[The Vector] Power Kick for Africa
Representatives from thirteen African nations joined together between June 30th and July 1st at a conference called “Power Kick for Africa”.
Held in Nigeria, the two key themes of the conference were:
1) How to gain access to cleaner, more affordable energy for African nations, and
2) that women should be strong participants to help quality of life and acceptance in the family and community.
The underlying mission of the conference was to fill the gap between policy and implementation. “What exactly is needed in order to foster renewable energy in Africa? We want to identify concrete implementation possibilities,” said conference organizer Ansgar Kiene, who is also Director of Africa Liaison Office, World Future Council.
Policy makers, businesses, civil leaders, finance companies and others discussed the challenges, innovations and the direction of energy. The Deputy Minister of Trade & Industry from South Africa, Elizabeth Thabethe, said, “A change in energy production paradigm is necessary, and women should be at the forefront of the energy revolution. Women of the continent should be champions of this new energy production paradigm that promotes the utilization of clean energy sources.”
In fact, few African women have access to electricity. For instance, about 70% of households in Nigeria use firewood as the primary cooking fuel (even in urban areas.) Nigeria’s Infrastructure Regulatory Commission, Chidi Izuwah, said Nigeria has set a target to achieve an ambitious but needed 20% renewable energy use for the future. He gave a good “quotable quote” at the conference: “We don’t need megatalk. We need Megawatts!”
African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA) members were in attendance, and AREA member Joseph Nganga of Kenya spoke about how locally designed Feed-in Tariff legislation can usher in renewable energy use. Also strongly discussed was “consumer buy-in” – citizens need to understand and be shown how new energies can benefit them, and this can often be done in community-based presentations, discussions and demonstrations.
AREA quotes Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku Togobo, who is head of Renewable Energy, Ghana Ministry of Energy: “Africa is already suffering the negative impacts of climate change. It is a challenge finding sustainable substitutes for fuel wood and charcoal to counter deforestation. This is why renewable, decentralized energy is absolutely essential for sustainable development. The knowledge and information exchange enabled by AREA will help us to find the best policy solutions to reach this goal.”
