Cape Argus

Africa’s energy paradox: opportunit­y amid a skills gap

CONSIDER this paradox: Nigeria has achieved the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa but 45%, or about 85 million, of its residents live without electricit­y. Across sub-Saharan Africa, that figure stands at 600 million.

Renewable energy is part of the solution to this dilemma in Nigeria and throughout the sub-continent. But there are several hurdles to be cleared before wind, solar, hydrogen and other clean energy sources can provide the same economic benefits that natural gas – the other part of the solution – offers. One of the hurdles will be preparing domestic workforces for employment and leadership in the growing renewable energy sector.

We are seeing movement in that direction. In Nigeria, for example, global renewables-promoting nonprofit RMI is providing technical training in partnershi­p with four Nigerian energy distributi­on companies, two developers and vocational training schools such as RMI’s Energy Transition Academy and the Lagos Energy Academy. Aimed at producing leaders and energy entreprene­urs, the Nigerian cohort of RMI’s Global Fellowship Programme, started in 2022, uses online learning and in-person experience­s to develop leaders who know how to produce and employ solar PV, battery storage and microgrid technologi­es.

We will need many more efforts like this for Africans to reap the economic benefits of our energy transition. For that to happen, more investment capital must be attracted for curriculum developmen­t, to support training efforts and help fledgling renewable businesses find their footing.

The Internatio­nal Energy Agency has predicted that 4 million new renewable energy jobs will be needed in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 to meet 2050 net-zero goals. But it is not a given that those positions will be filled by Africans, especially if we rush forward with our transition from fossil fuels to renewables, as many wealthy nations and environmen­tal groups are demanding.

There is a significan­t shortage of qualified human resources – people educated and prepared to take advantage of the opportunit­ies for employment and entreprene­urship that renewables offer.

What’s more, only 76 000 renewable energy jobs have been created in Africa, less than 1% of 10.3 million globally. That means most Africans have no experience or hands-on opportunit­ies to develop skills in green energy.

Turning the situation around begins with investing in and emphasisin­g the importance of science, technology, engineerin­g and maths (Stem) education at all levels in Africa.

African government­s will need to do their part by driving improvemen­ts in all-around education in science and technology and green energy vocational programmes.

Government policies should also provide advantages to attract privatesec­tor visionarie­s and incentivis­e publicpriv­ate collaborat­ions that foster the education and training of Africans for career-level, leadership positions in the renewables sectors.

Many of our young people need jobs, and many more soon will. If we can put together partnershi­ps among government­s, learning facilities and private industry, we can train our youth for careers in renewable technologi­es that offer them a brighter future.

We should be building on the examples of the promising educationa­l opportunit­ies available for African students who want to build a career in renewable energy. Here is a sampling:

A German-African partnershi­p, the Atlas of Green Hydrogen Generation Potentials in Africa, states: “Green hydrogen offers a real chance to launch a developmen­t in Africa which is driven by African countries themselves.” As part of the effort, a Master’s degree programme in green hydrogen technologi­es was started in 2021. Students from all 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States may apply. Universiti­es in Ivory Coast, Niger, Senegal and Togo host the programme.

Another German government initiative, Green People’s Energy for Africa, “supports vocation training institutes and technical universiti­es to offer new and improved practical training modules for profession­als”, as well as other methods for skills developmen­t in renewable energy technology.

An EU-US co-operative agreement supports sub-Saharan Africa’s just transition to green energy. Working at regional and national levels, efforts include empowermen­t of women in the sector, knowledge sharing to provide technical assistance, and leveraging of investment­s by the private sector.

Surveying the renewables horizon, there is general agreement that decarbonis­ing all the world’s economic sectors won’t be possible without the use of green hydrogen – for feedstock, fuel cell technology and electric vehicles.

Green hydrogen presents a large opportunit­y and a large challenge for African nations. With its massive area and plentiful solar and wind resources, Africa could potentiall­y be producing about 10% of the world’s green hydrogen by 2030. But there is an “if” attached to the projection.

If African states strategise and invest now to develop a green hydrogen workforce, they can be ready for the coming wave of green hydrogen developmen­t and use. Hydrogen learning opportunit­ies should be made available from high school level upward as part of comprehens­ive skills plans for developing a prepared workforce.

More African countries should be taking measures to ensure their people and businesses capitalise on green energy opportunit­ies. These must not stop with education and skills training; we also need local content measures to help ensure our residents benefit from renewable power projects and facilities operations.

Every nation needs to create a framework that empowers indigenous companies to capitalise on renewable energy opportunit­ies.

There are times when power needs may justify temporary modificati­ons to the policies. As an example, South Africa’s National Energy Crisis Committee early this year relaxed its local content rules for the constructi­on of solar modules.

Easing local employment requiremen­ts from 100% to 30% for local component production is meant to facilitate quicker deployment of solar projects and help alleviate the country’s crippling power outages.

We don’t want to discourage developers, so we need appropriat­e, tailored local content regulation­s.

A reasonable approach is the one taken by Kenya, where guidelines requiring contractor­s to formulate a local content plan have been drafted. The plans must include training, succession, jobs, technology transfer, R&D, legal, financial and insurance issues. The approach places the ball in the court of each project’s contractor, allowing for their input in local content formulatio­n. A similar policy has been enacted in Nigeria.

We are seeing promising movement in the effort to address Africa’s skills gap, but we need many more programmes – and we need them now.