Wind Energy in Spain, other Countries, and the Lessons for Africa
by Alomenu Samuel
On the 8th of November 2009, Spain is said to have set a new world record, by providing 53.7% of their electrical energy needs with the wind [1]. Lately, Spain and other countries have gone a long way to prove the potential of wind power as an alternative source to generating clean, safe energy for the world.
Wind power has come through years of evolution to today. Economics as well as climate change and other environmental issues have gotten the attention of the world to go green, to go towards renewable energy, and most countries are implementing or entertaining more wind power, as it is safe, clean and effective. Germany who was in the lead until 2007 had a capacity of 22.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2007. This is almost the total amount of electrical energy produced by Egypt from all sources, and has provided about 90,000 people with jobs and caused the development of about a hundred of companies [2]. The United States has recently seen billions of dollars invested in the construction of new wind farms and related production and infrastructure. For example, Texas now has a capacity of 8,797 megawatts (MW) with the world's largest wind farm, the Roscoe Wind Farm. Wind power served about 1.2% of electricity needs of the USA as at October providing some 85,000 people with jobs [3]. Denmark, a pioneer in wind power technology provided close to 24% of their electrical energy needs with wind power in 2003 [4, 5].
China, one of the fastest developing countries in the world, accounted for 12.2 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity. It is is the fourth largest producer of wind energy after Spain, Germany and USA. China is aiming at 100 GW capacity by the end of 2020 [6]. These countries and others like Italy, Australia and Korea have identified wind power as a key growth component of their economy, producing thousands of jobs, and increasing government revenues.
Spain has recently set the pace with that world record of 53.7%. In a recent report Jose Donso, the head of the Spanish Wind Energy Association, mentioned the fact that they can keep growing and increase their current 17 GW to 40 GW in 2020. China also has bigger ambitions of reaching 100 GW by 2020. Germany and the USA also have big ambitions for further growth.
Africa, the host of a great deal of the world's natural resources also has the potential of going green, going renewable energy, going wind power and going on a large scale. Spain and others have been exemplary, their progress has proved that the wind is a potential energy source. Although like other energy generation methods it needs significant initial investment, it serves its purpose well.
Wind power is a big industry which can in many ways help develop the economies of African nations by increasing our energy capacity, providing jobs, and increasing overall productivity.
Worldwide, there have been many jobs generated in and by the wind power industry. The same can occur in Africa. With the right technical skills and "know-how" we can create a whole new industry that will set a different course to things here in Africa. Africa has substantial renewable energy capacity, most of which is underexploited. Renewable energy in Africa has not been harnessed to its fullest capacity to meet the needs of the continent. The reason Africa's renewable energy resources have long not been fully exploited is due to limited policy interest and investment levels. It is possible all of these are going to change, once more African citizens and politicians begin to realize the immense opportunities associated with renewable energy development, especially wind energy. A few African countries like Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia have developed a number of wind farms. Ghana also has plans of building a 80 MW wind farm at Ada to add to Ghana's electrical energy capacity with the 1730 MW tripple dams, Akosombo, Kpong, and Asoadze [7].
Change can happen once African nations begin to reform their energy policies as to the generation of electricity and also direct a pool of investment in the area of wind energy. We can make a great difference in this continent. The results of these actions will help solve Africa's energy problems, provide jobs, and also potentially lead to increases in government revenues.
References
[1] http://greenmonk.net/spain-gets-53-of-its-energy-from-wind
[2] Global Wind 2007 Report, Global Wind Power Council, http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=90
[3] http://www.awea.org/awea-annual-wind-report-2009.pdf
[4] Danish Annual Energy Statistics 2007, Danish Energy Authority, October 2008, http://www.ens.dk/graphics/UK_Facts_Figures/Statistics/yearly_statistics/2007/energy%20statistics%202007%20uk.pdf.
[5]
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VMY-4G643JD-1&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F30%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=83cf408b7ecc7f742ddda6522bb33871
[6] http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/gains-in-global-wind-capacity-reported
[7] http://ghelectricalcontassoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=51
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