據油價網4月24日消息稱，非洲的電氣化將是清潔能源時代最大的挑戰(和機遇)之一。為了建立一個無碳經濟，非洲必須“跳過”一個國家經濟發展必經的一個階段。目前，非洲大陸仍有6億人無法獲得能源。但是，非洲領導人沒有像其他國家歷史上那樣尋求廉價而豐富的化石燃料資源來啟動經濟發展，而是面臨著直接跳過尖端綠色技術的必要且幾乎前所未有的步驟。

這并不容易。非洲面臨著一個具有挑戰性的能源三難困境:隨著能源需求的增長，他們必須確保能源供應是充足、負擔得起而且可持續。隨著非洲大陸人口的持續增長，這將是困難的，通過任何一種能源生產——清潔或其他——來滿足需求將被證明是一項挑戰。預測顯示，到2050年，全球四分之一的人口將生活在撒哈拉以南的非洲地區。人口增長加上正在進行的工業化意味著非洲的能源需求預計將在未來十年增加三分之一。到2065年，這將需要將發電能力提高10倍。

好消息是，非洲大陸擁有巨大的可再生能源潛力。非洲大陸豐富的太陽能、風能、水電和地熱資源，以及巨大且不斷增長的需求，使其成為投資者的首選地，投資者希望在這個肯定會成為快速增長的主要新興市場的底層投資。外國投資者已經涌入非洲能源行業，試圖在這個可能非常有利可圖的行業的早期階段建立影響力。

曹海斌 摘譯自 油價網

原文如下：

European Union Pushes Into North African Solar Markets

Electrifying Africa is going to be one of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) of the clean energy era. In order to build a carbon-free economy, Africa has to “leapfrog” over what is normally the next phase of development in a nation’s economic journey. At present, 600 million people across the African continent still lack access to energy. But instead of looking to cheap and abundant fossil fuel sources to kickstart economic development as other nations have historically done, African leaders are facing the necessary and virtually unprecedented step of skipping straight to cutting-edge green technologies.

It’s not going to be easy. Africa faces a challenging energy trilemma: as demand for energy grows, they must ensure that energy supplies are 1) sufficient, 2) affordable, and 3) sustainable. This is going to be difficult as the continent’s population continues to boom, and meeting demand through any kind of energy production – clean or otherwise – will prove to be a challenge. Projections show that by 2050, one in four humans worldwide will be in sub-Saharan Africa. This population growth coupled with ongoing industrialization means that African energy demand is expected to increase by a third over the next ten years. This will necessitate a ten-fold increase in power generation capacity by 2065.

The good news is that the African continent has enormous renewable energy potential. The continent’s richness of resources for solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal, as well as its enormous and growing demand make it prime real estate for investors looking to get in on the ground floor of what is certain to be a major and fast-growing emerging market. Already, foreign investors are flooding into African energy sectors trying to establish influence in these early days of what could be a very lucrative industry.