This archive report was first published on 23 June 2020.
As Africa's economies and populations continue to grow, the demand for reliable electricity is increasing. However, the continent's grids are plagued by chronic power shortages and blackouts, making it challenging to integrate a large amount of inexpensive but intermittent renewable energy.
According to Risto Paldanius, Business Development & Proposals Director, Energy Storage & Optimisation at Wärtsilä Energy Business, a strategy centered around energy storage and flexible power systems will be key to guaranteeing the reliability of a high-renewable grid while lowering the cost of electricity.
Energy storage technologies offer a game-changing solution for Africa, providing a buffer between supply and demand, enabling energy systems to rebalance during and after a disturbance. Moreover, storage can charge and discharge energy as required on demand, making it a key piece of the stable energy infrastructure needed to improve grid reliability and security in Africa.
However, relying solely on storage as the only form of flexibility could be too expensive in the near term. The lowest-cost and shortest path to a high-renewable electricity system also requires smaller flexible-generation plants, including small, rapid-start engine power plants that can switch on and off in minutes and run on natural gas now and on renewable-derived fuels as it becomes cost-competitive and more widely available in the future.
Renewable energy will be at the heart of any significant energy transformation in Africa, bringing economic and environmental potential to the continent's consumers and communities. Energy storage and flexible power plants will be its key enabler, bringing an end to the century-long age of the blackout.
