This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
Published on September 13, 2019, by Rose Hassan, Kisumu branch manager for Solarnow Kenya, a renewable energy company.
The world's history is a story of energy exchange, from the Big Bang to the current hydrocarbon-based economy. The sun, the largest nuclear reactor in our planetary system, has been a constant source of energy.
However, the world is now facing resource stress, forcing countries to look inward and adopt nationalist policies. The globalisation of the 1980s, which saw the free movement of labour, capital, investments, ideas, and culture, is transitioning to nationalism with the rise of physical boundaries and stricter immigration policies.
The United States, a former proponent of globalisation, is now at the forefront of nationalism, with President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' campaign slogan being a code for stricter immigration policies. The United Kingdom is embroiled in the Brexit imbroglio, with a possibility of being reduced to a shell island of economic isolation.
Asia is also witnessing nationalist tensions, with nuclear powers Pakistan and India in an animated suspension over the Kashmir frozen war. South America's biggest carbon-based economy, Venezuela, is not sitting pretty, and the Middle East and Korean Peninsula are also experiencing tensions.
In Africa, where immigration is mostly economic and political, we see black-on-black violence that would make Black Lives Matter activists hang their heads in shame. The xenophobic attacks in South Africa are a stark reminder of the dangers of nationalism.
However, there is a glimmer of hope. South Africa is harnessing energy efficiently, with 2,559MW of installed solar PV capacity, 28 times more than Kenya's 93MW. In per capita terms, South Africa has 888.8 Watts/day for each of its 57.73 million citizens, compared to 46.67 Watts/day for each of Kenya's 48 million citizens.
A Solar-Plaza International BV analysis shows that by 2030, South Africa could have 7,958MW of solar PV capacities, 10% of its installed power generation mix, compared to Kenya's less than 1%. It's clear why movement is from low- to high-energy economies - industry, quality of life, and jobs do better there since production cost is cheaper.
Proper policies on harnessing the energy constant that is the sun can narrow the energy gap and, perhaps, stem the emigration.
