are the cost of
windmill developments, installations, and energy distribution of onshore wind facilities in
comparison to offshore and also in comparison to other energy sources with major consideration on
the financial benefits on the long and short run. This means investors will always go for investment
projects with higher economic feasibility. Thus, the establishment of onshore wind farms in Norway
is very much dependent on how lucrative the energy sector sees onshore wind energy to be.
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The next stakeholder is the Norwegian government who on the other hand is driven by the need to
support and accelerate the energy transition but also economic benefit through taxations. Also, the
government is driven by the responsibility of making decisions to protect the Norwegian continental
shelf and Fjord. In 2019, The Norwegian government unveiled proposed new rules for assessing
onshore wind farms development, including 800-meter minimum distance rule for projects from
buildings. This shows the government’s role in protecting its people as democracy was regarded as a
government for the people by the people (U.S President Abraham Lincoln, 1863).
The third group of stakeholders is ‘the people/consumers’. The motive of the people is
price/affordability. As people’s energy consumption increases, the demand for cheaper energy
alternatives increases and onshore wind energy is relatively cheap in comparison to some other
power sources and also environmental preservation. But in Norway, the development of onshore
wind farms has also met some backlash from the people as the Norwegian government was forced
to scrap ‘the national wind power plan’ in 2019 after protests with the serving Energy and Petroleum
minister Kjell Borge Freiberg making this statement:” Several of the major developments we are now
seeing have created great commitments and conflicts. First locally, later regionally and then
nationally” This statement was a reflection of how people at various levels viewed and felt affected
by onshore wind farms as some did not want wind farms in their municipalities due to proposed
sites, transmission channels, and safety. Therefore there is a motive by the people to protect their
immediate environment with also reference to history, like the case of Mount Lofoten being
scrapped as a potential wind farm site to a national park.
The clash of all these interests/motives between these three groups of stakeholders determines and
directs the establishment of onshore winds in Norway as sometimes one or more groups need to
compromise to accommodate the motive of another.
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References:
Agora Energiewende (2018). European Energy Transition 2030: The big picture. Ten priorities for the
next European Commission to meet EUs 2030 targets and accelerate towards 2050. Available at:
https://www.agoraenergiewende.de/fileadmin/projekte/2019/EU_Big_picture/153_EU_Big_pic_WEB.pdf (Accessed 8
October 2021).
Eden and Ackeman (2011). Strategic Management of Stakeholders; Theory and Practice. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00246301100000452 (Accessed 9 October,
2021).
EU reporter (2017). EU climate law rapporteur Gerbrandy: Europe acts on its climate commitments,
with or without Trump. Available at: https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2017/06/15/euclimatelaw-rapporteur-gerbrandy (Accessed 8 October 2021).
Karen Collins (2012).An Introduction to Business. Available at: https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/anintroduction-to-business-V2.0pdf (Accessed 9October 2021).
Recharge news (2019). Norway scraps the national wind power plan after protests. Available at:
https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/norway-scraps-national-wind-power-plan
(Accessed
10
October 2021).
Figures
Eden and Ackerman (1998) Power interest grid. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/powerinterest-grid-Eden-Ackerman-1998-p-349-fig1-275956777 (Accessed 8 October 2021).
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ASSIGNMENT 3
TERM PAPER
PROPOSED TOPIC: THE ROLE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN MEETING THE
ENERGY DEMANDS AND ENABLING AN NERGY TRANSITION IN SUBSAHARAN AFRICA
AJAYI AKPOJOTOR ALLEN
Email: aaj004@uib.no , akposoma@yahoo.com
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Global warming is a reality impossible to ignore in today’s world. Greenhouse gases are known to be
the major contributors to global warming but the world still relies mainly on fossil fuels as an energy
source. With 192 countries pledging to the Paris climate agreement, there is an evident urgency to
tackle the challenges of global warming and this can be done by an energy transition to
greener/renewable energy sources. Of the 192 countries that pledged to the climate agreements, 33
are in Africa. That raises the question of ‘how does a region with insufficient energy supply keep up
with the pace of an energy transition?’ In 2020, approximately 592 million people in Sub-Saharan
Africa had no access to electricity. That is about 50% of the region’s population. Those who have
access to electricity pay relatively higher costs than other consumers elsewhere in the world. The
energy demand in this region will only increase as its population is expected to double by 2050 from
1 billion to 2 billion.
Africa sometimes called ‘the sun continent’ is known to have the highest potential for solar energy
with some parts in east Sub-Saharan Africa seeing up to 4,300 hours of sunlight in a year. Therefore,
the solar energy potential in the region is very high. This study will aim to analyze how solar energy
can be of importance in meeting the energy demands of Sub-Saharan Africa and how it can result in
a shift in the regions heavy reliance on fossil fuels while enabling an energy transition, thus helping it
to contribute significantly to the climate targets of 1.5 – 2oC average earth’s surface temperature by
2050. Quantitative analysis of available energy data of at least one country from western, eastern,
central, and southern Sub-Saharan Africa will be done. Data from The Africa Energy Commission
(AFREC) and International Energy Agency (IEA) will also be analyzed. With the use of empirical
research methods and decision-making tools, the study will assess the solar energy potential,
relative cost of solar energy to fossil fuels, climate effect, and advantages, challenges of
establishment, and economic impact in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Solar Energy: The Sub-Saharan Africa Energy Analysis
There are a total of 54 countries in Africa with a total electricity demand of 700 terawatthour (Twh) (IEA, 2018). The 7 North African countries with South Africa account for 70% of
this total electricity demand which means the remaining energy is shared between 46 other
countries which make up the vast majority of Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa excluded).
That is, 210 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity is shared between these 46 countries. This
explains why the region has approximately 592 million people without access to electricity
and that is the highest number of people with no access to electricity in any region in the
world.
Countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Rwanda have made some progress on
improving energy distribution and accessibility but the efforts have not been able to meet
up with population growth and energy demand. The African population is the youngest and
fastest-growing in the world with the continent expected to be the most populous region by
2023 ahead of India and China and double its current population by 2040. This means if
actions are not taken now to solve the energy insufficiency in the region, the future might
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be worse and an energy crisis in the region is a possibility with crude oil predicted to last just
another 46 more years (British Petroleum 2014).
Sub-Saharan Africa is said to have a theoretical solar energy reserve of 60,000,000 Twh/year
which is about 40% of the world solar potential reserve. But currently in the region, solar
and wind energy combined contributes to just 3% of energy generation/use (IMF, 2020).
The region has about 62.6 billion barrels of combined proved crude oil reserves (IEA, 2013)
with the middle-east having thirteen times the amount of crude oil reserves while South
America and Central America has 5 times that amount, but yet the region is heavily
dependent on crude oil as its energy source alongside coal and traditional biomass such as;
firewood and charcoal. Women in Sub-Saharan Africa combined are believed to spend
about a billion hours per year searching for firewood (World Bank, 2017) and this is time
that can be used in other activities, thus costing the sub-Saharan African economy $30
billion/year. Also, the health implications of this practice cannot be ignored as an estimated
98,000 women die yearly in Nigeria from the use of firewood (World Health Organization,
2016) and a total of approximately 600,000 Sub-Saharan Africans die yearly due to firewood
use and millions more suffer from chronic illnesses.
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With so much energy potential in solar energy available to Sub-Saharan Africa, solar energy
is definitely the main option to solve the energy imbalance in the region, considering its
ease of accessibility.
Comparative Energy Analysis and Solar Development of Key Countries from Each Sub-Saharan
Zones
Nigeria: (West Sub-Sahara Africa)
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the largest producer of oil and gas in the
continent with an oil and gas driven economy. Nigeria had a total electrical energy consumption of
26.7 Terra-watts hours since 1990 (IEA). Most of the nation’s energy production comes from oil and
gas, biofuels and waste, and also coal. This has resulted in a total of 92.02 Mt of C02 emissions since
1990. Nigeria currently has an energy deficit of about 28,000 Megawatts, making it the country with
the highest energy deficit in the world with only 56.5% of its population having access to electricity.
Energy firms in the country can only generate about 4,000-5,000 MW of electricity of which
3,000MW is available for distribution and consumption. The main sources of electricity generation
are dams of which the largest is the Kainji dam which has a capacity of 960MW. Although a new
‘Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station’ is being built and is expected to generate 3,050MW of
electricity, this still would not be enough to meet the nation’s energy demand.
Solar energy is an alternative for Nigeria just like the rest of Africa and little has been invested in this
sector as the current energy consumption from both solar and wind combined is less than 1%. In
2012, HQMC Korea Company Ltd. Announced a plan to invest $30billion to build a 10,000 Megawatts
solar photophobic solar plant in the country over a period of 10years (Williams, 2012). Also, there
have been other solar plant projects in the country such as; Karshi solar plant, which produces
7.5MW of electricity.
South Africa: (South Sub-Saharan Africa)
South Africa is a major contributor to global CO2 emissions with 433,57Mt oCO2 emitted since
1990.This is due to its heavy dependence on coal. In the mid-1990s during the post-apartheid South
Africa’s energy supply exceeded electricity consumption. Thus, there was no urgency for the South
African government to diversify the sources of electricity supply (Nevin, 2005). Coal accounts for
about 77% of the energy generated in South Africa (AFREC, 2017). In recent history, however, there
have been shortages of electrical energy in the country; in 2005, the consumption demand peaked
at around 4000 MW per day which exceeded the supply capacity of 3,500MW and this led the
government to develop policies to diversify the energy sources. With climate agreement and target
of reducing atmospheric carbon footprint, South Africa being a major CO2 emitting nation faces
more pressure to reduce its coal utilization, and thus, there is an urgency to transition to renewable
and solar energy is a major alternative energy path. The country has invested little in solar energy
although it is insignificant in comparison to coal, oil, and biofuel utilization. South African
government built a solar park in Northern Cape Province which combines both PV and CSP
technologies with electricity capacity of 100MW. Small-sized rooftop solar panels for homes are also
becoming more common in South African society.
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Kenya : (East Sub-Saharan Africa)
Kenya is one of the Sub-Saharan countries leading in solar energy development and investment. A
country with 20.1 Mt of CO2 emitted since 1990 and lesser oil dependency although having 560
million barrels of proven crude oil reserves (0.032% of world’s oil reserve). The major source of
energy for households are biofuels and wastes such as; firewood, and charcoal stoves which kills
215,000 Kenyans yearly (Nita Bhalla, 2019). However, Kenya’s solar PV business is relatively on the
successful side as, since 2014, solar has contributed up to 15% of the country’s electricity
generation. Small-sized PV panels are common and the country holds an annual Solar PV market
which is mostly dominated by small PV panels,
The Solar industry is relatively more successful in Kenya than in other Sub-Saharan countries due to
the lack of abundance of conventional fossil fuel resources thus a need to drive for alternative
energy. Also, Kenya is most suitable for solar innovations as the country sees an average of 5-7 hours
of peak sunshine daily.
Equatorial Guinea: (Central Sub-Saharan Africa)
Equatorial Guinea is a relatively low population country with an estimated population of 2.23 million
and energy production of 637.65 Terra-Joules since 1990, and also very low carbon emission of 2.45
Mt of CO2 emitted since 1990. The country is the 6th largest producer of oil and gas in the African
continent and is also very dependent on oil and gas. 33% of the country’s population does not have
access to electricity and just 5% of its energy is generated using renewable. Solar has seen a netzero capacity increase in the last decade in Equatorial Guinea despite being cheap and accessible
due to environmental factors favoring solar plants establishments.
The Future: A solar-driven Sub-Saharan Africa energy system
The potential energy in the amount of sunlight that reaches the surface of the earth within two
hours is sufficient to meet world energy demand for one year. With oil expected to ‘phase out’ soon
and various parts of the world are working towards transitioning to greener energy (Europe, China,
and United states playing leading roles}, Sub-Sahara Africa must also connect itself to the energy
transition by searching for energy sources that will cut down carbon emission while tackling the
problem of inadequate electricity amongst its population. The region has 40% of solar energy
potential is therefore recommended to invest massively in solar energy. Governments of countries in
the region should invest in the two types of available solar panels; photovoltaic and concentrating
solar-thermal power. Funding should be available for solar energy research to encourage innovation.
Policies should be made to address the soft costs associated with solar energy generation such as
design, siting, permitting, financing, installation, and other non-hardware costs involved with solar
energy. Rural electrification projects can also be drafted to provide small-sized rooftop panels for
homes and schools in areas where the cost of extending connection/distribution cables may seem
uneconomical and impossible. The ‘big is beautiful’ concept can be applied by governments of the
region by building mega-stations for solar energy and electricity from solar must be connected to the
electricity grid in large densely populated cities. This will, reduce the use of biofuels at the rural
levels and diesel generators in large cities which emit a lot of CO2. Electrification of rural areas is
very vital as it is a means of reducing the number of people without access to electricity and this will
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reduce/remove the amount of time spent by women looking for firewood and other biofuel
materials which in turn is of economic benefit as the net GDP of $30billion lost by the region when
women spend so much time looking for firewood. Also, massive investment in solar could also lead
to a transition from diesel/high octane based vehicles in the region to electric vehicles as it will be
cheaper to build multiple charging stations due to solar energy being cheaper than conventional
fuels since it was confirmed that solar is the cheapest electricity in history (IEA, 2020). Countries
such as Kenya and Ethiopia with relatively higher sunset could serve as Solar batteries for other
countries. Collaborations also need to be made with countries with better expertise in solar energy
such as; China, U.S, and Norway. Also trade between the region and China is important as China
possess the mineral resource needed to build solar panels.
Challenges of establishing solar-driven Sub-Saharan Africa
The major challenge of accomplishing a Solar driven is the investment capital and willingness to
switch from current energy sources. Countries like Nigeria and South Africa who have an abundance
of crude oil and coal respectively will find it difficult to switch energy forms as the available
conventional fossil fuels are relatively easy to produce. These two nations are the most influential in
the region and whatever trends they practice will be followed by others. Technological advances and
expertise may be lacking and also distribution of produced energy could also be a major challenge.
Conclusion
It can be agreed upon that with the very high potential of solar energy in Sub-Saharan Africa and its
relatively low cost when compared to other sources of energy, it is the best renewable energy
option for the region to meet its increasing energy demand amidst population growth while also
contributing to a greener climate. Also, it will be helpful in solving the current situation of 592million
people not having access t electricity through rural electrification projects.
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References:
International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2020). Powering Africa with Solar energy.
Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2020/03/pdf/powering-Africa-wit-solarenergy-sy. (Accessed 10 November 2021).
International Energy Agency (IEA, 2019). Africa Energy outlook 2019.
Available at: https://www,iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook. (Accessed 6 November 2021).
IRENA (2014). Estimating the renewable energy potential in Africa: A GIS-based approach.
Available at: https://www.irena.org//media/files/IRENA/agency/publication/2014/IRENA_Africa_Resources_Potential_Aug2014.pdf.
(Accessed 11 November 2021).
Nita Bhalla (2019). Reuters.
Available at: https://www.reuters.com/eternal/news/kenya-vows-to-cut-emissions-as-dirty-stovesand-fuels-kill-21500-a-year. (Accessed 9 November 2021)
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