PERSPECTIVES CARBON CAPTURE T
he energy landscape in developing economies is increasingly accommodating low carbon technologies. Major international organizations such
as the World Bank Group and the United Nations have emphasized the importance of such technologies in meeting the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 7 calls for developed and developing countries to ‘ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’ by 2030. China, India and Brazil have increased the
percentage of low carbon technologies in their overall energy generation mix during recent years. Government policies in various African countries also encourage research and development of low carbon technologies. The developing economies of South and South-East Asia are also beginning to champion the cause for an increased percentage of low carbon technologies in their energy mixes. Let us look at some specific types of low carbon technologies that are taking hold:
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) The In Salah CCS project in central Algeria is a world pioneering onshore project capturing 800,000 tons of carbon annually at low-cost. Apart from In Salah, the remaining six fully integrated, commercial-scale CCS projects in operation in the world today are in OECD countries (USA, Canada and Norway) or led by OECD-based companies. However, developing economies such as China, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and India are currently focusing resources to maximize the opportunities that CCS technologies provide. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of power plants using CCS technology are around one-third those of existing coal power plants – representing a major advantage. However, while CCS has
the potential to become increasingly relevant, there remain concerns about its environmental implications and its associated technologies. The main environmental risk associated with CCS relates to the efficient storage of the captured carbon dioxide gas. Research is currently ongoing to find suitable methods of mitigating this risk.
Hydropower Currently the world’s largest source of renewable electricity, hydropower provides more than 16 percent of total energy supply and the installed amount grows annually. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), hydropower accounts for over 1,150 GW of global energy installed capacity. Micro- hydropower is regarded as a cost-effective energy solution in developing countries, as its capital costs are below those of some other low carbon technologies. New initiatives are focusing on implementing small-scale hydropower plants across African countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Wind power
Over the past decade, global installed capacity of wind power increased at an average annual rate of more than 25 percent, reaching about 53 GW by the end of 2017. Due to advances in both onshore and offshore wind technologies, and the increasing size of wind power plants, more wind energy is harvested at lower costs. Energy analysts envisage that this trend will continue over the next few years. A major barrier to the use of wind power in developing countries is the lack of awareness of policy makers and the absence of an enabling legal framework. While this type of energy has a large land footprint and impacts wildlife, life cycle assessment results score wind power from an environmental perspective as 100 to 200 percent better than power generation from coal and natural gas (with or without CCS).
Concentrated solar power (CSP) CSP systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to focus a large area of sunlight onto a smaller area. Electricity is generated when the concentrated sunlight is converted to heat, which drives a steam turbine connected to an electrical power generator. The major CSP technologies currently in use are known as the parabolic trough (wet-cooled), power tower (dry cooled), linear Fresnel and the dish / engine systems. The global installed capacity of CSP had increased to over 5,100 MW by the end of 2017 representing an increase of 2.3 percent over the past year. The World Bank reiterated that CSP has tremendous potential for scaling-up renewable energy, diversifying the generation portfolio mix, powering development and mitigating climate change in developing countries. However, there are market and technical impediments to its acceptance, including cost competitiveness, an understanding of technology capability and limitations, and intermittency. Many developing countries are currently working to address these barriers in order to scale-up CSP power generation.
Solar photovoltaic power (PV) Solar PV is growing rapidly with a total global installed capacity of about 400 GW, representing more than a 500 percent increase in over the past five years. This growth, which is expected to continue, has largely been driven by the decreasing cost of PV systems and collectors; and the abundance of solar insolation (or sunlight) on the earth. Solar PV has many advantages, especially for rural communities in developing countries, which lack access to electricity because the power grids do not extend to them. Solar PV minigrid installations can be used to solve this problem. The use of this solution in rural communities is cheaper in the long term compared with the cost of diesel and gasoline
MIXING IT LOW CARBON ENERGY AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIES
By Sasaenia Paul Oluwabunmi, Operations Officer at OFID and Gabriel Hurtado
Gonzalez, Energy Solutions Manager at Mitie 48
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